The Whitehaven Academy
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The Whitehaven Academy is a sponsored academy in Whitehaven for boys and girls aged 11 to 18. It has 859 pupils and room for 1,465. About 30 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, a bit more than at most schools. We give it 38 out of 100. That puts it in line with schools like it, ahead of 50% of the 50 schools most like it. Ofsted's last grade was good, back in 2023.
Cleator Moor Road, Whitehaven, CA28 8TY01946 595400whitehavenacademy.org.ukMr Nigel Youngman headteacherAll details
What Ofsted found
Ofsted's last full inspection was on 23 May 2023, back when it gave schools one overall grade. Read the report on Ofsted's website.
Good overall.
Results
GCSE results, summer 2025
126 pupils sat their GCSEs. Here is how they did against every state secondary in England.
All GCSE measures, year by year
| Measure | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2019† | 2018† | Cumberland | England |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of Year 11 | 126 | 127 | 76 | 94 | 96 | 73 | – | – |
| Average GCSE scoreAttainment 8 | 39.7 | 41.7 | 34.5 | 38.6 | 39.0 | 37.4 | 41.0 | 46.8 |
| Progress from age 11Progress 8 | – | -0.24 | -0.98 | -0.72 | -0.54 | -0.96 | – | – |
| Strong pass in English and mathsGrade 5+ in English and maths | 33% | 39% | 16% | 29% | 34% | 23% | 34% | 46% |
| Standard pass in English and mathsGrade 4+ in English and maths | 50% | 55% | 34% | 51% | 49% | 51% | 55% | 66% |
| Core subjects scoreEBacc average point score | 3.26 | 3.54 | 2.82 | 3.16 | 3.51 | 3.38 | 3.62 | 4.15 |
| Taking the core subjectsEBacc entry | 9% | 18% | 17% | 6% | 27% | 42% | 30% | 41% |
| Average GCSE score: low-income pupilsAttainment 8, disadvantaged | 27.8 | 28.4 | 29.5 | 26.5 | 22.3 | 26.4 | – | – |
| Average GCSE score: other pupilsAttainment 8, non-disadvantaged | 45.9 | 49.6 | 38.1 | 44.9 | 47.8 | 41.9 | – | – |
| Average GCSE score: pupils who started behindAttainment 8, low prior attainers | – | 21.8 | 24.2 | 28.1 | 14.0 | 18.7 | – | – |
| Average GCSE score: pupils who started aheadAttainment 8, high prior attainers | – | 63.8 | 49.8 | 57.2 | 56.2 | 52.2 | – | – |
† These results are for The Whitehaven Academy, the school this one replaced in December 2018. Same building and the same children. It got a new registration number, usually because it joined an academy trust.
Subjects
Results came out for 17 GCSE subjects in 2025. Each figure is the share of pupils who got a grade 5 or better, next to the average for state secondaries in England.
Subjects that did worse than the England average: English Literature (36% here, 58% across England), Combined Science (18% here, 36% across England), Business (35% here, 51% across England), Mathematics (40% here, 53% across England).
The small number is how many pupils sat each subject. Subjects with fewer than six pupils aren't published.
Every subject against England, 2025
| Subject | Entries | Grades 9 to 7 | Grades 9 to 5 | Grades 9 to 4 | England 9 to 5 | Rank in England |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| English Language | 126 | 11% | 42% | 57% | 54% | 2,419 of 3,210 |
| Mathematics | 125 | 9% | 40% | 55% | 53% | 2,455 of 3,211 |
| English Literature | 119 | 8% | 36% | 61% | 58% | 2,882 of 3,202 |
| Combined Science | 101 | 0% | 18% | 42% | 36% | 2,729 of 3,084 |
| Geography | 64 | 13% | 41% | 50% | 51% | 2,084 of 3,116 |
| History | 47 | 21% | 47% | 55% | 52% | 1,810 of 3,126 |
| Food Preparation & Nutrition | 42 | 19% | 60% | 74% | 52% | 399 of 1,098 |
| Physics | 23 | 22% | 87% | 100% | 82% | 1,274 of 2,546 |
| Chemistry | 23 | 17% | 87% | 100% | 81% | 1,266 of 2,537 |
| Biology | 23 | 22% | 91% | 100% | 82% | 1,028 of 2,570 |
| Business | 20 | 20% | 35% | 60% | 51% | 1,334 of 1,806 |
| Computer Science | 14 | 14% | 50% | 57% | 56% | – |
| German | 13 | 23% | 69% | 85% | 63% | – |
| Statistics | 13 | 0% | 8% | 23% | 51% | – |
| Religious Studies | 12 | 67% | 67% | 75% | 60% | – |
| Art and Design | 10 | 10% | 70% | 90% | 58% | – |
| Design & Technology | 9 | 0% | 0% | 22% | 50% | – |
In combined science each pupil gets two grades and we count the lower one. Rankings only include state secondaries where 20 or more pupils sat the subject.
