St Mark's CofE Primary School, Natland, Kendal
St Mark's CofE Primary School is a primary school for pupils aged 4 to 11 in Natland, Kendal. It has a Church of England religious character. It was rated Good at its last graded Ofsted inspection, in September 2011. Ofsted's ungraded inspection in February 2023 did not change this grade. Its 2025 Key Stage 2 results were the 16th-highest of the 98 schools in Westmorland and Furness with published results, and 1,757th of 14,452 across England. It was 83% full in 2025.
- SATs results
- Above England average
- Ofsted
- Good (2011)
- Demand
- Every first choice offered
- Attendance
- Better than England average
Reception applications for September 2027 close in 80 days
Deadline Friday 15 January 2027. Apply to Westmorland and Furness (the council where you live). Offers on 16 April.
Data last updated 27 Oct 2026
St Mark's CofE Primary School in detail
St Mark's CofE Primary School in its own words
The school runs after-school care.
Wraparound care (school website)
Source: The school's own website
Results
In 2025, 84% of Year 6 pupils at St Mark's CofE Primary School reached the expected standard in reading and 95% in maths. At the average state primary the figures were 74% and 73% in Westmorland and Furness and 77% and 75% across England.
Results rose from 73% in reading and 83% in maths in 2024.
With small year groups, a few pupils can move these figures by several points.
Getting a place at St Mark's CofE Primary School
For September 2026 entry, 27 families put St Mark's CofE Primary School as their first choice and 64 named it as one of their preferences, for 27 places offered. That is one first choice for every place. Every family who put it first was offered a place there for 2026 entry.
Admissions history and your chances at St Mark's CofE Primary School
Compared with nearby schools
The nearest other state primary schools to St Mark's CofE Primary School are Heron Hill Primary School (1.4 miles, Good, 93% reading, 85% maths); Dean Gibson Catholic Primary School, Kendal (1.5 miles, 88% reading, 81% maths); Vicarage Park CofE Primary School (1.5 miles, Good, 64% reading, 52% maths); and Crosscrake CofE Primary School (1.5 miles, Good, 64% reading, 55% maths).
St Mark's CofE Primary School's 2025 results were higher than all 2 of them.
Heron Hill Primary SchoolDean Gibson Catholic Primary School, KendalVicarage Park CofE Primary SchoolCrosscrake CofE Primary School
Who goes there
7.6% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well below the average state school (25%), and 2.2% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.
Staffing
St Mark's CofE Primary School had 14 teachers in 2026, one for every 13 pupils: more teachers per pupil than a typical primary school, at about one for every 20.
Getting there
The nearest railway station is Station Entrance, about 0.8 miles away in a straight line.
2 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Park Close (adjacent), 280 metres away.
The area around the school
Measured by the 2025 English Indices of Deprivation, the neighbourhood St Mark's CofE Primary School stands in is among the 20% least deprived neighbourhoods in England. This describes where the school is, not where its pupils live.
In August 2026, police recorded 21 crimes within a mile of the school, most often violence and sexual offences, public order offences and criminal damage and arson. That is well above the typical figure around schools in Westmorland and Furness (11), as is usual near a town centre.
Suspensions and exclusions
St Mark's CofE Primary School recorded no suspensions or permanent exclusions in 2024/25.
Sources: DfE school performance data (averages: state mainstream schools); DfE school-level applications and offers; council admissions booklets; DfE appeals statistics; DfE school census and special educational needs statistics; DfE school workforce census; NaPTAN (Department for Transport); English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG); data.police.uk street-level crime; DfE exclusions statistics
Key Information
DfE GIASOfsted Rating
Ofsted · 4 years agoThis judgement is from September 2011, 15 years ago, longer than Ofsted's usual 4-year cycle: the school may have changed since.
Overall
Latest (ungraded) inspection: The school remains Good.
Ofsted Insights
Ofsted rated this school Good at its September 2011 inspection - unchanged since its previous inspection.
Rated Good for
Leadership & management.
At a Glance
7.6%
Free School Meals
No
Boarding
Yes
Nursery
No
Sixth Form
No
Special Measures
Primary Performance (KS2)
Academic year 2024/25KS2 Results (% meeting expected standard)
Reading has improved from 73% to 84% (2024 to 2025). Maths has improved from 83% to 95% (2024 to 2025). Writing has improved from 57% to 84% (2024 to 2025).
Class Sizes
26.8
Avg class size
25.7
Infant (KS1)
26.8
KS2
8
Total classes
2025/26 academic year
How Does This School Compare?
Ranked against 5 nearby primary schools
Keep up with St Mark's CofE Primary School
Term dates
St Mark's CofE Primary School is a voluntary aided school, so it sets its own term dates: check the school's website. As a guide, see Westmorland and Furness's term dates for its community schools.
Getting There
Train Stations
Bus Stops
Free school transport
Check free transport to St Mark's CofE Primary School from your postcode →
You apply to the council where you live. St Mark's CofE Primary School is in Westmorland and Furness; for families living there:
- Westmorland and Furness's school travel policy: Home to School Transport Policy 2027 to 2028 (Reception to Year 11)
Safety and surroundings
Road collisions within 500 m (2021 to 2025)
- Collisions
- 2
- Fatal
- 0
- Serious
- 0
- Children hurt
- 1
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 2 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 0 serious and 2 slight.
