Bridekirk Dovenby CofE Primary School
General Information
- Address: Dovenby, Cumbria, Cockermouth, CA13 0PG – View on map
- Phone: 01900829889
- Website: Visit school website
- Headteacher: Mrs Julia Fish
- Age range: 4-11 years
- Demand for places (Reception, September 2026): 23 families put it first for 23 places – 10 for every 10 places. Every one of them was offered a place. 1 of the 23 places went to families living outside the council area. Children putting it first, for every 10 places: 2023 10 · 2024 10 · 2025 10 · 2026 10
- Sixth form: No
- Intake: Mixed
- Religious character: Church of England
- Nursery provision: No
Who goes here
- Pupils eligible for free school meals: 0
- % eligible for free school meals: 0.0%
- Pupil mix: 1 in 10 (similar to the Cumberland average)
- English as an additional language: 1% (England 22%)
Staff
Teachers leaving each year
- Teacher turnover: 4.5% a year (Cumberland 14.2%, typical in England 13.9%)
- Where they went: about 0% moved to another school, 100% left state schools altogether (retirement, other careers, independent schools, abroad)
- Data years: 2022/23 to 2024/25 (average of 3 years, DfE school workforce census)
Teachers who moved school or left state schools in the year after each November, as a share of all the school's teachers. Some turnover is healthy – retirements, promotions, moving house. This is a small staff, so one or two teachers leaving moves the figure a lot.
Behaviour
Awaiting Data
Across Cumberland: suspensions by reason
- Suspensions for sexual misconduct: 4 (0.2 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.2)
- Permanent exclusions for sexual misconduct: 0
- Suspensions for bullying: 8 (0.4 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.2)
- Suspensions for abuse against sexual orientation or gender identity: 5 (0.2 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.0)
- Data year: 2024/25 (DfE suspensions and exclusions statistics)
These are figures for all state primary schools in Cumberland, not this school's own – the government doesn't publish them school by school. A suspension can have up to three reasons. Most sexual harassment between pupils never leads to a suspension, so these figures show only part of the picture.
Attendance
- Overall absence: 2.5%
- Persistently absent pupils: 1.6%
- Data year: 2024/25
SEN
No dedicated Unit or Resourced Provision
- Pupils on SEN Support: 7.5%
- Pupils with an EHC Plan: 4.8%
- Data year: 2025/26
Most common needs - SEN Support
- Social, emotional and mental health: 5 pupils
- Speech, language and communications needs: 3 pupils
- Autistic spectrum disorder: 2 pupils
- Moderate learning difficulty: 1 pupil
Most common needs - EHC Plan
- Autistic spectrum disorder: 3 pupils
- Social, emotional and mental health: 1 pupil
- Speech, language and communications needs: 1 pupil
- Physical disability: 1 pupil
These figures show the makeup of the school.
Educational Attainment
No overall grade given 2025 report
Year 6 SATs results
- Met the expected standard in reading, writing & maths: 87% (England 62%)
- Reached the higher standard: 20% (England 8%)
- Compared with the area: 31 percentage points above the Cumberland average (56%)
- Compared with schools with similar pupils: Well above (3-year average 85% against an expected 65%)
- 3-year average (expected standard): 85%
- Expected standard by subject: Reading 93% · Writing 93% · Maths 87% · Grammar, punctuation & spelling 87%
- Average test scores: reading 107, maths 106
- Based on: 15 Year 6 pupils, 2024/25
View the School Context Comparator – how this school's SATs results compare with schools teaching similar pupils.
SATs results over time
Year 6 SATs: 6th of 111 junior and primary schools in the area
- =4Crosby-on-Eden CofE School88%
- =4Hayton CofE Primary School88%
- #6Bridekirk Dovenby CofE Primary School87%
- =7Fairfield Primary School83%
- =7Shankhill CofE Primary School83%
Click to see the full ranking
Financials
Spending per pupil: £7,443 (2024-25)
63rd of 105 primary schools in Cumberland for spending per pupil
- #61St Bridget's CofE School£7,643
- #62Bransty Primary School£7,494
- #63Bridekirk Dovenby CofE Primary School£7,443
- #64Northside Primary School£7,416
- #65Kirkbampton CofE School£7,392
Click to see the full ranking
View on the Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool (GOV.UK)