A level and sixth-form results, 2025
6 students finished sixth-form courses.
All sixth-form measures, year by year
| Measure | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Students | 6 | 9 | 8 | 6 |
| Average A level grade | z | z | z | – |
| Applied general courses: points per entry | 27.78 | 31.33 | 31.19 | 26.92 |
Does every child do well here?
A good school does well by every child, not just on average. Each row compares two groups of pupils here. The grey marks show the same two groups across England. None of the gaps is smaller than the gap across England. When a group has fewer than about ten pupils, its figures jump around a lot from year to year.
At GCSE, 2025
Low-income means the child has had free school meals at some point in the last six years. A group's figure isn't published when it has fewer than six pupils.
Getting a place
Admissions policy not published.
About 90 places were empty, so most families who apply get in, though a popular year group can still fill up. Pupil numbers have grown by 37% since 2021/22, so places are getting harder to come by.
Each council publishes its own figures on how many families applied and how far away the last child to get a place lived. We are adding councils one at a time. If you have a link to Cumberland council's admissions booklet, send it to us.
Who goes here
Who a school teaches matters. That is why our score compares it with schools that take in a similar mix of children, not with every school in the country.
The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: Autistic spectrum disorder (87), Specific learning difficulty (35), emotional and mental health (20), Moderate learning difficulty (18), language and communications needs (8), Hearing impairment (5).
How the mix of pupils has changed
| Census | 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils on roll | 859 | 810 | 760 | 665 | 584 | 531 |
| Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals | 29% | 30% | 32% | 33% | 31% | 30% |
| Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language | 1% | 0% | 1% | 1% | 1% | 1% |
| Pupils getting extra supportSEN support | – | 17% | 16% | 15% | 14% | 19% |
| Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans | – | 3% | 3% | 3% | 3% | 2% |
Attendance and behaviour
In 2024/25 pupils were in school 91.3% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 91.4%.
Attendance year by year
| Measure | 2024/25 | 2023/24 | 2022/23 | 2021/22 | 2020/21 | 2018/19 | England |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sessions missedOverall absence | 8.7% | 8.4% | 9.1% | 11.0% | 5.5% | 7.3% | 8.6% |
| Missed with permissionAuthorised absence | 5.0% | 4.0% | 3.6% | 4.4% | 2.3% | 3.6% | – |
| Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence | 3.7% | 4.5% | 5.4% | 6.6% | 3.2% | 3.7% | – |
| Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence | 23.7% | 24.6% | 29.7% | 32.2% | 17.3% | 22.3% | 23.9% |
| SuspensionsSuspension rate | 30.6 | 20.7 | 14.0 | 9.8 | 7.0 | – | – |
| Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions | 4 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 0 | – | – |
What pupils do next
After GCSEs
Where the 76 pupils who left in 2022/23 were a year later.
Among pupils from low-income families it was 81%, compared with 91% for everyone else.
Earlier years
| Destination | 2022/23 leavers | 2021/22 leavers | 2020/21 leavers | 2019/20 leavers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Still in education, work or training | 87% | 85% | 89% | 93% |
| Education | 79% | 68% | 77% | 88% |
| Apprenticeship | 4% | 7% | 11% | 5% |
| Work | 4% | 10% | 1% | 0% |
| Not in education, work or training | 9% | 9% | 9% | 7% |
After sixth form
Where the 8 pupils who left in 2022/23 were a year later.
Where the ones heading for university went
Earlier years
| Destination | 2022/23 leavers | 2021/22 leavers |
|---|---|---|
| Still in education, work or training | 100% | 100% |
| Education | 13% | 33% |
| Apprenticeship | 63% | 50% |
| Work | 25% | 17% |
| Not in education, work or training | 0% | 0% |
Staff and money
From the government's count of school staff in November 2025 and the school's published accounts.
Money
From the academy accounts return, year to August 2025. The per-pupil figures are compared with other secondary schools in England that report their accounts the same way.
Reserves are the money left over at the end of the year, kept back for emergencies and big projects. Being in the red year after year is a warning sign. Very large reserves can mean money sitting in the bank instead of being spent on today's pupils. Academy figures are rounded to the nearest £1,000 and include a share of any money the trust holds centrally.
The area around the school
Crime figures come from police.uk. The police record each crime at the nearest of a fixed set of map points rather than the exact spot, so “within 500 m” is only rough. House prices are from HM Land Registry sales nearby over the last two years.
Nearby schools
The closest secondary schools, nearest first. Hover over a row to see it on the map.
| School | Type | Distance | Pupils | Ofsted | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| St Benedict's Catholic High School | Roman Catholic | 550 m | 990 | Not inspected | 23 | Compare |
| West Lakes Academy | Academy | 3.9 miles | 1,017 | No overall grade 2025 | 4 | Compare |
Compared with schools like it
Our score compares The Whitehaven Academy with the 50 schools in England whose pupils are most like its own. We match on family income, how many children are learning English, special needs, the neighbourhood, the size of the school and how it admits pupils. Those 50 schools are dotted all over the country, so we don't list them. What matters is where this school sits among them.
