St Bridget's CofE School
Main Street, Parton, Whitehaven, CA28 6NY
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Voluntary controlled school
- Ages
- 3 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Church of England
- Headteacher
- Mrs Ruth Colley
- Diocese
- Diocese of Carlisle
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Constituency
- Whitehaven and Workington
- Setting
- Smaller rural: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 99
- Pupils on roll
- 66
- URN
- 112296
- Local authority
- Cumberland
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01946592940
About this school
St Bridget's CofE School is a Church of England voluntary controlled primary school in Whitehaven. It teaches children aged 3 to 11 and has 66 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected St Bridget's CofE 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
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
- Expected standard
- Attendance and behaviour
- Expected standard
- Personal development and wellbeing
- Expected standard
- Leadership and governance
- Expected standard
- Early years
- Strong 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 | 13 | 8 | 11 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 46% | 75% | 36% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 8% | 0% | 9% |
| Expected standard in reading | 69% | 88% | 36% |
| Expected standard in maths | 77% | 88% | 36% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 69% | 88% | 45% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 104.0 | 104.0 | 97.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 102.0 | 101.0 | 97.0 |
| Reading progress | +2.40 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +4.00 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +2.00 | - | - |
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 St Bridget's 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 | 46% | 53% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 75% | 52.2% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 36% | 54.9% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 6.5% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 5.8% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 4.8% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 70 |
| 2023/24 | 74 |
| 2024/25 | 77 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St Bridget's CofE School compares
St Bridget's CofE School ranked 98th of 111 primary schools in Cumberland for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 9% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 66% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 36% | 4.8% | 29.4% | 66 | — |
| Bransty Primary School | 44% | 5.2% | 22.3% | 205 | 0.7 miles |
| Lowca Community School | 50% | 4.1% | 34% | 51 | 1.0 miles |
| Moresby Primary School | 80% | 2.8% | 8.7% | 122 | 1.1 miles |
| St James' CofE Junior School | 74% | 3% | 15.5% | 156 | 1.3 miles |
| St James' CofE Infant and Nursery School | — | 3.8% | 13.3% | 133 | 1.3 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)
- 29.41%
- English as an additional language
- 3.9%
- Overall absence
- 4.76%
- Persistent absence
- 11.76%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Bransty Primary School0.7 miles
Primary · Whitehaven
-
Lowca Community School1.0 miles
Primary · Whitehaven
-
Moresby Primary School1.1 miles
Primary · Whitehaven
-
St James' CofE Junior School1.3 miles
Primary · Whitehaven
-
St James' CofE Infant and Nursery School1.3 miles
Primary · Whitehaven
Other schools in Whitehaven
St Bridget's CofE School ranks 10th of the 11 ranked primary schools in Whitehaven.
- Bransty Primary School Primary
- Hensingham Primary School Primary
- Jericho Primary School Primary
- Kells Infant School Primary
- Lowca Community School Primary
- Monkwray Junior School Primary
- Moresby Primary School Primary
- St Begh's Catholic Junior School Primary
- St Gregory and St Patrick's Catholic Infant School Primary
- St James' CofE Infant and Nursery School Primary
- St James' CofE Junior School Primary
- St Mary's Catholic Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does St Bridget's CofE School teach?
- St Bridget's CofE School teaches children aged 3 to 11. It is a primary school in Whitehaven.
- Who is the headteacher of St Bridget's CofE School?
- The headteacher of St Bridget's CofE School is Mrs Ruth Colley, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has St Bridget's CofE School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St Bridget's 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 many pupils are at St Bridget's CofE School?
- St Bridget's CofE School has 66 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 11.
- Is St Bridget's CofE School full?
- St Bridget's CofE School has capacity for 99 pupils and 66 on roll (67%), 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 St Bridget's CofE School a faith school?
- Yes. St Bridget's CofE School is designated Church of England, in the Diocese of Carlisle.
- Does St Bridget's CofE School have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records St Bridget's CofE School as having nursery classes.
- How have St Bridget's CofE School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 46% in 2022/23 and 36% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does St Bridget's CofE School compare with other schools in Cumberland?
- St Bridget's CofE School ranked 98th of 111 primary schools in Cumberland for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 9% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 66% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is St Bridget's CofE School's absence rate?
- St Bridget's CofE School's overall absence rate is 4.8% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are St Bridget's CofE School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St Bridget's 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.