Community school

Solway Community School

Mixed · ages 11–16 · no sixth formCumberland, North West · Wigton CA7 4DDSchool website
Pupils on roll
150of 295 places
Free school meals
33.3%
Year 11 cohort 2025
24
Ofsted
Inspected, 3 December 2024Read the Ofsted report
What the data says

Solway Community School has no sixth form. Of the 26 pupils who finished Year 11 there in 2023, none moved to a sixth form college, 46% to a further education college and 12% started an apprenticeship.

27% of leavers were not in sustained education, employment or training six months on, compared with 6% nationally.

Apprenticeships are a real route from here: 12% of leavers started one, roughly three times the England figure of 3%.

GCSE results in 2025 were well below the national picture: Attainment 8 of 35.0 against 46.1 across England and 42.3 in Cumberland, with 8% of pupils getting grade 5 or above in both English and maths (England 45%).

Where pupils went after Year 11

Destinations of the 2023 Year 11 leavers, measured the following year: the share in a sustained place for at least two terms. Compared with all state-funded schools in Cumberland and England.

Solway Community School
Cumberland
England
School sixth formSixth form collegeFurther education collegeOther educationApprenticeshipEmploymentNo sustained destination
MeasureSolway Community SchoolCumberlandEngland
Pupils in the cohort262,780607,348
Any sustained destination73%91%92%
Stayed in education54%74%86%
— school sixth form8%37%34%
— sixth form college0%13%
— further education college46%36%37%
— other education0%1%2%
Apprenticeship12%12%3%
Employment8%5%3%
No sustained destination27%7%6%
Destination unknown0%3%3%

GCSE results 2025

MeasureSolway Community SchoolCumberlandEngland
Attainment 8 (average points per pupil)35.042.346.1
Grade 5 or above in English and maths8%37%45%
Grade 4 or above in English and maths50%58%65%
Entered the English Baccalaureate subjects38%32%41%
EBacc average point score3.173.764.09
Disadvantaged pupils in the cohort42%24%28%
Attainment 8 — disadvantaged pupils26.931.534.9
Attainment 8 — other pupils40.845.850.4
Pupils with high prior attainment (Key Stage 2)
English as an additional language0%5%19%

Progress 8 is not available for 2025 and 2026: these cohorts had no Key Stage 2 tests in 2020 and 2021, so there is no baseline. Attainment 8 shows results without taking pupils’ starting points into account.

Subjects taken at GCSE

Entries in 2025 as a share of the Year 11 cohort, and the share of entries graded 7–9 and 4–9, compared with all entries in England.

SubjectEntriesShare of cohortEnglandGrades 7–9EnglandGrades 4–9
Combined Science24100%65%0%9%58%
Mathematics2396%88%0%22%57%
English Language2396%89%0%20%57%
English Literature2396%86%0%21%61%
Geography1875%41%0%25%33%
Fine Art1458%9%0%28%14%
Spanish938%19%0%27%67%
History521%41%26%

Technical awards and other Key Stage 4 qualifications

SubjectEntriesShare of cohortEngland
Sports Studies12
Hospitality / Catering Studies12

Other secondary schools in Cumberland

Caldew School

Academy converter · sixth form · 990 pupils

81% stayed in education · Attainment 8 44.3

Cockermouth School

Academy converter · sixth form · 1,254 pupils

82% stayed in education · Attainment 8 51.9

Energy Coast UTC

University technical college · sixth form · 383 pupils

61% stayed in education · Attainment 8 24.2

Keswick School

Academy converter · sixth form · 1,208 pupils

84% stayed in education · Attainment 8 52.1

Millom School

Community school · sixth form · 476 pupils

48% stayed in education · Attainment 8 44.9

Sources: Department for Education school and college performance tables 2024/2025 (Key Stage 4 and 16–18 results, subject entries, destination measures for 2023 leavers); Get Information About Schools register as at 19 September 2026; Ofsted management information as at 31 August 2026. Small numbers are suppressed by DfE and shown as “—”. How to read these figures.