Houghton CofE School
Jackson Road, Houghton, Carlisle, CA3 0PA
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Voluntary controlled school
- Ages
- 4 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Church of England
- Headteacher
- Mr Stephen Johnston
- Diocese
- Diocese of Carlisle
- Constituency
- Carlisle
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 210
- Pupils on roll
- 179
- URN
- 112250
- Local authority
- Cumberland
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01228593992
About this school
Houghton CofE School is a Church of England voluntary controlled primary school in Carlisle. It teaches children aged 4 to 11 and has 179 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. Seeing a school for yourself shows what no page can, so arrange a visit 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
- Expected standard
- Achievement
- Needs attention
- Attendance and behaviour
- Expected standard
- Personal development and wellbeing
- Expected standard
- Leadership and governance
- Expected standard
- Early years
- Expected standard
- 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 | 23 | 29 | 28 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 65% | 62% | 68% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 9% | 7% | 11% |
| Expected standard in reading | 65% | 72% | 75% |
| Expected standard in maths | 70% | 72% | 71% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 57% | 62% | 64% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 107.0 | 107.0 | 106.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 107.0 | 105.0 | 102.0 |
| Reading progress | -2.90 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -0.10 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -1.50 | - | - |
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 Houghton CofE 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 | 65% | 53% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 62% | 52.2% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 68% | 54.9% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 7.5% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 7.8% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 5.7% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 193 |
| 2023/24 | 196 |
| 2024/25 | 183 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Houghton CofE School compares
Houghton CofE School ranked 31st of 111 primary schools in Cumberland for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 61% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 45% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 68% | 5.7% | 6.6% | 179 | — |
| Kingmoor Junior School | 60% | 4.6% | 17% | 316 | 1.2 miles |
| Kingmoor Nursery and Infant School | — | 4.7% | 8.9% | 312 | 1.2 miles |
| Stanwix School | 55% | 4.7% | 9.8% | 367 | 1.4 miles |
| Blackford CofE Primary School | 13% | 5.8% | 16% | 60 | 2.2 miles |
| Norman Street Primary School | 59% | 5.6% | 20.3% | 322 | 2.3 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)
- 6.56%
- English as an additional language
- 0.5%
- Overall absence
- 5.68%
- Persistent absence
- 13.58%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Kingmoor Junior School1.2 miles
Primary · Carlisle
-
Kingmoor Nursery and Infant School1.2 miles
Primary · Carlisle
-
Stanwix School1.4 miles
Primary · Carlisle
-
Blackford CofE Primary School2.2 miles
Primary · Carlisle
-
Norman Street Primary School2.3 miles
Primary · Carlisle
Other schools in Carlisle
Houghton CofE School ranks 13th 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 year groups does Houghton CofE School teach?
- Houghton CofE School teaches children aged 4 to 11. It is a primary school in Carlisle.
- Who is the headteacher of Houghton CofE School?
- The headteacher of Houghton CofE School is Mr Stephen Johnston, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Houghton CofE School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Houghton CofE 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 Houghton CofE School?
- Houghton CofE School has 179 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 11.
- Is Houghton CofE School full?
- Houghton CofE School has capacity for 210 pupils and 179 on roll (85%), 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 Houghton CofE School a faith school?
- Yes. Houghton CofE School is designated Church of England, in the Diocese of Carlisle.
- Does Houghton CofE School have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records Houghton CofE School as having no nursery classes.
- How have Houghton CofE 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 68% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Houghton CofE School rank locally?
- Houghton CofE School ranked 31st of 111 primary schools in Cumberland for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 61% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 45% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Houghton CofE School's absence rate?
- Houghton CofE School's overall absence rate is 5.7% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Houghton CofE School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Houghton CofE 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 15 July 2026.