How the score was worked out
The score is out of 100. A 38 means that once everything below is added up, this school comes out ahead of 38% of secondary schools in England. Results bounce around from year to year, especially in small schools, so we also show a likely range: 28 to 49. Every part is judged against schools with a similar mix of pupils. For small schools we pull each part towards the group average, so one unusual year can't swing the score too far.
| What we looked at | How much it counts | Against schools like it | Effect on the score | Based on |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Results over three years | 20% | below | -0.15 | 2025, 2024 and 2023 results; 126 pupils |
| Ofsted inspection | 19% (normally 20%, cut because the inspection is old) | in line | +0.02 | Ofsted grade, 3.3 years old |
| Progress pupils make | 20% | below | -0.09 | DfE progress measure; 126 pupils |
| Direction of travel over five years | 10% | well above | +0.13 | results and attendance rising year on year |
| Attendance and behaviour | 10% | in line | -0.01 | 2024/25; 786 pupils |
| Results, allowing for the mix of pupils | 10% | below | -0.06 | Attainment relative to schools with a similar intake; 126 pupils |
| What pupils do next | 5% | below | -0.03 | 76 pupils |
| What parents say | 0% | no data | – |
Worked out on 13 September 2026 (method v1). Read how the score works, including every weight and the checks we run. Think a number is wrong? Tell us.
Questions parents ask
Is The Whitehaven Academy a good school?
It is about average. The Whitehaven Academy scores 38 out of 100. That is in line with schools that take in a similar mix of pupils, and ahead of 50% of the 50 schools most like it in England. The score could fairly be anywhere from 28 to 49, so a few points either way between schools doesn't mean much.
What is The Whitehaven Academy's Ofsted rating?
Ofsted rated The Whitehaven Academy good at its last full inspection on 23 May 2023.
How good are The Whitehaven Academy's GCSE results?
In summer 2025, 33% of pupils got a grade 5 or better in both English and maths. Across England it was 46%. Its Attainment 8 score, which is the average grade across a pupil's best eight subjects times ten, was 39.7, against 46.8 for England. In each subject, pupils here finished a little behind children across England who started secondary school at the same level.
How many pupils does The Whitehaven Academy have?
859 pupils aged 11 to 18 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 1,465 places, so it is 59% full.
Is The Whitehaven Academy oversubscribed?
Probably not. 90 places were empty in 2024/25 (10% of the total), so most families who apply get a place.
What is attendance like at The Whitehaven Academy?
Pupils were in school 91.3% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 91.4%. 24% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.
How big are the classes at The Whitehaven Academy?
The average class had 22.1 pupils in January 2026. Across England it was 22.8. 16% of classes had more than 30 pupils.
Does The Whitehaven Academy have a sixth form?
Yes. The average A level grade in 2025 was z.
These answers come straight from the figures on this page and update when new data comes out.
Contact and details
- Address
- Cleator Moor Road, Whitehaven, CA28 8TY
- Telephone
- 01946 595400
- Website
- www.whitehavenacademy.org.uk
- Headteacher
- Mr Nigel Youngman
- Type of school
- Sponsored academy (Academy sponsor led, academies)
- Phase
- Secondary school, ages 11-18, with sixth form
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Multi-academy trust
- Cumbria Education Trust (17 schools)
- Local authority
- Cumberland
- Ward
- Hillcrest and Hensingham
- Constituency
- Whitehaven and Workington
- Setting
- Urban: Further from a major town or city
- Opened
- 1 December 2018 (fresh start)
- URN
- 146634 · LAESTAB 9424015 · UKPRN 10082087
- Formerly
- The Whitehaven Academy
Recent changes
- New KS4 results for 2024/25
Where these figures come from
- School details: Department for Education, Get Information About Schools, refreshed daily (this page rebuilt 13 September 2026).
- Inspections: Ofsted management information, monthly; latest publication in our data 27 August 2026.
- GCSE results: DfE key stage 4 performance tables, 2024/25 final.
- Attendance: DfE pupil absence in schools in England, 2024/25 full year.
- Pupil characteristics: DfE school census, January 2026.
- Staff: DfE school workforce census, November 2025.
- Class sizes: DfE schools, pupils and their characteristics, January 2026.
- Pupil premium: DfE allocations and conditions of grant, 2026 to 2027.
- Money: DfE financial benchmarking and insights tool, academy accounts return 2024/25.
- Neighbourhood: police.uk street-level crime, HM Land Registry price paid data, NaPTAN bus stops, English Indices of Deprivation 2025.
- All under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Full list and update calendar.