Appleby Primary School
Station Road, Appleby-in-Westmorland, CA16 6TX
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Foundation school
- Ages
- 3 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Headteacher
- David Spruce
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- SEN provision
- SpLD - Specific Learning Difficulty, VI - Visual Impairment, OTH - Other Difficulty/Disability, HI - Hearing Impairment, SLCN - Speech, language and Communication, ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder, SEMH - Social, Emotional and Mental Health, MSI - Multi-Sensory Impairment, PD - Physical Disability, MLD - Moderate Learning Difficulty, SLD - Severe Learning Difficulty, PMLD - Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulty
- Constituency
- Westmorland and Lonsdale
- Setting
- Larger rural: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 294
- Pupils on roll
- 163
- URN
- 112408
- Local authority
- Westmorland and Furness
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01768351431
About this school
Appleby Primary School is a foundation primary school in Appleby-in-Westmorland. It teaches children aged 3 to 11 and has 163 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Appleby Primary School, and its latest judgement is set out 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
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
- Early years
- Good
- 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 | 22 | 32 | 30 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 50% | 56% | 50% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 3% | 13% |
| Expected standard in reading | 55% | 72% | 67% |
| Expected standard in maths | 86% | 66% | 67% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 77% | 78% | 53% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 101.0 | 105.0 | 105.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 105.0 | 103.0 | 103.0 |
| Reading progress | -1.50 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +2.20 | - | - |
| 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 Appleby 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 | 50% | 60.6% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 56% | 57% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 50% | 56.5% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 6.3% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 5.5% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 4.8% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 193 |
| 2023/24 | 191 |
| 2024/25 | 179 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Appleby Primary School compares
Appleby Primary School ranked 66th of 98 primary schools in Westmorland and Furness for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 21% 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 | 50% | 4.8% | 19.8% | 163 | — |
| Long Marton School | 31% | 3.5% | 12% | 81 | 2.8 miles |
| Bolton Primary School | 67% | 4.2% | 13.6% | 56 | 3.3 miles |
| Kirkby Thore School | — | 6.8% | 16.1% | 33 | 4.6 miles |
| Asby Endowed School | — | 4.4% | 6.3% | 20 | 4.7 miles |
| Warcop CofE Primary School | 62% | 3.8% | 16.3% | 85 | 4.8 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.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 19.75%
- English as an additional language
- 2.8%
- Overall absence
- 4.76%
- Persistent absence
- 12.93%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Long Marton School2.8 miles
Primary · Appleby-in-Westmorland
-
Bolton Primary School3.3 miles
Primary · Appleby-in-Westmorland
-
Kirkby Thore School4.6 miles
Primary · Penrith
-
Asby Endowed School4.7 miles
Primary · Appleby-in-Westmorland
-
Warcop CofE Primary School4.8 miles
Primary · Appleby-in-Westmorland
Other schools in Appleby-in-Westmorland
- Asby Endowed School Primary
- Bolton Primary School Primary
- Long Marton School Primary
- Warcop CofE Primary School Primary
- Appleby Grammar School Secondary
Common questions
- What ages does Appleby Primary School teach?
- Appleby Primary School teaches children aged 3 to 11. It is a primary school in Appleby-in-Westmorland.
- Who is the headteacher of Appleby Primary School?
- The headteacher of Appleby Primary School is David Spruce, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Appleby Primary School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Appleby 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 many pupils are at Appleby Primary School?
- Appleby Primary School has 163 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 11.
- Is Appleby Primary School full?
- Appleby Primary School has capacity for 294 pupils and 163 on roll (55%), 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 Appleby Primary School a faith school?
- No. Appleby Primary School has no designated religious character.
- Does Appleby Primary School have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records Appleby Primary School as having nursery classes.
- What SEN provision does Appleby Primary School have?
- The schools register lists Appleby Primary School's special educational needs provision as: SpLD - Specific Learning Difficulty; VI - Visual Impairment; OTH - Other Difficulty/Disability; HI - Hearing Impairment; SLCN - Speech, language and Communication; ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder; SEMH - Social, Emotional and Mental Health; MSI - Multi-Sensory Impairment; PD - Physical Disability; MLD - Moderate Learning Difficulty; SLD - Severe Learning Difficulty; PMLD - Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulty. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have Appleby Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 50% in 2022/23 and 50% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Appleby Primary School compare with other schools in Westmorland and Furness?
- Appleby Primary School ranked 66th of 98 primary schools in Westmorland and Furness for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 21% 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 Appleby Primary School's absence rate?
- Appleby 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 Appleby Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Appleby 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.