Robert Ferguson Primary School
East Dale Street, Denton Holme, Carlisle, CA2 5LA
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Community school
- Ages
- 3 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Headteacher
- Mr Graham Frost
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Constituency
- Carlisle
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 420
- Pupils on roll
- 409
- URN
- 112242
- Local authority
- Cumberland
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01228535091
About this school
Robert Ferguson Primary School is a community primary school in Carlisle. It teaches children aged 3 to 11 and has 409 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Robert Ferguson Primary School, and its latest judgement is set out 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 18 January 2023, 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 | 60 | 61 | 60 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 45% | 59% | 38% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 2% | 3% | 2% |
| Expected standard in reading | 68% | 82% | 62% |
| Expected standard in maths | 68% | 75% | 60% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 68% | 79% | 62% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 104.0 | 106.0 | 103.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 102.0 | 104.0 | 102.0 |
| Reading progress | +0.50 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -0.80 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -0.50 | - | - |
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 Robert Ferguson 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 | Cumberland average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 45% | 53% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 59% | 52.2% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 38% | 54.9% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 8.2% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 6.9% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 5.3% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 431 |
| 2023/24 | 418 |
| 2024/25 | 424 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Robert Ferguson Primary School compares
Robert Ferguson Primary School ranked 94th of 111 primary schools in Cumberland for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 10% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 52% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 38% | 5.3% | 25.3% | 409 | — |
| The Bishop Harvey Goodwin School (Church of England Voluntary Aided) | 43% | 8.2% | 51.8% | 139 | 0.6 miles |
| Caldew Lea School | 56% | 5.5% | 38.2% | 273 | 0.8 miles |
| Brook Street Primary School | 43% | 4.6% | 21.4% | 228 | 0.8 miles |
| St Margaret Mary Catholic Primary School, Carlisle | 41% | 5.3% | 32.8% | 217 | 0.9 miles |
| Newlaithes Junior School | 50% | 4.8% | 18.6% | 236 | 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)
- 25.26%
- English as an additional language
- 12%
- Overall absence
- 5.33%
- Persistent absence
- 15.1%
Location
Nearby schools
-
The Bishop Harvey Goodwin School (Church of England Voluntary Aided)0.6 miles
Primary · Carlisle
-
Caldew Lea School0.8 miles
Primary · Carlisle
-
Brook Street Primary School0.8 miles
Primary · Carlisle
-
St Margaret Mary Catholic Primary School, Carlisle0.9 miles
Primary · Carlisle
-
Newlaithes Junior School0.9 miles
Primary · Carlisle
Other schools in Carlisle
Robert Ferguson Primary School ranks 39th of the 40 ranked primary schools in Carlisle.
- Armathwaite School Primary
- Belle Vue Primary School Primary
- Bewcastle School Primary
- Blackford CofE Primary School Primary
- Brook Street Primary School Primary
- Burgh by Sands School Primary
- Caldew Lea School Primary
- Crosby-on-Eden CofE School Primary
- Cummersdale School Primary
- Cumwhinton School Primary
- Great Corby School and Nursery Primary
- Great Orton Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Robert Ferguson Primary School teach?
- Robert Ferguson Primary School teaches children aged 3 to 11. It is a primary school in Carlisle.
- Who is the headteacher of Robert Ferguson Primary School?
- The headteacher of Robert Ferguson Primary School is Mr Graham Frost, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Robert Ferguson Primary School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Robert Ferguson 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 many pupils are at Robert Ferguson Primary School?
- Robert Ferguson Primary School has 409 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 11.
- Is Robert Ferguson Primary School full?
- Robert Ferguson Primary School has capacity for 420 pupils and 409 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 Robert Ferguson Primary School a faith school?
- No. Robert Ferguson Primary School has no designated religious character.
- Does Robert Ferguson Primary School have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records Robert Ferguson Primary School as having nursery classes.
- How have Robert Ferguson Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 45% in 2022/23 and 38% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Robert Ferguson Primary School compare with other schools in Cumberland?
- Robert Ferguson Primary School ranked 94th of 111 primary schools in Cumberland for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 10% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 52% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Robert Ferguson Primary School's absence rate?
- Robert Ferguson Primary School's overall absence rate is 5.3% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Robert Ferguson Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Robert Ferguson 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.