1 child aged 0 to 15 was hurt: 1 on foot.
1 of the collisions happened on a weekday between 08:00 and 09:30 or 14:45 and 16:30, holidays included.
The typical figure for schools in Westmorland and Furness is 3 (the median across 161 schools, same distance and years).
Serious and slight counts use the Department for Transport's severity adjustment, which allows for changes in how police forces record injuries; they are estimates, rounded to whole numbers. Distances are in a straight line. Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19), Open Government Licence v3.0.
Commute and house prices
Your chances of a place at St Mark's CofE Primary School
Will you get a place at St Mark's CofE Primary School? Get the admissions report
Your home postcode, set against St Mark's CofE Primary School's admissions figures, in one report saved to your account.
What the report includes for St Mark's CofE Primary School:
- The straight-line distance from your home to St Mark's CofE Primary School.
- We hold no last distance offered figures from Westmorland and Furness, so the report covers demand, alternatives and dates.
- Applications, first choices and offers at St Mark's CofE Primary School for 2014 to 2026 entry.
- How many families in Westmorland and Furness got their first choice, and how often appeals there succeed.
- The nearest state schools to your home, with Ofsted rating, demand and last distance offered where published.
- Key dates for September 2027 entry and how to apply.
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Capacity & Demand
School Occupancy
83%
Available places
175 pupils
210 places
35 spare places in 2025
2025, DfE school capacity data
Area Demand Pressure - Natland, Kendal
Based on MHCLG Live Table 122 (2024-25, last 5 years) for Natland, Kendal
Across Westmorland and Furness council
Places available
2,590
Applications
1,692
Got 1st preference
96.1%
Got preferred school
99.4%
All primary applications across Westmorland and Furness council (2026/27), not just this school.
This school: Every first choice offered
Inspection History(6)
SEND & SEN Provision
SEN Overview
28
SEN Support
10
EHC Plans
20.7%
of Total Pupils
2026 academic year
Provision & Specialist Facilities
Pupils by Need Type
Pupil Demographics
Ethnicity
2026 academic year
Key Indicators
184
Total Pupils
97
Boys
87
Girls
2026 academic year
Workforce
14
Teachers
13.1:1
Pupil-teacher ratio
£50,304
Mean salary
2026 data
School Funding
£5,106
Per pupil
£965k
Total funding
£14k
Pupil premium
2025-26 financial year allocations
Pupil Absence2024/25
4.1%
Overall absence
11.0%
Persistent absence
154
Enrolments
Absence trend
Source: DfE pupil absence statistics. Persistent absence = pupils missing 10%+ sessions.
Secondary Schools Nearby
Secondary schools pupils are likely to move to
St Mark's CofE Primary School
Questions parents ask about St Mark's CofE Primary School
What are SATs results like at St Mark's CofE Primary School?
Of the pupils at St Mark's CofE Primary School who took the 2025 Key Stage 2 assessments, 84% reached the expected standard in reading and 95% did so in maths.
What is St Mark's CofE Primary School's Ofsted rating?
St Mark's CofE Primary School's most recent Ofsted inspection, in February 2023, was ungraded, so it gave no overall grade. At its last graded inspection, in September 2011, it was rated Good.
What is the catchment area for St Mark's CofE Primary School?
No fixed boundary. When St Mark's CofE Primary School is oversubscribed, Westmorland and Furness allocates places by its published criteria, usually ending with home-to-school distance.
Is it hard to get a place at St Mark's CofE Primary School?
St Mark's CofE Primary School was not full in 2025: it ran at 83% of its 210 places.
How big are the classes at St Mark's CofE Primary School?
Classes at St Mark's CofE Primary School average 26.8 pupils (2025/26).
How many pupils go to St Mark's CofE Primary School?
St Mark's CofE Primary School has around 184 pupils on roll. 8% are eligible for free school meals.
What is attendance like at St Mark's CofE Primary School?
4.1% of sessions were missed at St Mark's CofE Primary School in 2024/25. 11% of pupils were persistently absent (missing 10% or more of sessions).
How do I apply to St Mark's CofE Primary School?
Apply through Westmorland and Furness's coordinated admissions process, naming St Mark's CofE Primary School on your application. Applications for Reception places starting in September 2027 close on Friday 15 January 2027, and offers are made on Friday 16 April 2027.
How many road collisions happen near St Mark's CofE Primary School?
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 2 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 0 serious and 2 slight. 1 child aged 0 to 15 was hurt: 1 on foot. 1 of the collisions happened on a weekday between 08:00 and 09:30 or 14:45 and 16:30, holidays included. The typical figure for schools in Westmorland and Furness is 3 (the median across 161 schools, same distance and years).
Where is St Mark's CofE Primary School?
St Mark's CofE Primary School is at Oxenholme Lane, Natland, Natland, Kendal, Cumbria, LA9 7QH.
Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19)