The Whitehaven Academy
Cleator Moor Road, Whitehaven, CA28 8TY
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- CUMBRIA EDUCATION TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mr Nigel Youngman
- Sponsor
- Cumbria Education Trust
- Constituency
- Whitehaven and Workington
- Setting
- Urban: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,465
- Pupils on roll
- 859
- URN
- 146634
- Local authority
- Cumberland
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01946595400
About this school
The Whitehaven Academy is a secondary academy in Whitehaven. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 859 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected The Whitehaven 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
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
- 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 | 76 | 127 | 126 |
| Attainment 8 score | 34.5 | 41.7 | 39.7 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.98 -1.30 to -0.66 | -0.24 -0.49 to +0.01 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 16% | 38.6% | 32.5% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 34% | 55.1% | 50% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 17% | 18.1% | 8.7% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 2.8 | 3.5 | 3.3 |
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 The Whitehaven 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 | 34.5 | 36.8 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 41.7 | 34.4 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 39.7 | 36 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 9.1% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 8.4% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 8.7% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 665 |
| 2023/24 | 760 |
| 2024/25 | 810 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How The Whitehaven Academy compares
The Whitehaven Academy ranked 14th of 19 secondary schools in Cumberland for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 37% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 13% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 39.7 | 8.7% | 32.2% | 859 | — |
| St Benedict's Catholic High School | 41.2 | 8.5% | 30.5% | 990 | 0.3 miles |
| West Lakes Academy | 40.8 | 10% | 27.7% | 1,017 | 3.9 miles |
| Energy Coast UTC | 24.2 | 10.3% | 33% | 383 | 5.5 miles |
| St Josephs Catholic High School, Workington | 37.4 | 7.4% | 43.7% | 539 | 7.0 miles |
| Workington Academy | 40.5 | 7.3% | 31.3% | 1,234 | 7.2 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)
- 32.16%
- English as an additional language
- 0.4%
- Overall absence
- 8.69%
- Persistent absence
- 23.66%
Location
Nearby schools
-
St Benedict's Catholic High School0.3 miles
Secondary · Whitehaven
-
West Lakes Academy3.9 miles
Secondary · Egremont
-
Energy Coast UTC5.5 miles
Secondary · Workington
-
St Josephs Catholic High School, Workington7.0 miles
Secondary · Workington
-
Workington Academy7.2 miles
Secondary · Workington
Other schools in Whitehaven
- St Benedict's Catholic High School Secondary
- Bransty Primary School Primary
- Hensingham Primary School Primary
- Jericho Primary School Primary
- Kells Infant School Primary
- Lowca Community School Primary
- Monkwray Junior School Primary
- Moresby Primary School Primary
- St Begh's Catholic Junior School Primary
- St Bridget's CofE School Primary
- St Gregory and St Patrick's Catholic Infant School Primary
- St James' CofE Infant and Nursery School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does The Whitehaven Academy teach?
- The Whitehaven Academy teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Whitehaven.
- Who is the headteacher of The Whitehaven Academy?
- The headteacher of The Whitehaven Academy is Mr Nigel Youngman, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has The Whitehaven Academy been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected The Whitehaven 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 The Whitehaven Academy?
- The Whitehaven Academy has 859 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is The Whitehaven Academy full?
- The Whitehaven Academy has capacity for 1,465 pupils and 859 on roll (59%), 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 The Whitehaven Academy a faith school?
- No. The Whitehaven Academy has no designated religious character.
- Is The Whitehaven Academy part of an academy trust?
- The Whitehaven Academy is part of CUMBRIA EDUCATION TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have The Whitehaven Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 34.5 in 2022/23 and 39.7 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does The Whitehaven Academy compare with other schools in Cumberland?
- The Whitehaven Academy ranked 14th of 19 secondary schools in Cumberland for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 37% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 13% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is The Whitehaven Academy's absence rate?
- The Whitehaven Academy's overall absence rate is 8.7% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are The Whitehaven Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, The Whitehaven 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 10 July 2026.