Plumpton School
Plumpton, Penrith, CA11 9PA
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Community school
- Ages
- 3 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Headteacher
- Mrs Sarah Penny
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Constituency
- Penrith and Solway
- Setting
- Smaller rural: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 105
- Pupils on roll
- 102
- URN
- 112120
- Local authority
- Westmorland and Furness
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01768894247
About this school
Plumpton School is a community primary school in Penrith. It teaches children aged 3 to 11 and has 102 pupils on roll.
You can read Ofsted's latest judgement for the school below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Numbers and a report only go so far, so visit in person before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Ofsted no longer gives schools a single overall grade. Each area of the school's work is graded on a five-point scale, and safeguarding is judged separately.
- Inclusion
- Expected standard
- Curriculum and teaching
- Needs attention
- Achievement
- Needs attention
- Attendance and behaviour
- Expected standard
- Personal development and wellbeing
- Expected standard
- Leadership and governance
- Needs attention
- Early years
- Needs attention
- Safeguarding
- Met
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 15 | 8 | 11 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 47% | 50% | 45% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 13% | 9% |
| Expected standard in reading | 67% | 75% | 64% |
| Expected standard in maths | 53% | 50% | 64% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 73% | 63% | 73% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 103.0 | 106.0 | 101.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 101.0 | 102.0 | 101.0 |
| Reading progress | +0.40 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +2.00 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -2.90 | - | - |
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 Plumpton 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 | 47% | 60.6% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 50% | 57% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 45% | 56.5% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 6.3% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 4.8% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 3.7% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 102 |
| 2023/24 | 98 |
| 2024/25 | 101 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Plumpton School compares
Plumpton School ranked 75th of 98 primary schools in Westmorland and Furness for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 16% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 89% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 45% | 3.7% | 6.7% | 102 | — |
| Calthwaite CofE School | 57% | 3.1% | 9.5% | 69 | 2.7 miles |
| Lazonby C of E Primary School | 0% | 3.7% | 8% | 112 | 3.7 miles |
| Skelton School | 89% | 3% | 7.2% | 87 | 4.0 miles |
| St Catherine's Catholic Primary School, Penrith | 39% | 4.6% | 16.7% | 104 | 4.2 miles |
| Brunswick School | — | 6.3% | 23.6% | 140 | 4.4 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.
Inspection history
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 6.67%
- English as an additional language
- 2%
- Overall absence
- 3.7%
- Persistent absence
- 6.17%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Calthwaite CofE School2.7 miles
Primary · Penrith
-
Lazonby C of E Primary School3.7 miles
Primary · Penrith
-
Skelton School4.0 miles
Primary · Penrith
-
St Catherine's Catholic Primary School, Penrith4.2 miles
Primary · Penrith
-
Brunswick School4.4 miles
Primary · Penrith
Other schools in Penrith
Plumpton School ranks 13th 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 year groups does Plumpton School teach?
- Plumpton School teaches children aged 3 to 11. It is a primary school in Penrith.
- Who is the headteacher of Plumpton School?
- The headteacher of Plumpton School is Mrs Sarah Penny, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Plumpton School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Plumpton 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 big is Plumpton School?
- Plumpton School has 102 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 11.
- Is Plumpton School full?
- Plumpton School has capacity for 105 pupils and 102 on roll (97%), so it is close to full. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is Plumpton School a faith school?
- No. Plumpton School has no designated religious character.
- Does Plumpton School have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records Plumpton School as having nursery classes.
- How have Plumpton School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 47% in 2022/23 and 45% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Plumpton School rank locally?
- Plumpton School ranked 75th of 98 primary schools in Westmorland and Furness for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 16% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 89% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Plumpton School's absence rate?
- Plumpton School's overall absence rate is 3.7% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Plumpton School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Plumpton 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.