Black Combe Junior School
Moor Road, Millom, LA18 5DT
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Community school
- Ages
- 7 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Headteacher
- Mrs Catherine Dennison
- Constituency
- Barrow and Furness
- Setting
- Larger rural: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 136
- Pupils on roll
- 89
- URN
- 112160
- Local authority
- Cumberland
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01229772862
About this school
Black Combe Junior School is a community primary school in Millom. It teaches children aged 7 to 11 and has 89 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Black Combe Junior 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
- Requires improvement
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Requires improvement
- 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 | 26 | 43 | 18 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 19% | 49% | 50% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 2% | 0% |
| Expected standard in reading | 65% | 65% | 78% |
| Expected standard in maths | 27% | 74% | 89% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 58% | 65% | 78% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 100.0 | 102.0 | 104.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 97.0 | 102.0 | 107.0 |
| Reading progress | -2.10 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +0.90 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -4.20 | - | - |
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 Black Combe Junior 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 | Cumberland average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 19% | 53% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 49% | 52.2% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 50% | 54.9% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 7.4% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 5.7% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 6.9% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 111 |
| 2023/24 | 112 |
| 2024/25 | 85 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Black Combe Junior School compares
Black Combe Junior School ranked 69th of 111 primary schools in Cumberland for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 21% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 27% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 50% | 6.9% | 32.9% | 89 | — |
| Millom Infant School | — | 6.5% | 38.6% | 50 | 0.5 miles |
| St James' Catholic Primary School | 64% | 5.3% | 20.9% | 186 | 0.6 miles |
| Haverigg Primary School | 50% | 3.7% | 7.4% | 177 | 0.9 miles |
| Askam Village School | 26% | 4.5% | 10.5% | 187 | 3.4 miles |
| Thwaites School | 29% | 3.8% | 34.5% | 28 | 3.5 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)
- 32.94%
- English as an additional language
- 0%
- Overall absence
- 6.87%
- Persistent absence
- 17.98%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Millom Infant School0.5 miles
Primary · Millom
-
St James' Catholic Primary School0.6 miles
Primary · millom
-
Haverigg Primary School0.9 miles
Primary · Millom
-
Askam Village School3.4 miles
Primary · Askam-in-furness
-
Thwaites School3.5 miles
Primary · Millom
Other schools in Millom
Black Combe Junior School ranks 2nd of the 5 ranked primary schools in Millom.
- Captain Shaw's CofE School Primary
- Haverigg Primary School Primary
- Millom Infant School Primary
- Millom Infant School Primary
- St James' Catholic Primary School Primary
- Thwaites School Primary
- Waberthwaite CofE School Primary
- Parkview Nursery School Nursery
- Millom School Secondary
Common questions
- What ages does Black Combe Junior School teach?
- Black Combe Junior School teaches children aged 7 to 11. It is a primary school in Millom.
- Who is the headteacher of Black Combe Junior School?
- The headteacher of Black Combe Junior School is Mrs Catherine Dennison, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Black Combe Junior School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Black Combe Junior 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 Black Combe Junior School?
- Black Combe Junior School has 89 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 7 to 11.
- Is Black Combe Junior School full?
- Black Combe Junior School has capacity for 136 pupils and 89 on roll (65%), 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 Black Combe Junior School a faith school?
- No. Black Combe Junior School has no designated religious character.
- Does Black Combe Junior School have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records Black Combe Junior School as having no nursery classes.
- How have Black Combe Junior School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 19% in 2022/23 and 50% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Black Combe Junior School compare with other schools in Cumberland?
- Black Combe Junior School ranked 69th of 111 primary schools in Cumberland for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 21% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 27% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Black Combe Junior School's absence rate?
- Black Combe Junior School's overall absence rate is 6.9% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Black Combe Junior School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Black Combe Junior 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.