St Thomas's CofE Primary School
Kendal Green, Kendal, LA9 5PP
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Voluntary aided school
- Ages
- 3 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Church of England
- Headteacher
- Mrs Sarah Cunliffe
- Diocese
- Diocese of Carlisle
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Constituency
- Westmorland and Lonsdale
- Setting
- Urban: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 218
- Pupils on roll
- 239
- URN
- 112322
- Local authority
- Westmorland and Furness
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01539737373
About this school
St Thomas's CofE Primary School is a Church of England voluntary aided primary school in Kendal. It teaches children aged 3 to 11 and has 239 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 did not give an overall grade. Between September 2024 and September 2025 inspections graded each area of a school's work without a single overall judgement, ahead of the move to report cards. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Outstanding
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Early years
- Outstanding
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 29 | 23 | 31 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 62% | 74% | 48% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 7% | 17% | 0% |
| Expected standard in reading | 79% | 91% | 65% |
| Expected standard in maths | 72% | 83% | 77% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 72% | 83% | 71% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 105.0 | 109.0 | 105.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 102.0 | 103.0 | 106.0 |
| Reading progress | -1.40 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +0.50 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -1.70 | - | - |
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 Thomas's CofE 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 | 62% | 60.6% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 74% | 57% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 48% | 56.5% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 6% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 5.3% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 4.8% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 227 |
| 2023/24 | 222 |
| 2024/25 | 242 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St Thomas's CofE Primary School compares
St Thomas's CofE Primary School ranked 72nd of 98 primary schools in Westmorland and Furness for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 19% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 64% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 48% | 4.8% | 23.9% | 239 | — |
| Stramongate Primary School | 73% | 4.7% | 23.4% | 237 | 0.6 miles |
| Ghyllside Primary School | 78% | 3.7% | 14.7% | 424 | 1.0 miles |
| St Oswald's CofE Primary School | 44% | 5.7% | 17.1% | 88 | 1.1 miles |
| Castle Park School | 66% | 4.8% | 8.7% | 326 | 1.3 miles |
| Vicarage Park CofE Primary School | — | 5.8% | 16.5% | 109 | 1.4 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)
- 23.94%
- English as an additional language
- 8.3%
- Overall absence
- 4.81%
- Persistent absence
- 9.78%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Stramongate Primary School0.6 miles
Primary · Kendal
-
Ghyllside Primary School1.0 miles
Primary · Kendal
-
St Oswald's CofE Primary School1.1 miles
Primary · Kendal
-
Castle Park School1.3 miles
Primary · Kendal
-
Vicarage Park CofE Primary School1.4 miles
Primary · Kendal
Other schools in Kendal
St Thomas's CofE Primary School ranks 11th 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
- Heron Hill Primary 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
Common questions
- What year groups does St Thomas's CofE Primary School teach?
- St Thomas's CofE Primary School teaches children aged 3 to 11. It is a primary school in Kendal.
- Who is the headteacher of St Thomas's CofE Primary School?
- The headteacher of St Thomas's CofE Primary School is Mrs Sarah Cunliffe, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was St Thomas's CofE Primary School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St Thomas's CofE 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 St Thomas's CofE Primary School?
- St Thomas's CofE Primary School has 239 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 11.
- Is St Thomas's CofE Primary School full?
- St Thomas's CofE Primary School has capacity for 218 pupils and 239 on roll (110%), 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 St Thomas's CofE Primary School a faith school?
- Yes. St Thomas's CofE Primary School is designated Church of England, in the Diocese of Carlisle.
- Does St Thomas's CofE Primary School have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records St Thomas's CofE Primary School as having nursery classes.
- How have St Thomas's CofE Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 62% in 2022/23 and 48% 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 Thomas's CofE Primary School rank locally?
- St Thomas's CofE Primary School ranked 72nd of 98 primary schools in Westmorland and Furness for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 19% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 64% 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 Thomas's CofE Primary School's absence rate?
- St Thomas's CofE Primary 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 Thomas's CofE Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St Thomas's CofE 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.