Which school had the best GCSE results in Cumbria in 2025?

On 2025 Attainment 8, Queen Elizabeth Grammar School Penrith topped the table in Cumbria with 64.8, against an England average of 46.1. Attainment 8 rewards intake as well as teaching, so compare a school's grade 5+ pass rate and, where published, its Progress 8 before reading the rank as a verdict.

Where are the latest Cumbria GCSE results?

This page is the 2025 archive (the 2024/25 academic year). The latest published results for every school in Cumbria are on the main Cumbria GCSE results page, which updates when the DfE releases the next year's performance tables: provisional figures in the autumn, revised figures early in the new year.

What is Attainment 8?

Attainment 8 is the DfE's headline GCSE measure: the average points a school's pupils achieved across eight qualifications, with English and maths counted twice. A score of 50 means pupils averaged roughly a grade 5 across those subjects. No Progress 8 exists for 2025 because these pupils sat no Key Stage 2 tests in 2020.

Why does a school in Cumbria show no 2025 GCSE results?

A school has no published figure for 2025 when it had no Year 11 cohort in that year (a new school, or one that opened with younger year groups), when it converted to an academy and the DfE published that year's results under its previous identity, or when it is independent and its pupils sat IGCSE, Pre-U or IB qualifications that the DfE tables do not count. Independent schools with a published figure are listed separately and unranked for that reason.

Cumbria GCSE results 2025: secondary school league table

39 state secondary schools in Cumbria ranked on their 2025 GCSE results (Attainment 8, the 2024/25 academic year), with grade 5+ and grade 4+ in English and maths, EBacc average point score and cohort size for each school against the England average. 3 independent schools with published results are listed separately, unranked.

This is the 2025 archive of the table. See the latest Cumbria GCSE results for the newest year the DfE has published.

County 39 state secondary schools 2024/25 results Archive year

Secondary schools in Cumbria ranked on Attainment 8

39 of 39 schools have published 2025 results. Source: DfE school performance tables, 2024/25.

Secondary schools in Cumbria ranked on Attainment 8, 2025 results
Rank	School	Attainment 8	Grade 5+ English & maths	Grade 4+ English & maths	EBacc APS	Pupils
–	England average	46.1	45%	65%	4.09	–
1	Queen Elizabeth Grammar School Penrith Penrith · Academy converter	64.8	88%	96%	6.01	160
2	Queen Elizabeth School Academy converter	59.6	69%	92%	5.16	119
3 , up 6 places since 2024	John Ruskin School Coniston · Community school	52.9	50%	75%	4.67	48
4 , down 1 place since 2024	Keswick School Keswick · Academy converter	52.1	56%	80%	5.06	192
5 , down 1 place since 2024	Cockermouth School Cockermouth · Academy converter	51.9	58%	73%	4.80	223
6 , down 1 place since 2024	Kirkbie Kendal School Kendal · Academy converter	50.1	57%	76%	4.37	176
7 , down 1 place since 2024	The Queen Katherine School Kendal · Academy converter	48.8	50%	67%	4.27	165
8	Kirkby Stephen Grammar School Kirkby Stephen · Academy converter	47.7	41%	65%	3.99	66
9 , up 4 places since 2024	Cartmel Priory CofE School Grange-over-Sands · Academy converter	47.2	38%	58%	3.96	69
10= , up 1 place since 2024	The Lakes School Windermere · Community school	46.8	42%	60%	3.92	84
10= , down 3 places since 2024	Ulverston Victoria High School Ulverston · Community school	46.8	37%	60%	4.12	209
12	The Nelson Thomlinson School Wigton · Voluntary controlled school	46.2	47%	74%	4.04	194
13 , up 9 places since 2024	William Howard School Brampton · Academy converter	45.0	43%	59%	4.13	208
14 , up 13 places since 2024	Millom School Millom · Community school	44.9	41%	60%	3.75	78
15 , up 6 places since 2024	Caldew School Carlisle · Academy converter	44.3	39%	62%	3.99	168
16 , up 1 place since 2024	Chetwynde School Barrow-in-Furness · Free schools	44.2	46%	59%	3.74	56
17 , up 1 place since 2024	Dallam School Cumbria · Academy converter	44.1	35%	63%	3.73	179
18 , down 8 places since 2024	Settlebeck School Sedbergh · Academy converter	44.0	44%	62%	3.63	34
19 , down 1 place since 2024	Richard Rose Morton Academy Carlisle · Academy sponsor led	43.4	34%	52%	3.65	172
20 , up 8 places since 2024	Furness Academy Barrow-in-Furness · Academy sponsor led	42.4	36%	58%	3.53	225
21 , up 3 places since 2024	Richard Rose Central Academy Carlisle · Academy sponsor led	42.3	35%	59%	3.85	176
22 , down 6 places since 2024	Dowdales School Dalton-in-Furness · Community school	41.8	26%	52%	3.41	150
23 , down 8 places since 2024	Trinity School Carlisle · Academy converter	41.4	30%	53%	3.70	265
24 , down 4 places since 2024	St Benedict's Catholic High School Whitehaven · Voluntary aided school	41.2	33%	53%	3.46	149
25= , up 8 places since 2024	St John Henry Newman Catholic School Carlisle · Voluntary aided school	41.0	30%	53%	3.79	127
25= , up 4 places since 2024	Ullswater Community College Penrith · Foundation school	41.0	44%	62%	3.58	262
27 , down 5 places since 2024	West Lakes Academy Egremont · Academy sponsor led	40.8	32%	52%	3.51	181
28 , down 14 places since 2024	Appleby Grammar School Appleby-in-Westmorland · Academy converter	40.7	30%	61%	3.36	61
29 , up 1 place since 2024	Workington Academy Workington · Academy sponsor led	40.5	34%	54%	3.56	176
30= , up 2 places since 2024	Netherhall School Maryport · Community school	39.7	28%	50%	3.25	148
30= , down 6 places since 2024	The Whitehaven Academy Whitehaven · Academy sponsor led	39.7	33%	50%	3.26	126
32 , up 4 places since 2024	Walney Academy Barrow-in-Furness · Academy sponsor led	38.7	22%	41%	3.19	114
33 , down 7 places since 2024	Queen Elizabeth Studio School Studio schools	37.8	30%	48%	3.06	129
34 , down 1 place since 2024	St Josephs Catholic High School, Workington Workington · Academy converter	37.4	31%	48%	3.08	93
35 , up 4 places since 2024	Solway Community School Wigton · Community school	35.0	8%	50%	3.17	24
36 , down 5 places since 2024	St Bernards Catholic High School, Barrow Barrow-in-Furness · Academy converter	34.6	23%	43%	3.01	150
37 , down 2 places since 2024	Samuel King's School Alston · Foundation school	30.2	23%	31%	2.37	13
38 , down 1 place since 2024	Beacon Hill Community School Wigton · Community school	28.8	13%	30%	2.52	30
39 , down 1 place since 2024	Energy Coast UTC Workington · University technical college	24.2	12%	38%	2.30	129

