Thursby Primary School
General Information
- Address: Thursby, Carlisle, CA5 6PN – View on map
- Phone: 01228711180
- Website: Visit school website
- Headteacher: Mr Carl Barnes
- Age range: 3-11 years
- Demand for places (Reception, September 2026): 12 families put it first for 12 places – 10 for every 10 places. Every one of them was offered a place. No places went to families living outside the council area. Children putting it first, for every 10 places: 2023 10 · 2024 9 · 2025 10 · 2026 10
- Sixth form: No
- Intake: Mixed
- Religious character: Does not apply
- Nursery provision: Yes
Who goes here
- Pupils eligible for free school meals: 18
- % eligible for free school meals: 16.4%
- 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: 16.2% a year (Cumberland 14.2%, typical in England 13.9%)
- Where they went: about 33% moved to another school, 67% 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: 4.5%
- Persistently absent pupils: 6.9%
- Data year: 2024/25
SEN
No dedicated Unit or Resourced Provision
- Pupils on SEN Support: 6.4%
- Pupils with an EHC Plan: 2.7%
- Data year: 2025/26
Most common needs - SEN Support
- Other difficulty or disability: 4 pupils
- Moderate learning difficulty: 1 pupil
- Social, emotional and mental health: 1 pupil
- Speech, language and communications needs: 1 pupil
Most common needs - EHC Plan
- Moderate learning difficulty: 1 pupil
- Social, emotional and mental health: 1 pupil
- Speech, language and communications needs: 1 pupil
These figures show the makeup of the school.
Educational Attainment
Good 2022 report
Year 6 SATs results
- Met the expected standard in reading, writing & maths: 74% (England 62%)
- Reached the higher standard: 16% (England 8%)
- Compared with the area: 18 percentage points above the Cumberland average (56%)
- Compared with schools with similar pupils: As expected (3-year average 69% against an expected 69%)
- 3-year average (expected standard): 69%
- Expected standard by subject: Reading 79% · Writing 84% · Maths 79% · Grammar, punctuation & spelling 84%
- Average test scores: reading 107, maths 104
- Based on: 19 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: joint 20th of 111 junior and primary schools in the area
- =20Eaglesfield Paddle CofE Primary Academy74%
- =20St James' CofE Junior School74%
- =20Thursby Primary School74%
- #23Cummersdale School73%
- #24Broughton Primary School72%
Click to see the full ranking
View full Ofsted inspection report
86th of 96 primary schools in Cumberland for Ofsted rating
- #84The Bishop Harvey Goodwin School (Church of England Voluntary Aided)Good
- #85Thornhill Primary SchoolGood
- #86Thursby Primary SchoolGood
- #87Upperby Primary SchoolGood
- #88Valley Primary School and NurseryGood
Click to see the full ranking
Financials
Spending per pupil: £8,297 (2024-25)
49th of 105 primary schools in Cumberland for spending per pupil
- #47Petteril Bank School£8,365
- #48Raughton Head CofE School & Nursery£8,350
- #49Thursby Primary School£8,297
- #50Fir Ends Primary School£8,244
- #51St James' Catholic Primary School£8,176
Click to see the full ranking
View on the Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool (GOV.UK)