Hensingham Primary School
Main Street, Whitehaven, CA28 8QZ
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 3 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- CUMBRIA EDUCATION TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mrs Amanda Brotherhood
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Sponsor
- Cumbria Education Trust
- SEN provision
- ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder
- Constituency
- Whitehaven and Workington
- Setting
- Urban: Further from a major town or city
- Capacity
- 210
- Pupils on roll
- 120
- URN
- 147597
- Local authority
- Cumberland
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01946690021
About this school
Hensingham Primary School is a primary academy in Whitehaven. It teaches children aged 3 to 11 and has 120 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Hensingham 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. Numbers and a report only go so far, so visit in person 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 | 18 | 25 | 24 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 44% | 40% | 50% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 4% | 0% |
| Expected standard in reading | 67% | 72% | 71% |
| Expected standard in maths | 67% | 52% | 54% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 61% | 64% | 50% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 102.0 | 104.0 | 103.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 102.0 | 100.0 | 98.0 |
| Reading progress | -0.80 | - | - |
| Writing progress | 0.00 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +0.40 | - | - |
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 Hensingham 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 | Cumberland average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 44% | 53% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 40% | 52.2% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 50% | 54.9% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 6.6% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 6.8% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 4.9% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 148 |
| 2023/24 | 140 |
| 2024/25 | 133 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Hensingham Primary School compares
Hensingham Primary School ranked 71st of 111 primary schools in Cumberland 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 64% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 50% | 4.9% | 30.8% | 120 | — |
| Jericho Primary School | 89% | 4.3% | 11.3% | 363 | 0.4 miles |
| St Gregory and St Patrick's Catholic Infant School | — | 3.9% | 18.1% | 189 | 0.5 miles |
| Valley Primary School and Nursery | 36% | 6.9% | 42.5% | 286 | 0.8 miles |
| St Begh's Catholic Junior School | 47% | 6.1% | 38.7% | 240 | 0.9 miles |
| Monkwray Junior School | 41% | 5.2% | 39.7% | 109 | 1.0 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)
- 30.83%
- English as an additional language
- 7.5%
- Overall absence
- 4.85%
- Persistent absence
- 12.07%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Jericho Primary School0.4 miles
Primary · Whitehaven
-
St Gregory and St Patrick's Catholic Infant School0.5 miles
Primary · Whitehaven
-
Valley Primary School and Nursery0.8 miles
Primary · Whitehaven
-
St Begh's Catholic Junior School0.9 miles
Primary · Whitehaven
-
Monkwray Junior School1.0 miles
Primary · Whitehaven
Other schools in Whitehaven
Hensingham Primary School ranks 5th of the 11 ranked primary schools in Whitehaven.
- Bransty 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
- St James' CofE Junior School Primary
- St Mary's Catholic Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Hensingham Primary School teach?
- Hensingham Primary School teaches children aged 3 to 11. It is a primary school in Whitehaven.
- Who is the headteacher of Hensingham Primary School?
- The headteacher of Hensingham Primary School is Mrs Amanda Brotherhood, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Hensingham Primary School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Hensingham 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 Hensingham Primary School?
- Hensingham Primary School has 120 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 11.
- Is Hensingham Primary School full?
- Hensingham Primary School has capacity for 210 pupils and 120 on roll (57%), 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 Hensingham Primary School a faith school?
- No. Hensingham Primary School has no designated religious character.
- Does Hensingham Primary School have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records Hensingham Primary School as having nursery classes.
- Is Hensingham Primary School part of an academy trust?
- Hensingham Primary School 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.
- What SEN provision does Hensingham Primary School have?
- The schools register lists Hensingham Primary School's special educational needs provision as: ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have Hensingham Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 44% 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 Hensingham Primary School compare with other schools in Cumberland?
- Hensingham Primary School ranked 71st of 111 primary schools in Cumberland 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 64% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Hensingham Primary School's absence rate?
- Hensingham Primary School's overall absence rate is 4.9% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Hensingham Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Hensingham 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 10 July 2026.