Samuel King's School

Westmorland and Furness · CA9 3QU

General information Secondary School · 11-16 years Who goes here 113 pupils, 18.6% FSM

Parent score Rate this school No reviews yet - be the first SEN 16.8% on SEN support Behaviour 11.6% absence rate Staff 37.9% turnover Financials £11,064 per pupil Environment Buildings and facilities

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Samuel King's School

General Information

Address: Church Road, Alston, CA9 3QU – View on map
Phone: 01434381236
Website: Visit school website
Headteacher: Mr Rob Dawson
Age range: 11-16 years
Sixth form: No
Intake: Mixed
Religious character: None
Nursery provision: No

Who goes here

113 pupils out of 235 places Plenty of room

Pupils eligible for free school meals: 21
% eligible for free school meals: 18.6%
Pupil mix: 0 in 10 (less mixed than the Westmorland and Furness average)
English as an additional language: 0% (England 22%)

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Teacher turnover: 37.9% a year (Westmorland and Furness 20.1%, typical in England 15.5%)
Where they went: about 27% moved to another school, 73% 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.

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: 11.6%
Persistently absent pupils: 32.1%
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: 16.8%
Pupils with an EHC Plan: 6.2%
Data year: 2025/26

Most common needs - SEN Support

Moderate learning difficulty: 12 pupils
Specific learning difficulty: 3 pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder: 2 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 1 pupil
SEN support but no specialist assessment of type of need: 1 pupil

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Social, emotional and mental health: 3 pupils
Moderate learning difficulty: 2 pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder: 2 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 2022 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: 30.2
Compared with the area: 15.5 points below the Westmorland and Furness average (45.7)
Compared with schools with similar pupils: not compared – year group too small to compare fairly
Grade 4+ in English and maths: 31% (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↘ Falling Down 14.2 points since 2022/23. In 2024/25 this school was 15.5 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.

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

#18Queen Elizabeth Studio School37.8
#19St Bernards Catholic High School, Barrow34.6
#20Samuel King's School30.2

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: 89.0%
Went into further education: 63.0%
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 Language
English Literature
Biology
Statistics
Chemistry (General)
Physics (General)
Geography
Science Double Award
French Language
Food Technology
Computer Science
Art & Design
Music Studies (General)
Business Studies
History

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

8th of 12 secondary schools in Westmorland and Furness for Ofsted rating

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

Financials

Spending per pupil: £11,064 (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.

1st of 18 secondary schools in Westmorland and Furness for spending per pupil

#1Samuel King's School£11,064
#2John Ruskin School£10,022
#3Dallam School£9,884

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