John Ruskin School
Lake Road, Coniston, LA21 8EW
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Community school
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Head teacher
- Mr Peter Blackburn
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Federation
- The Fells Federation
- Constituency
- Westmorland and Lonsdale
- Setting
- Smaller rural: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 230
- Pupils on roll
- 247
- URN
- 112384
- Local authority
- Westmorland and Furness
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01539441306
About this school
John Ruskin School is a community secondary school in Coniston. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 247 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected John Ruskin 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
Overall judgement at the last full inspection
This inspection took place under the previous framework, which gave a single overall grade. Ofsted now publishes report cards instead, so newer inspections of other schools will look different. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Safeguarding
- Effective
A short monitoring inspection followed on : inspectors found the school has improved significantly.
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 45 | 49 | 48 |
| Attainment 8 score | 51.6 | 48.4 | 52.9 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.42 0.00 to +0.83 | +0.50 +0.10 to +0.90 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 31% | 30.6% | 50% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 78% | 63.3% | 75% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 20% | 26.5% | 25% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.4 | 4.2 | 4.7 |
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 John Ruskin 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 | 51.6 | 37.9 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 48.4 | 40 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 52.9 | 41.9 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 7.2% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 6.9% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 5.7% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 241 |
| 2023/24 | 244 |
| 2024/25 | 242 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How John Ruskin School compares
John Ruskin School ranked 3rd of 20 secondary schools in Westmorland and Furness for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 83% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 43% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 52.9 | 5.7% | 12% | 247 | — |
| The Lakes School | 46.8 | 7.6% | 14.1% | 445 | 6.4 miles |
| Coniston CofE Primary School | — | 5.2% | 20.3% | 67 | 0.3 miles |
| Hawkshead Esthwaite Primary School | — | 2.9% | 9.1% | 30 | 3.1 miles |
| Langdale CofE School | — | 8.9% | 28% | 31 | 5.1 miles |
| Windermere School | 25.4 | — | 0% | 226 | 5.8 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
-
Ungraded inspection report26 March 2025
- 15 October 2019
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 11.98%
- English as an additional language
- 1.2%
- Overall absence
- 5.73%
- Persistent absence
- 12.65%
Location
Nearby schools
-
The Lakes School6.4 miles
Secondary · Windermere
-
Coniston CofE Primary School0.3 miles
Primary · Coniston
-
Hawkshead Esthwaite Primary School3.1 miles
Primary · Hawkshead
-
Langdale CofE School5.1 miles
Primary · Ambleside
-
Windermere School5.8 miles
Independent schools · The Lake District
Other schools in Coniston
- Coniston CofE Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does John Ruskin School teach?
- John Ruskin School teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in Coniston.
- Who is the head teacher of John Ruskin School?
- The head teacher of John Ruskin School is Mr Peter Blackburn, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has John Ruskin School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected John Ruskin 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 John Ruskin School?
- John Ruskin School has 247 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is John Ruskin School full?
- John Ruskin School has capacity for 230 pupils and 247 on roll (107%), 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 John Ruskin School a faith school?
- No. John Ruskin School has no designated religious character.
- Is John Ruskin School a selective school?
- No. John Ruskin School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is John Ruskin School part of an academy trust?
- John Ruskin School is part of the The Fells Federation federation. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have John Ruskin School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 51.6 in 2022/23 and 52.9 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does John Ruskin School compare with other schools in Westmorland and Furness?
- John Ruskin School ranked 3rd of 20 secondary schools in Westmorland and Furness for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 83% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 43% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is John Ruskin School's absence rate?
- John Ruskin School's overall absence rate is 5.7% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are John Ruskin School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, John Ruskin 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.