Dowdales School - The School Companion

Dowdales School

Westmorland and Furness · LA15 8AH

General information Secondary School · 11-16 years Who goes here 877 pupils, 20.8% FSM

Parent score Rate this school No reviews yet - be the first SEN 26.1% on SEN support Behaviour 9.5% absence rate Staff 9.3% turnover Financials £8,408 per pupil Environment Buildings and facilities

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Dowdales School

General Information

Phone: 01229469800
Website: Visit school website
Headteacher: Ms Emma Aubrey
Age range: 11-16 years
Demand for places (Year 7, September 2026): 153 families put it first for 160 places – 10 for every 10 places. Every one of them was offered a place. 2 of the 160 places went to families living outside the council area. Children putting it first, for every 10 places: 2023 9 · 2024 9 · 2025 9 · 2026 10
Sixth form: No
Intake: Mixed
Religious character: Does not apply
Nursery provision: No

Who goes here

877 pupils out of 1050 places

Pupils eligible for free school meals: 182
% eligible for free school meals: 20.8%
Pupil mix: 1 in 10 (similar to the Westmorland and Furness average)
English as an additional language: 2% (England 22%)

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Teacher turnover: 9.3% a year (Westmorland and Furness 20.1%, typical in England 15.5%) Low turnover
Where they went: about 15% moved to another school, 85% 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. "Low turnover" means it's among the quarter of similar schools in England where teachers are most likely to stay.

Behaviour

Awaiting Data

About this Behaviour status

We've asked this school for real behaviour figures under Freedom of Information and haven't had a response yet.

Across Westmorland and Furness: suspensions by reason

Suspensions for sexual misconduct: 34 (2.4 per 1,000 pupils; England 1.7)
Permanent exclusions for sexual misconduct: 0
Suspensions for bullying: 49 (3.5 per 1,000 pupils; England 1.9)
Suspensions for abuse against sexual orientation or gender identity: 5 (0.4 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.8)
Data year: 2024/25 (DfE suspensions and exclusions statistics)

These are figures for all state secondary schools in Westmorland and Furness, 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: 9.5%
Persistently absent pupils: 26.9%
Data year: 2024/25

About persistent absence

A pupil is counted as "persistently absent" if they miss 10% or more of their possible school sessions - roughly one day in every two weeks. Schools and Ofsted both pay close attention to this figure specifically, since it can highlight a pattern the overall absence rate alone might hide.

SEN

No dedicated Unit or Resourced Provision

SEN Unit and Resourced Provision

Most mainstream schools don't have a dedicated SEN Unit or Resourced Provision - it isn't a mark against a school that doesn't, just a different kind of setup than one that does.

Pupils on SEN Support: 26.1%
Pupils with an EHC Plan: 6.4%
Data year: 2025/26

Most common needs - SEN Support

Specific learning difficulty: 104 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 53 pupils
Speech, language and communications needs: 38 pupils
Other difficulty or disability: 15 pupils
Moderate learning difficulty: 8 pupils

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Speech, language and communications needs: 23 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 17 pupils
Physical disability: 6 pupils
Moderate learning difficulty: 4 pupils
Specific learning difficulty: 3 pupils

These figures show the makeup of the school.

About these SEND figures

These figures give a sense of the makeup of the school - they aren't a judgement on the quality of support provided.

Parent score - no reviews yet –

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Behaviour

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Openness

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Teaching Quality

–

School Ethos

–

Ability to Deal with Problems

–

Headteacher Approval

–

SafeguardingSafeguarding (parent rating)How parents rate the school on keeping children safe - how safe their child feels, and how well concerns are listened to and acted on. It's parents' experience, not an inspection result; Ofsted checks safeguarding separately.

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Would recommend –

Educational Attainment

Good 2019 report

About this Ofsted rating

Ofsted changed how it rates schools in the last couple of years, so ratings from different years aren't always on the same scale - that's why we show the year alongside every rating.

Attainment 8 score: 41.8
Compared with the area: 3.9 points below the Westmorland and Furness average (45.7)
Compared with schools with similar pupils: Below (−5.6 points against an expected 47.4)
Grade 4+ in English and maths: 52% (Westmorland and Furness 63%, England 65%) Falling
Data year: 2024/25

View the School Context Comparator – how this school's results compare with schools teaching similar pupils.

GCSE results over time

This schoolWestmorland and Furness averageEngland→ Broadly steady No clear rise or fall since 2022/23 (changes this small are normal from one year group to the next). In 2024/25 this school was 3.9 points below the Westmorland and Furness average (45.7).

About the Attainment 8 score

Attainment 8 measures a pupil's average result across 8 GCSE-equivalent qualifications (English and maths count double). It shows how pupils performed, not how much progress they made getting there - a school with a higher score doesn't necessarily add more value, since pupils often arrive with different starting points. Progress 8 is the measure designed to account for that, but it currently can't be calculated for any school for the two most recent academic years, due to a nationwide gap in the data caused by COVID-19 disruption to Key Stage 2 testing.

