Appleby Grammar School
Battlebarrow, Appleby-in-Westmorland, CA16 6XU
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- APPLEBY GRAMMAR SCHOOL
- Headteacher
- Mr Philip Nicholson
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Constituency
- Westmorland and Lonsdale
- Setting
- Smaller rural: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 750
- Pupils on roll
- 357
- URN
- 137251
- Local authority
- Westmorland and Furness
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01768351580
About this school
Appleby Grammar School is a secondary academy in Appleby-in-Westmorland. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 357 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Appleby Grammar 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
Ofsted no longer gives schools a single overall grade. Each area of the school's work is graded on a five-point scale, and safeguarding is judged separately.
- Inclusion
- Expected standard
- Curriculum and teaching
- Expected standard
- Achievement
- Expected standard
- Attendance and behaviour
- Expected standard
- Personal development and wellbeing
- Expected standard
- Leadership and governance
- Expected standard
- Post-16 provision
- Expected standard
- Safeguarding
- Met
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 78 | 59 | 61 |
| Attainment 8 score | 40.8 | 45.5 | 40.7 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.15 -0.48 to +0.17 | +0.01 -0.37 to +0.38 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 32% | 49.2% | 29.5% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 58% | 69.5% | 60.7% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 14% | 20.3% | 9.8% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.5 | 4.0 | 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 Appleby Grammar 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 | 40.8 | 37.9 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 45.5 | 40 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 40.7 | 41.9 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 9.4% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 10.5% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 8.2% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 370 |
| 2023/24 | 346 |
| 2024/25 | 360 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Appleby Grammar School compares
Appleby Grammar School ranked 16th of 20 secondary schools in Westmorland and Furness for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 41% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 15% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 40.7 | 8.2% | 21.5% | 357 | — |
| Kirkby Stephen Grammar School | 47.7 | 5.7% | 19% | 377 | 9.5 miles |
| Ullswater Community College | 41 | 8.8% | 19.4% | 1,520 | 11.4 miles |
| Appleby Primary School | — | 4.8% | 19.8% | 163 | 0.4 miles |
| Long Marton School | — | 3.5% | 12% | 81 | 2.4 miles |
| Bolton Primary School | — | 4.2% | 13.6% | 56 | 2.9 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.
Inspection history
-
Graded inspection report12 May 2026
- 26 April 2022
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 21.54%
- English as an additional language
- 1.9%
- Overall absence
- 8.2%
- Persistent absence
- 23.85%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Kirkby Stephen Grammar School9.5 miles
Secondary · Kirkby Stephen
-
Ullswater Community College11.4 miles
Secondary · Penrith
-
Appleby Primary School0.4 miles
Primary · Appleby-in-Westmorland
-
Long Marton School2.4 miles
Primary · Appleby-in-Westmorland
-
Bolton Primary School2.9 miles
Primary · Appleby-in-Westmorland
Other schools in Appleby-in-Westmorland
- Appleby Primary School Primary
- Asby Endowed School Primary
- Bolton Primary School Primary
- Long Marton School Primary
- Warcop CofE Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Appleby Grammar School teach?
- Appleby Grammar School teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Appleby-in-Westmorland.
- Who is the headteacher of Appleby Grammar School?
- The headteacher of Appleby Grammar School is Mr Philip Nicholson, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Appleby Grammar School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Appleby Grammar 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 Grammar School?
- Appleby Grammar School has 357 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is Appleby Grammar School full?
- Appleby Grammar School has capacity for 750 pupils and 357 on roll (48%), 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 Grammar School a faith school?
- No. Appleby Grammar School has no designated religious character.
- Is Appleby Grammar School a selective school?
- No. Appleby Grammar School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is Appleby Grammar School part of an academy trust?
- Appleby Grammar School is part of APPLEBY GRAMMAR SCHOOL. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Appleby Grammar School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 40.8 in 2022/23 and 40.7 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 Grammar School compare with other schools in Westmorland and Furness?
- Appleby Grammar School ranked 16th of 20 secondary schools in Westmorland and Furness for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 41% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 15% 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 Grammar School's absence rate?
- Appleby Grammar School's overall absence rate is 8.2% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Appleby Grammar School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Appleby Grammar 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 15 July 2026.