Heron Hill Primary School
Hayfell Avenue, Kendal, LA9 7JH
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Community school
- Ages
- 3 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Headteacher
- Mrs Lucy Middleton
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Constituency
- Westmorland and Lonsdale
- Setting
- Urban: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 420
- Pupils on roll
- 419
- URN
- 112190
- Local authority
- Westmorland and Furness
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01539721276
About this school
Heron Hill Primary School is a community primary school in Kendal. It teaches children aged 3 to 11 and has 419 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
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 5 October 2022, where inspectors confirmed the school remains Good. The school's last full inspection took place before September 2019, so its area grades are not part of Ofsted's current published data. Older reports are on the school's Ofsted page.
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 46 | 62 | 54 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 65% | 55% | 69% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 15% | 3% | 6% |
| Expected standard in reading | 78% | 79% | 93% |
| Expected standard in maths | 89% | 74% | 85% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 83% | 77% | 89% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 105.0 | 105.0 | 109.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 107.0 | 104.0 | 107.0 |
| Reading progress | -1.40 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -0.30 | - | - |
| 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 Heron Hill Primary 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 | 65% | 60.6% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 55% | 57% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 69% | 56.5% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 5% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 4.7% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 3.6% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 441 |
| 2023/24 | 448 |
| 2024/25 | 424 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Heron Hill Primary School compares
Heron Hill Primary School ranked 31st of 98 primary schools in Westmorland and Furness for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 63% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 91% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 69% | 3.6% | 7.9% | 419 | — |
| Dean Gibson Catholic Primary School, Kendal | 75% | 4.2% | 6.3% | 134 | 0.6 miles |
| Vicarage Park CofE Primary School | — | 5.8% | 16.5% | 109 | 0.6 miles |
| Ghyllside Primary School | 78% | 3.7% | 14.7% | 424 | 0.8 miles |
| Castle Park School | 66% | 4.8% | 8.7% | 326 | 0.9 miles |
| Stramongate Primary School | 73% | 4.7% | 23.4% | 237 | 0.9 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)
- 7.87%
- English as an additional language
- 6.6%
- Overall absence
- 3.62%
- Persistent absence
- 6.16%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Dean Gibson Catholic Primary School, Kendal0.6 miles
Primary · Kendal
-
Vicarage Park CofE Primary School0.6 miles
Primary · Kendal
-
Ghyllside Primary School0.8 miles
Primary · Kendal
-
Castle Park School0.9 miles
Primary · Kendal
-
Stramongate Primary School0.9 miles
Primary · Kendal
Other schools in Kendal
Heron Hill Primary School ranks 6th of the 13 ranked primary schools in Kendal.
- Castle Park School Primary
- Crosscrake CofE Primary School Primary
- Crosthwaite CofE School Primary
- Dean Gibson Catholic Primary School, Kendal Primary
- Ghyllside Primary School Primary
- Grayrigg CofE School Primary
- Levens CofE School Primary
- Old Hutton CofE School Primary
- Selside Endowed CofE Primary School Primary
- St Oswald's CofE Primary School Primary
- St Patrick's CofE School Primary
- St Thomas's CofE Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does Heron Hill Primary School teach?
- Heron Hill Primary School teaches children aged 3 to 11. It is a primary school in Kendal.
- Who is the headteacher of Heron Hill Primary School?
- The headteacher of Heron Hill Primary School is Mrs Lucy Middleton, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Heron Hill Primary School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Heron Hill Primary 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 Heron Hill Primary School?
- Heron Hill Primary School has 419 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 11.
- Is Heron Hill Primary School full?
- Heron Hill Primary School has capacity for 420 pupils and 419 on roll (100%), so it is at or above 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 Heron Hill Primary School a faith school?
- No. Heron Hill Primary School has no designated religious character.
- Does Heron Hill Primary School have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records Heron Hill Primary School as having nursery classes.
- How have Heron Hill Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 65% in 2022/23 and 69% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Heron Hill Primary School rank locally?
- Heron Hill Primary School ranked 31st of 98 primary schools in Westmorland and Furness for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 63% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 91% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Heron Hill Primary School's absence rate?
- Heron Hill Primary School's overall absence rate is 3.6% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Heron Hill Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Heron Hill Primary 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.