14th of 20 secondary schools in Westmorland and Furness for Attainment 8

#12Settlebeck School44.0
#13Furness Academy42.4
#14Dowdales School41.8
#15Ullswater Community College41.0
#16Appleby Grammar School40.7

Click to see the full ranking

Attainment 8 ranking

Illustrative MVP scores - not based on verified data yet.

Rank School Score

#1Queen Elizabeth Grammar School Penrith64.8
#2Queen Elizabeth School59.6
#3John Ruskin School52.9
#4Kirkbie Kendal School50.1
#5The Queen Katherine School48.8
#6Kirkby Stephen Grammar School47.7
#7Cartmel Priory CofE School47.2
#8The Lakes School46.8
#9Ulverston Victoria High School46.8
#10Chetwynde School44.2
#11Dallam School44.1
#12Settlebeck School44.0
#13Furness Academy42.4
#14Dowdales School41.8
#15Ullswater Community College41.0
#16Appleby Grammar School40.7
#17Walney Academy38.7
#18Queen Elizabeth Studio School37.8
#19St Bernards Catholic High School, Barrow34.6
#20Samuel King's School30.2

Leaver Destinations

In education, employment, or training a year later: 93.0%
Went into further education: 70.0%
Data year: 2024/25

About leaver destinations

This shows where a school's Year 11 leavers were recorded the following year - in a "sustained" destination means in education, an apprenticeship, or employment for at least 6 months, not just enrolled briefly. It's a different picture from exam results alone, and can highlight schools that support pupils well beyond just their GCSE grades.

GCSE Subjects Offered

Maths (General)
English Literature
English Language
Science Double Award
Geography
History
Art & Design
Chemistry (General)
Physics (General)
Biology
Media Studies
German
D & T
Food Technology
Community Development
Dance: General
Computer Science
French Language
Speech & Drama
Music Studies (General)

About this subject list

This isn't the school's own description of its curriculum - it's real DfE exam entry data, showing which GCSE subjects this school's pupils were actually entered for in 2024/25. A subject not appearing here may still be taught but had no pupils entered that year, so treat this as a helpful guide rather than a complete guarantee - it's worth confirming directly with the school for the year your child would actually study.

View full Ofsted inspection report

2nd of 13 secondary schools in Westmorland and Furness for Ofsted rating

#1Chetwynde SchoolGood
#2Dowdales SchoolGood
#3Furness AcademyGood
#4John Ruskin SchoolGood

Click to see the full ranking

Ofsted Rating ranking

Based on real Ofsted ratings (via official DfE data) for schools on the same four-word grading scale.

Rank School Score

#1Chetwynde SchoolGood
#2Dowdales SchoolGood
#3Furness AcademyGood
#4John Ruskin SchoolGood
#5Kirkbie Kendal SchoolGood
#6Kirkby Stephen Grammar SchoolGood
#7Queen Elizabeth Grammar School PenrithGood
#8Queen Elizabeth SchoolGood
#9Samuel King's SchoolGood
#10St Bernards Catholic High School, BarrowGood
#11The Lakes SchoolGood
#12Ullswater Community CollegeGood
#13Ulverston Victoria High SchoolGood

Financials

Spending per pupil: £8,408 (2024-25)

About this spending figure

A higher or lower position here isn't a sign of a better or worse school - schools have different needs and circumstances - but it can help reassure you that a school has sufficient funding behind your child's education.

7th of 18 secondary schools in Westmorland and Furness for spending per pupil

#5Cartmel Priory CofE School£8,616
#6Furness Academy£8,476
#7Dowdales School£8,408
#8Ulverston Victoria High School£8,103
#9Appleby Grammar School£8,022

Click to see the full ranking

Spending Per Pupil ranking

Based on official DfE financial return data (Consistent Financial Reporting / Academies Accounts Return) - not a ranking of school quality.

Rank School Score

#1Samuel King's School£11,064
#2John Ruskin School£10,022
#3Dallam School£9,884
#4Queen Elizabeth Studio School£9,048
#5Cartmel Priory CofE School£8,616
#6Furness Academy£8,476
#7Dowdales School£8,408
#8Ulverston Victoria High School£8,103
#9Appleby Grammar School£8,022
#10Chetwynde School£7,947
#11The Lakes School£7,896
#12St Bernards Catholic High School, Barrow£7,889
#13Ullswater Community College£7,633
#14Kirkbie Kendal School£7,377
#15Queen Elizabeth School£7,346
#16The Queen Katherine School£5,232
#17Walney Academy£2,857
#18Kirkby Stephen Grammar School£381

View on the Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool (GOV.UK)

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General Information

Who goes here

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Behaviour

Across Westmorland and Furness: suspensions by reason

Attendance

SEN

Most common needs - SEN Support

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Educational Attainment

Attainment 8 ranking

Leaver Destinations ?

GCSE Subjects Offered ?

Ofsted Rating ranking

Financials

Spending Per Pupil ranking

Leaver Destinations

GCSE Subjects Offered