Dowdales School
Dalton-in-Furness, LA15 8AH
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Community school
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Headteacher
- Ms Emma Aubrey
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Constituency
- Barrow and Furness
- Setting
- Larger rural: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,050
- Pupils on roll
- 877
- URN
- 112383
- Local authority
- Westmorland and Furness
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01229469800
About this school
Dowdales School is a community secondary school in Dalton-in-Furness. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 877 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
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 5 February 2025, where inspectors found that standards have been maintained. 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 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 178 | 180 | 150 |
| Attainment 8 score | 43.6 | 44.1 | 41.8 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.40 -0.61 to -0.19 | -0.29 -0.50 to -0.08 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 29% | 35.6% | 26% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 62% | 58.9% | 52% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 11% | 17.8% | 20% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.7 | 3.7 | 3.4 |
Progress 8 is paused nationally for the 2024/25 and 2025/26 school years. Those pupils sat no key stage 2 tests during the Covid pandemic, so there is no starting point to measure progress from. A blank figure here is not missing school data.
Trends over time
How Dowdales 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 | 43.6 | 37.9 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 44.1 | 40 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 41.8 | 41.9 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 9.5% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 10.1% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 9.5% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 797 |
| 2023/24 | 792 |
| 2024/25 | 827 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Dowdales School compares
Dowdales School ranked 14th of 20 secondary schools in Westmorland and Furness for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 45% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 10% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 41.8 | 9.5% | 21.2% | 877 | — |
| St Bernards Catholic High School, Barrow | 34.6 | 9.8% | 29.1% | 624 | 2.1 miles |
| Furness Academy | 42.4 | 9.3% | 29.9% | 1,187 | 3.1 miles |
| Ulverston Victoria High School | 46.8 | 9.4% | 14.3% | 1,319 | 4.2 miles |
| Walney School | 38.7 | 9.3% | 25.9% | 468 | 4.8 miles |
| Millom School | 44.9 | 8.2% | 22.7% | 476 | 5.1 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)
- 21.16%
- English as an additional language
- 2.9%
- Overall absence
- 9.45%
- Persistent absence
- 26.9%
Location
Nearby schools
-
St Bernards Catholic High School, Barrow2.1 miles
Secondary · Barrow-in-Furness
-
Furness Academy3.1 miles
Secondary · Barrow-in-Furness
-
Ulverston Victoria High School4.2 miles
Secondary · Ulverston
-
Walney School4.8 miles
Secondary · Barrow-in-Furness
-
Millom School5.1 miles
Secondary · Millom
Other schools in Dalton-in-Furness
Common questions
- What year groups does Dowdales School teach?
- Dowdales School teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in Dalton-in-Furness.
- Who is the headteacher of Dowdales School?
- The headteacher of Dowdales School is Ms Emma Aubrey, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Dowdales School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Dowdales 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 Dowdales School?
- Dowdales School has 877 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is Dowdales School full?
- Dowdales School has capacity for 1,050 pupils and 877 on roll (84%), 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 Dowdales School a faith school?
- No. Dowdales School has no designated religious character.
- Is Dowdales School a selective school?
- No. Dowdales School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- How have Dowdales School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 43.6 in 2022/23 and 41.8 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Dowdales School rank locally?
- Dowdales School ranked 14th of 20 secondary schools in Westmorland and Furness for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 45% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 10% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Dowdales School's absence rate?
- Dowdales School's overall absence rate is 9.5% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Dowdales School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Dowdales 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.