Schools with the same Attainment 8 score share a rank (shown as "=").

Under each rank: the change since the 2024 table, in places gained (+) or lost (−). No figure means the rank is unchanged or the school had no ranked 2024 result.

Independent schools in Cumbria with published 2025 GCSE results

Listed as published, not ranked. The DfE tables count only reformed GCSEs, so a school whose pupils sit IGCSE, Pre-U or the IB reports a lower figure than its results merit, or none at all. Compare independent schools on their own published examination results and inspection reports.

School	Attainment 8 (as published)	Grade 5+ English & maths	Pupils
Austin Friars Carlisle · Other independent school	15.6	0%	37
Sedbergh School Sedbergh (La10 5hg) · Other independent school	27.9	0%	126
Windermere School The Lake District · Other independent school	25.4	0%	40

How to read this table

Attainment 8 is the average points a school's pupils achieved across eight GCSE subjects: English and maths (double-weighted), three EBacc subjects (sciences, computing, history, geography, languages) and three further approved qualifications. The DfE publishes it for every state school; the England average for 2025 was 46.1.

Grade 5+ in English and maths is the share of pupils reaching a "strong pass" in both; grade 4+ is the "standard pass". EBacc APS is the average point score across the English Baccalaureate subjects, including pupils who did not enter them.

Progress 8 is not shown: the DfE published no Progress 8 for 2025 because these pupils sat no Key Stage 2 tests in 2020, the baseline it is measured from. Attainment 8 rewards intake as well as teaching, so a selective school will usually top an attainment-only table.

Ranks are shared where scores tie. Schools are ranked here on published results alone; our composite score, which also weighs Ofsted inspection, progress and attendance, orders the same schools on the best secondary schools page.

This is the 2025 archive of the table: each school's 2025 figures, ranked within that year, so a school with no 2025 figure is listed unranked even where it has results for a later year. The main Cumbria GCSE results page always ranks the newest year the DfE has published.

See the best secondary schools in Cumbria on our composite score

Cumbria GCSE results 2025: secondary school league table

Secondary schools in Cumbria ranked on Attainment 8

Independent schools in Cumbria with published 2025 GCSE results

More about schools in Cumbria

Cumbria GCSE results: common questions