Keswick School
Vicarage Hill, Keswick, CA12 5QB
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- KESWICK SCHOOL MULTI ACADEMY TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mr Simon Jackson
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Boarding
- Boarding school
- Constituency
- Penrith and Solway
- Setting
- Smaller rural: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,229
- Pupils on roll
- 1,208
- URN
- 136902
- Local authority
- Cumberland
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01768772605
About this school
Keswick School is a secondary academy in Keswick. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,208 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Keswick 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
- Outstanding
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Outstanding
- Personal development
- Outstanding
- Leadership and management
- Outstanding
- Sixth form
- Outstanding
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 210 | 209 | 192 |
| Attainment 8 score | 52.8 | 54.1 | 52.1 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.33 +0.13 to +0.52 | +0.39 +0.19 to +0.58 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 62% | 65.6% | 56.3% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 83% | 88% | 80.2% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 66% | 68.4% | 72.9% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 5.0 | 5.2 | 5.1 |
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 Keswick 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 | Cumberland average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 52.8 | 36.8 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 54.1 | 34.4 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 52.1 | 36 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 8.6% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 7.5% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 6.5% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,255 |
| 2023/24 | 1,205 |
| 2024/25 | 1,191 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Keswick School compares
Keswick School ranked 1st of 19 secondary schools in Cumberland for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 81% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 30% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 52.1 | 6.5% | 9.9% | 1,208 | — |
| Cockermouth School | 51.9 | 9% | 15.4% | 1,254 | 9.1 miles |
| St Herbert's CofE (VA) Primary and Nursery School | — | 3.3% | 6.8% | 266 | 1.0 miles |
| Old Windebrowe | — | — | — | — | 1.1 miles |
| Braithwaite CofE Primary School | — | 6% | 14.6% | 40 | 1.8 miles |
| Threlkeld CofE Primary School | — | 7.4% | 14.3% | 41 | 3.7 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)
- 9.87%
- English as an additional language
- 2.9%
- Overall absence
- 6.53%
- Persistent absence
- 16.77%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Cockermouth School9.1 miles
Secondary · Cockermouth
-
St Herbert's CofE (VA) Primary and Nursery School1.0 miles
Primary · Keswick
-
Old Windebrowe1.1 miles
Special schools · Keswick
-
Braithwaite CofE Primary School1.8 miles
Primary · Keswick
-
Threlkeld CofE Primary School3.7 miles
Primary · Keswick
Other schools in Keswick
- Bassenthwaite Primary School Primary
- Borrowdale CofE Primary School Primary
- Braithwaite CofE Primary School Primary
- St Herbert's CofE (VA) Primary and Nursery School Primary
- Threlkeld CofE Primary School Primary
- Old Windebrowe Special schools
Common questions
- What ages does Keswick School teach?
- Keswick School teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Keswick.
- Who is the headteacher of Keswick School?
- The headteacher of Keswick School is Mr Simon Jackson, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Keswick School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Keswick 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 Keswick School?
- Keswick School has 1,208 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is Keswick School full?
- Keswick School has capacity for 1,229 pupils and 1,208 on roll (98%), so it is close to full. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is Keswick School a faith school?
- No. Keswick School has no designated religious character.
- Is Keswick School a selective school?
- No. Keswick School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is Keswick School part of an academy trust?
- Keswick School is part of KESWICK SCHOOL MULTI ACADEMY TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Keswick School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 52.8 in 2022/23 and 52.1 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Keswick School compare with other schools in Cumberland?
- Keswick School ranked 1st of 19 secondary schools in Cumberland for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 81% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 30% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Keswick School's absence rate?
- Keswick School's overall absence rate is 6.5% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Keswick School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Keswick 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 1 July 2026.