North Lakes School
Huntley Avenue, Penrith, CA11 8NU
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Community school
- Ages
- 7 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Headteacher
- Headteacher Nicole Spibey
- SEN provision
- ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder, PD - Physical Disability, SLD - Severe Learning Difficulty, PMLD - Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulty
- Constituency
- Penrith and Solway
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 228
- Pupils on roll
- 161
- URN
- 112118
- Local authority
- Westmorland and Furness
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01768899876
About this school
North Lakes School is a community primary school in Penrith. It teaches children aged 7 to 11 and has 161 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected North Lakes School, and its latest judgement is set out below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Seeing a school for yourself shows what no page can, so arrange a visit before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Overall judgement at the last full inspection
This inspection took place under the previous framework, which gave a single overall grade. Ofsted now publishes report cards instead, so newer inspections of other schools will look different. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 50 | 55 | 54 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 46% | 29% | 39% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 4% | 2% | 0% |
| Expected standard in reading | 62% | 64% | 72% |
| Expected standard in maths | 70% | 49% | 56% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 64% | 60% | 67% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 103.0 | 102.0 | 103.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 102.0 | 101.0 | 100.0 |
| Reading progress | -1.10 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +1.20 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -1.30 | - | - |
Progress measures ended nationally after the 2022/23 school year, when the key stage 1 assessments they were based on were stopped. Blank progress figures in later years are not missing school data.
Trends over time
How North Lakes School has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Westmorland and Furness average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 46% | 60.6% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 29% | 57% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 39% | 56.5% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 5.2% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 6.4% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 6.4% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 198 |
| 2023/24 | 194 |
| 2024/25 | 178 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How North Lakes School compares
North Lakes School ranked 79th of 98 primary schools in Westmorland and Furness for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 11% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 33% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 39% | 6.4% | 32.6% | 161 | — |
| Brunswick School | — | 6.3% | 23.6% | 140 | 0.7 miles |
| St Catherine's Catholic Primary School, Penrith | 39% | 4.6% | 16.7% | 104 | 0.8 miles |
| Beaconside CofE Primary School | 51% | 4.7% | 19.5% | 445 | 0.8 miles |
| Yanwath Primary School | 100% | 3.4% | 9.7% | 166 | 1.2 miles |
| Clifton Primary School | 64% | 3.4% | 6.2% | 76 | 2.0 miles |
Results reflect each school's cohort as much as its teaching, and free school meals share is context, not a judgement. Small gaps between neighbouring schools are rarely meaningful on their own.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 32.58%
- English as an additional language
- 16.9%
- Overall absence
- 6.35%
- Persistent absence
- 14.29%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Brunswick School0.7 miles
Primary · Penrith
-
St Catherine's Catholic Primary School, Penrith0.8 miles
Primary · Penrith
-
Beaconside CofE Primary School0.8 miles
Primary · Penrith
-
Yanwath Primary School1.2 miles
Primary · Penrith
-
Clifton Primary School2.0 miles
Primary · Penrith
Other schools in Penrith
North Lakes School ranks 14th of the 18 ranked primary schools in Penrith.
- Beaconside CofE Primary School Primary
- Brunswick School Primary
- Calthwaite CofE School Primary
- Clifton Primary School Primary
- Crosby Ravensworth CofE School Primary
- Culgaith CofE School Primary
- Greystoke Primary School Primary
- Kirkby Thore School Primary
- Kirkoswald CofE School Primary
- Langwathby CofE Primary School Primary
- Lazonby C of E Primary School Primary
- Lowther Endowed School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does North Lakes School teach?
- North Lakes School teaches children aged 7 to 11. It is a primary school in Penrith.
- Who is the headteacher of North Lakes School?
- The headteacher of North Lakes School is Headteacher Nicole Spibey, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has North Lakes School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected North Lakes School, and its latest judgement is set out in the inspection section on this page, with the framework and the date it was made.
- How many pupils are at North Lakes School?
- North Lakes School has 161 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 7 to 11.
- Is North Lakes School full?
- North Lakes School has capacity for 228 pupils and 161 on roll (71%), so it has space against its published capacity. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is North Lakes School a faith school?
- No. North Lakes School has no designated religious character.
- Does North Lakes School have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records North Lakes School as having no nursery classes.
- What SEN provision does North Lakes School have?
- The schools register lists North Lakes School's special educational needs provision as: ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder; PD - Physical Disability; SLD - Severe Learning Difficulty; PMLD - Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulty. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have North Lakes School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 46% in 2022/23 and 39% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does North Lakes School compare with other schools in Westmorland and Furness?
- North Lakes School ranked 79th of 98 primary schools in Westmorland and Furness for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 11% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 33% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is North Lakes School's absence rate?
- North Lakes School's overall absence rate is 6.4% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are North Lakes School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, North Lakes School's key stage results are shown in the results section on this page, with the last three years so you can see the trend rather than a single year.
School details come from the Department for Education's Get Information About Schools register. Inspection outcomes come from Ofsted, and exam results from the Department for Education's school performance service. This page was last updated on 29 June 2026.