St Bridget's CofE School, Whitehaven
Data last updated 11 Sept 2026
Location
Estimated admission likelihood based on school density and oversubscription data
Key Information
DfE GIASOfsted Rating
Overall
Ofsted Insights
What This School Does Well
St Bridget's is a caring, welcoming community where children thrive. Staff know pupils exceptionally well and provide highly responsive, personalised support to help every child succeed - whether in the early years, with additional learning needs, or with their emotional wellbeing. The school offers a rich range of experiences including visits to museums and theatres, sports events, and community projects that help pupils develop confidence, cultural awareness and leadership skills.
Key Strengths
- Early years provision is of consistently high quality with strong focus on communication skills and outdoor learning
- Attendance rates are higher than national average, with leaders successfully addressing barriers to regular attendance
- Rich, well-sequenced curriculum informed by local context with effective teaching of phonics, reading, writing and mathematics
- Staff provide bespoke support to pupils with additional needs, including those with SEND
- Strong pastoral support and wellbeing provision helping pupils feel happy, confident and secure
Areas for Improvement
- Staff do not consistently help pupils make explicit connections between new learning and previous learning to deepen understanding
- Targets set for some pupils with SEND are too broad, making it difficult to maintain sharp focus on closing specific gaps
- Nationally published Key Stage 2 outcomes do not always reflect the progress pupils have made (due to small cohort sizes)
Safeguarding
Safeguarding standards are met - leaders have created an open and positive culture where safeguarding is everyone's responsibility, concerns are actively identified and managed, and pupils feel safe.
Extracurricular Activities
Sports events, debating activities, theatre visits, museum trips, singing in large venues, beach litter picking, fundraising for charities, finance projects with local businesses, peer mentoring as 'beacons'
St Bridget's CofE School is a small, welcoming primary school where pupils make suitable progress through a carefully designed curriculum. The school has established strong safeguarding practices and a positive culture where all pupils feel safe and supported.
At a Glance
28.8%
Free School Meals
No
Boarding
Yes
Nursery
No
Sixth Form
No
Special Measures
Primary Performance (KS2)
Academic year 2025/26KS2 Results (% meeting expected standard)
Reading has declined from 88% to 36%. Maths has declined from 88% to 36%. Writing has declined from 75% to 55%.
Class Sizes
19.3
Avg class size
12.0
Infant (KS1)
23.0
KS2
4
Total classes
2024/25 academic year
Getting There
Train Stations
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Capacity & Demand
School Occupancy
67%
Available places
66 pupils
99 capacity
33 spare places available
Area Demand Pressure - Whitehaven
Based on MHCLG housing supply data for Whitehaven
Admissions Demand - Cumberland
Places available
3,571
Applications
2,437
Got 1st preference
98.5%
Got preferred school
99.7%
Primary admissions across Cumberland (2025/26)
Inspection History(107)
House Prices
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SEN Provision
How many pupils have special educational needs, what types of support the school provides, and how it compares to similar schools.
Pupil Demographics
The school's pupil mix - ethnicity breakdown, free school meals eligibility, and English as an additional language. Useful context when evaluating school fit.
Teachers & Staff
Teacher qualification rates, pupil-to-teacher ratio, staff turnover, and salary data. Shows how well-resourced and stable the school's workforce is.
School Funding
Annual funding per pupil, total budget, pupil premium grants, and how the school's resources compare to similar schools nationally.
Pupil Absence2024/25
4.75821%
Overall absence
11.76471%
Persistent absence
68
Enrolments
Absence trend
Source: DfE pupil absence statistics. Persistent absence = pupils missing 10%+ sessions.
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