Schools in Cumberland
178 schools in the Cumberland local authority.
Schools
178
Open schools
Pupils
39,292
2025–26 census
Good or better
94%
136 of 145 graded
Academic Performance
4.0
out of 10 · 166 schools
Ofsted ratings
- Outstanding
- 8 6%
- Good
- 128 88%
- Requires improvement
- 8 6%
- Inadequate
- 1 <1%
21 inspected since 2024, no overall grade11 superseded by a report card12 not judged2 in a category of concern
4.0
Academic PerformanceAveraged over 166 of 178 schools that can be scored
Pupils
39,292
pupils on roll
Boys 51%49% Girls
Roll from 175 of 178 schools (39,292 pupils). Independent schools report roll and sex only.
Ethnicity
White
91%Asian
2%Black
2%Mixed
2%Chinese
<1%Any other group
<1%Unclassified
2%Ethnicity from 170 of 178 schools (38,792 pupils). Independent schools report roll and sex only.
Pupil characteristics
- Free school meals
- 21.9%
- First language not English
- 6.3%
- Young carers
- <1%
8,508 of 38,792 pupils · 170 of 178 schools
2,435 of 38,792 pupils · 170 of 178 schools
143 of 38,575 pupils · 167 of 178 schools
Schools by phase
- Primary
- 145
- Secondary
- 20
- All-through
- 2
- Special
- 4
- Nursery
- 3
- PRU
- 2
- Not recorded
- 2
Top primary schools in Cumberland
The 20 highest-scoring primary schools here on Academic Performance, which combines the Ofsted judgement with DfE attainment.
- 1.Lanercost CofE Primary SchoolCumberland · Primary9.7/10Outstanding
- 2.Bookwell Primary SchoolCumberland · Primary9.6/10Outstanding
- 3.Ashfield Infant & Nursery SchoolCumberland · Primary9.4/10Outstanding
- 4.Bridekirk Dovenby CofE Primary SchoolCumberland · Primary8.9/10
- 5.Silloth Primary SchoolCumberland · Primary8.9/10Outstanding
- 6.Shankhill CofE Primary SchoolCumberland · Primary8.8/10Good
- 7.Crosby-on-Eden CofE SchoolCumberland · Primary8.6/10Good
- 8.Rockcliffe CofE SchoolCumberland · Primary8.6/10Good
- 9.Jericho Primary SchoolCumberland · Primary8.5/10Good
- 10.St Mary's Catholic Primary SchoolCumberland · Primary8.4/10
- 11.Stoneraise SchoolCumberland · Primary8.3/10Good
- 12.St James' CofE Junior SchoolCumberland · Primary7.7/10Good
- 13.Irthington Village SchoolCumberland · Primary7.6/10Good
- 14.Plumbland CofE SchoolCumberland · Primary7.4/10Good
- 15.Scotby CofE Primary SchoolCumberland · Primary7.2/10Good
- 16.Broughton Primary SchoolCumberland · Primary7.1/10Good
- 17.Fairfield Primary SchoolCumberland · Primary7.1/10Good
- 18.Brampton Primary SchoolCumberland · Primary6.9/10Good
- 19.Eaglesfield Paddle CofE Primary AcademyCumberland · Primary6.9/10Good
- 20.St Patrick's Catholic Primary SchoolCumberland · Primary6.9/10Good
Top secondary schools in Cumberland
The highest-scoring secondary schools here on Academic Performance, which combines the Ofsted judgement with DfE attainment.
- 1.Keswick SchoolCumberland · Secondary9.7/10Outstanding
- 2.Cockermouth SchoolCumberland · Secondary8.1/10Good
- 3.The Nelson Thomlinson SchoolCumberland · Secondary6.2/10Good
- 4.William Howard SchoolCumberland · Secondary5.8/10Good
- 5.Caldew SchoolCumberland · Secondary3.8/10Good
- 6.Millom SchoolCumberland · Secondary3.8/10Good
- 7.Richard Rose Central AcademyCumberland · Secondary3.4/10
- 8.Richard Rose Morton AcademyCumberland · Secondary3.3/10
- 9.Trinity SchoolCumberland · Secondary2.8/10
- 10.West Lakes AcademyCumberland · Secondary2.7/10
- 11.St John Henry Newman Catholic SchoolCumberland · Secondary2.6/10Good
- 12.St Benedict's Catholic High SchoolCumberland · Secondary2.5/10Good
- 13.Workington AcademyCumberland · Secondary2.5/10Good
- 14.Netherhall SchoolCumberland · Secondary2.2/10
- 15.The Whitehaven AcademyCumberland · Secondary2.2/10Good
- 16.Solway Community SchoolCumberland · Secondary1.5/10
- 17.Beacon Hill Community SchoolCumberland · Secondary1.2/10
- 18.Energy Coast UTCCumberland · Secondary1.1/10Good
- 19.St Josephs Catholic High School, WorkingtonCumberland · Secondary0.2/10Requires improvement
Browse all 178 schools in Cumberland — filter by phase or Ofsted rating.
About schools in Cumberland
- How many schools are there in Cumberland?
- Cumberland has 178 open schools — 145 primary, 20 secondary, 4 special, 3 nursery, teaching 39,292 pupils in total.
- How many schools in Cumberland are rated Good or Outstanding?
- 136 of the 145 schools holding an Ofsted grade — 94% — are rated Good or Outstanding, including 8 rated Outstanding. That share is measured against graded schools, not all 178: a school inspected since September 2024 has no overall grade at all.
- What is the average Academic Performance in Cumberland?
- 4.0 out of 10, averaged across the 166 schools here that can be scored, where 5 is the national average. Academic Performance combines the Ofsted judgement with DfE attainment and is ranked against comparable schools, so it is neither figure on its own.
- Why do some Cumberland schools have no Ofsted rating?
- 33 schools in Cumberland currently hold no overall grade. Ofsted stopped awarding single-word judgements in September 2024 and moved to a report card of separately graded areas, so schools inspected since then have no overall rating whatever the inspection found. Their profiles show the report card instead.
- What does Cumberland local authority do?
- A local authority is the body responsible for state education in its area — the level most admissions and school-place decisions are made at. Cumberland covers 178 schools and sits in the North West region. It does not run academies or independent schools directly, though it still coordinates admissions for most of them.
- How many pupils in Cumberland are eligible for free school meals?
- 21.9% — 8,508 of 38,792 pupils at the 170 schools that report it. Independent schools file a return with roll and sex only, so they are outside this figure rather than counted as zero.
Part of the North West region.