Richard Rose Central Academy
Victoria Place, Carlisle, CA1 1LY
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- UNITED LEARNING TRUST
- Principal
- Mr Dan Markham
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Religious ethos
- None
- Sponsor
- United Learning Trust
- Constituency
- Carlisle
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,450
- Pupils on roll
- 1,035
- URN
- 135621
- Local authority
- Cumberland
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01228822060
About this school
Richard Rose Central Academy is a secondary academy in Carlisle. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,035 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Richard Rose Central Academy, 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
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
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Sixth form
- Good
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 167 | 222 | 176 |
| Attainment 8 score | 40.5 | 41.7 | 42.3 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.38 -0.60 to -0.15 | -0.33 -0.52 to -0.14 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 35% | 39.6% | 35.2% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 58% | 59.5% | 59.1% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 37% | 27.5% | 43.2% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.6 | 3.8 | 3.9 |
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 Richard Rose Central Academy 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 | 40.5 | 36.8 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 41.7 | 34.4 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 42.3 | 36 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 12.4% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 11.1% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 10.8% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,026 |
| 2023/24 | 1,044 |
| 2024/25 | 1,034 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Richard Rose Central Academy compares
Richard Rose Central Academy ranked 8th of 19 secondary schools in Cumberland for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 46% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 6% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 42.3 | 10.8% | 32.5% | 1,035 | — |
| Trinity School | 41.4 | 10.3% | 22.1% | 1,711 | 0.3 miles |
| St John Henry Newman Catholic School | 41 | 10% | 33.8% | 703 | 1.4 miles |
| Richard Rose Morton Academy | 43.4 | 7.9% | 25.7% | 905 | 2.2 miles |
| Caldew School | 44.3 | 8.7% | 20.4% | 990 | 4.2 miles |
| William Howard School | 45 | 7.9% | 20.1% | 1,312 | 7.9 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)
- 32.47%
- English as an additional language
- 18.8%
- Overall absence
- 10.78%
- Persistent absence
- 31.52%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Trinity School0.3 miles
Secondary · Carlisle
-
St John Henry Newman Catholic School1.4 miles
Secondary · Carlisle
-
Richard Rose Morton Academy2.2 miles
Secondary · Carlisle
-
Caldew School4.2 miles
Secondary · Carlisle
-
William Howard School7.9 miles
Secondary · Brampton
Other schools in Carlisle
Richard Rose Central Academy ranks 3rd of the 5 ranked secondary schools in Carlisle.
- Caldew School Secondary
- Richard Rose Morton Academy Secondary
- St John Henry Newman Catholic School Secondary
- Trinity School Secondary
- Armathwaite School Primary
- Belle Vue Primary School Primary
- Bewcastle School Primary
- Blackford CofE Primary School Primary
- Brook Street Primary School Primary
- Burgh by Sands School Primary
- Caldew Lea School Primary
- Crosby-on-Eden CofE School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Richard Rose Central Academy teach?
- Richard Rose Central Academy teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Carlisle.
- Who is the principal of Richard Rose Central Academy?
- The principal of Richard Rose Central Academy is Mr Dan Markham, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Richard Rose Central Academy been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Richard Rose Central Academy, 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 Richard Rose Central Academy?
- Richard Rose Central Academy has 1,035 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is Richard Rose Central Academy full?
- Richard Rose Central Academy has capacity for 1,450 pupils and 1,035 on roll (71%), 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 Richard Rose Central Academy a faith school?
- No. Richard Rose Central Academy has no designated religious character.
- Is Richard Rose Central Academy a selective school?
- No. Richard Rose Central Academy is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is Richard Rose Central Academy part of an academy trust?
- Richard Rose Central Academy is part of UNITED LEARNING TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Richard Rose Central Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 40.5 in 2022/23 and 42.3 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Richard Rose Central Academy compare with other schools in Cumberland?
- Richard Rose Central Academy ranked 8th of 19 secondary schools in Cumberland for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 46% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 6% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Richard Rose Central Academy's absence rate?
- Richard Rose Central Academy's overall absence rate is 10.8% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Richard Rose Central Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Richard Rose Central Academy'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 1 July 2026.