St James' CofE Junior School
Wellington Row, Whitehaven, CA28 7HG
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Voluntary controlled school
- Ages
- 7 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Church of England
- Headteacher
- Mrs Alex Moore
- Diocese
- Diocese of Carlisle
- Constituency
- Whitehaven and Workington
- Setting
- Urban: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 180
- Pupils on roll
- 156
- URN
- 112298
- Local authority
- Cumberland
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01946695311
About this school
St James' CofE Junior School is a Church of England voluntary controlled primary school in Whitehaven. It teaches children aged 7 to 11 and has 156 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 27 April 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 | 42 | 40 | 39 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 79% | 75% | 74% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 14% | 10% | 13% |
| Expected standard in reading | 81% | 83% | 82% |
| Expected standard in maths | 86% | 95% | 85% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 83% | 93% | 87% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 107.0 | 105.0 | 107.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 107.0 | 107.0 | 108.0 |
| Reading progress | +1.50 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +0.60 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +2.20 | - | - |
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 St James' CofE 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 | 79% | 53% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 75% | 52.2% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 74% | 54.9% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 3.6% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 3.7% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 3% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 160 |
| 2023/24 | 159 |
| 2024/25 | 155 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St James' CofE Junior School compares
St James' CofE Junior School ranked 22nd of 111 primary schools in Cumberland for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 76% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 98% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 74% | 3% | 15.5% | 156 | — |
| St James' CofE Infant and Nursery School | — | 3.8% | 13.3% | 133 | 0.1 miles |
| Bransty Primary School | 44% | 5.2% | 22.3% | 205 | 0.5 miles |
| St Begh's Catholic Junior School | 47% | 6.1% | 38.7% | 240 | 0.6 miles |
| Jericho Primary School | 89% | 4.3% | 11.3% | 363 | 0.9 miles |
| Monkwray Junior School | 41% | 5.2% | 39.7% | 109 | 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)
- 15.48%
- English as an additional language
- 3.2%
- Overall absence
- 3.01%
- Persistent absence
- 4.38%
Location
Nearby schools
-
St James' CofE Infant and Nursery School0.1 miles
Primary · Whitehaven
-
Bransty Primary School0.5 miles
Primary · Whitehaven
-
St Begh's Catholic Junior School0.6 miles
Primary · Whitehaven
-
Jericho Primary School0.9 miles
Primary · Whitehaven
-
Monkwray Junior School0.9 miles
Primary · Whitehaven
Other schools in Whitehaven
St James' CofE Junior School ranks 4th 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 Bridget's CofE School Primary
- St Gregory and St Patrick's Catholic Infant School Primary
- St James' CofE Infant and Nursery School Primary
- St Mary's Catholic Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does St James' CofE Junior School teach?
- St James' CofE Junior School teaches children aged 7 to 11. It is a primary school in Whitehaven.
- Who is the headteacher of St James' CofE Junior School?
- The headteacher of St James' CofE Junior School is Mrs Alex Moore, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was St James' CofE Junior School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St James' CofE 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 big is St James' CofE Junior School?
- St James' CofE Junior School has 156 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 7 to 11.
- Is St James' CofE Junior School full?
- St James' CofE Junior School has capacity for 180 pupils and 156 on roll (87%), 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 James' CofE Junior School a faith school?
- Yes. St James' CofE Junior School is designated Church of England, in the Diocese of Carlisle.
- Does St James' CofE Junior School have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records St James' CofE Junior School as having no nursery classes.
- How have St James' CofE Junior School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 79% in 2022/23 and 74% 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 James' CofE Junior School rank locally?
- St James' CofE Junior School ranked 22nd of 111 primary schools in Cumberland for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 76% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 98% 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 James' CofE Junior School's absence rate?
- St James' CofE Junior School's overall absence rate is 3% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are St James' CofE Junior School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St James' CofE 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.