The Whitehaven Academy

Cumberland · CA28 8TY

General information Secondary School · 11-18 years Who goes here 859 pupils, 29.8% FSM

Parent score Rate this school No reviews yet - be the first SEN 17% on SEN support Behaviour 8.7% absence rate Staff 11.7% turnover Financials £6,940 per pupil Environment Buildings and facilities

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The Whitehaven Academy

General Information

Address: Cleator Moor Road, Whitehaven, CA28 8TY – View on map
Phone: 01946595400
Website: Visit school website
Headteacher: Mr Nigel Youngman
Age range: 11-18 years
Demand for places (Year 7, September 2026): 180 families put it first for 170 places – 11 for every 10 places. 94% of them were offered a place. No places went to families living outside the council area. Children putting it first, for every 10 places: 2023 10 · 2024 12 · 2025 10 · 2026 11
Sixth form: Yes
Intake: Mixed
Religious character: None
Nursery provision: No

Who goes here

859 pupils out of 1465 places Plenty of room

Pupils eligible for free school meals: 237
% eligible for free school meals: 29.8%
Pupil mix: 1 in 10 (less mixed than the Cumberland average)
English as an additional language: 1% (England 22%)

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Teacher turnover: 11.7% a year (Cumberland 14.6%, typical in England 15.5%) Low turnover
Where they went: about 31% moved to another school, 69% 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 Cumberland: suspensions by reason

Suspensions for sexual misconduct: 24 (1.4 per 1,000 pupils; England 1.7)
Permanent exclusions for sexual misconduct: 1
Suspensions for bullying: 47 (2.8 per 1,000 pupils; England 1.9)
Suspensions for abuse against sexual orientation or gender identity: 4 (0.2 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 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: 8.7%
Persistently absent pupils: 23.7%
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: 17.0%
Pupils with an EHC Plan: 4.8%
Data year: 2025/26

Most common needs - SEN Support

Autistic spectrum disorder: 63 pupils
Specific learning difficulty: 34 pupils
Moderate learning difficulty: 17 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 13 pupils
Speech, language and communications needs: 7 pupils

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Autistic spectrum disorder: 24 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 7 pupils
Vision impairment: 3 pupils
Severe learning difficulty: 2 pupils
Specific learning difficulty: 1 pupil

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 2023 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: 39.7
Compared with the area: 2.9 points below the Cumberland average (42.6)
Compared with schools with similar pupils: As expected (−1.3 points against an expected 41.0)
Grade 4+ in English and maths: 50% (Cumberland 58%, England 65%) Improving
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 schoolCumberland averageEngland↗ Improving Up 5.2 points since 2022/23. In 2024/25 this school was 2.9 points below the Cumberland average (42.6).

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.

15th of 19 secondary schools in Cumberland for Attainment 8

#13Workington Academy40.5
#14Netherhall School39.7
#15The Whitehaven Academy39.7
#16St Josephs Catholic High School, Workington37.4
#17Solway Community School35.0

Click to see the full ranking

Attainment 8 ranking

Illustrative MVP scores - not based on verified data yet.

Rank School Score

#1Keswick School52.1
#2Cockermouth School51.9
#3The Nelson Thomlinson School46.2
#4William Howard School45.0
#5Millom School44.9
#6Caldew School44.3
#7Richard Rose Morton Academy43.4
#8Richard Rose Central Academy42.3
#9Trinity School41.4
#10St Benedict's Catholic High School41.2
#11St John Henry Newman Catholic School41.0
#12West Lakes Academy40.8
#13Workington Academy40.5
#14Netherhall School39.7
#15The Whitehaven Academy39.7
#16St Josephs Catholic High School, Workington37.4
#17Solway Community School35.0
#18Beacon Hill Community School28.8
#19Energy Coast UTC24.2

Leaver Destinations

In education, employment, or training a year later: 87.0%
Went into further education: 79.0%
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

English Language
Maths (General)
English Literature
Science Double Award
Geography
History
Food Technology
Chemistry (General)
Physics (General)
Biology
Business Studies
Computer Science
Statistics
German
Religious Studies
Art & Design
D & T
Dance: General
French Language

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

11th of 14 secondary schools in Cumberland for Ofsted rating

#9St John Henry Newman Catholic SchoolGood
#10The Nelson Thomlinson SchoolGood
#11The Whitehaven AcademyGood
#12William Howard SchoolGood
#13Workington AcademyGood

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

#1Keswick SchoolOutstanding
#2West Lakes AcademyOutstanding
#3Caldew SchoolGood
#4Cockermouth SchoolGood
#5Energy Coast UTCGood
#6Millom SchoolGood
#7Netherhall SchoolGood
#8St Benedict's Catholic High SchoolGood
#9St John Henry Newman Catholic SchoolGood
#10The Nelson Thomlinson SchoolGood
#11The Whitehaven AcademyGood
#12William Howard SchoolGood
#13Workington AcademyGood
#14St Josephs Catholic High School, WorkingtonRequires improvement

Financials

Spending per pupil: £6,940 (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.

18th of 18 secondary schools in Cumberland for spending per pupil

#16William Howard School£7,164
#17Workington Academy£6,941
#18The Whitehaven Academy£6,940

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

#1Beacon Hill Community School£12,576
#2Solway Community School£12,315
#3Energy Coast UTC£9,390
#4Netherhall School£9,309
#5Millom School£9,077
#6St John Henry Newman Catholic School£8,879
#7St Benedict's Catholic High School£8,680
#8St Josephs Catholic High School, Workington£8,621
#9Keswick School£8,391
#10Cockermouth School£8,284
#11Richard Rose Morton Academy£8,215
#12The Nelson Thomlinson School£8,207
#13Richard Rose Central Academy£8,077
#14Caldew School£7,711
#15Trinity School£7,344
#16William Howard School£7,164
#17Workington Academy£6,941
#18The Whitehaven Academy£6,940

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 Cumberland: 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