Appleby Grammar School
Academy converter · sixth form · 357 pupils
74% stayed in education · Attainment 8 40.7
Community school
John Ruskin School
- Pupils on roll
- 247of 230 places
- Free school meals
- 11.3%
- Year 11 cohort 2025
- 48
- Ofsted
- Improved significantly, 26 March 2025Read the Ofsted report
What the data says
John Ruskin School has no sixth form. Of the 45 pupils who finished Year 11 there in 2023, none moved to a sixth form college, 58% to a further education college and 18% started an apprenticeship.
Apprenticeships are a real route from here: 18% of leavers started one, roughly three times the England figure of 3%.
Design and Technology is unusually popular at GCSE: 60% of the year group took it, against 11% of pupils across England.
GCSE results in 2025 were above the national picture: Attainment 8 of 52.9 against 46.1 across England and 45.4 in Westmorland and Furness, with 50% 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 Westmorland and Furness and England.
School sixth formSixth form collegeFurther education collegeOther educationApprenticeshipEmploymentNo sustained destination
| Measure | John Ruskin School | Westmorland and Furness | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils in the cohort | 45 | 2,451 | 607,348 |
| Any sustained destination | 98% | 95% | 92% |
| Stayed in education | 76% | 78% | 86% |
| — school sixth form | 18% | 32% | 34% |
| — sixth form college | 0% | — | 13% |
| — further education college | 58% | 45% | 37% |
| — other education | 0% | 2% | 2% |
| Apprenticeship | 18% | 11% | 3% |
| Employment | 4% | 5% | 3% |
| No sustained destination | 2% | 4% | 6% |
| Destination unknown | 0% | 1% | 3% |
GCSE results 2025
| Measure | John Ruskin School | Westmorland and Furness | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Attainment 8 (average points per pupil) | 52.9 | 45.4 | 46.1 |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 50% | 42% | 45% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 75% | 63% | 65% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate subjects | 25% | 24% | 41% |
| EBacc average point score | 4.67 | 3.90 | 4.09 |
| Disadvantaged pupils in the cohort | 13% | 17% | 28% |
| Attainment 8 — disadvantaged pupils | 47.3 | 34.1 | 34.9 |
| Attainment 8 — other pupils | 53.7 | 47.7 | 50.4 |
| Pupils with high prior attainment (Key Stage 2) | — | — | — |
| English as an additional language | 4% | 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.
| Subject | Entries | Share of cohort | England | Grades 7–9 | England | Grades 4–9 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| English Language | 47 | 98% | 89% | 19% | 20% | 87% |
| Mathematics | 47 | 98% | 88% | 15% | 22% | 79% |
| Religious Studies | 46 | 96% | 31% | 15% | 32% | 67% |
| English Literature | 46 | 96% | 86% | 20% | 21% | 85% |
| Geography | 34 | 71% | 41% | 26% | 25% | 76% |
| Combined Science | 29 | 60% | 65% | 17% | 9% | 76% |
| Design and Technology | 29 | 60% | 11% | 28% | 23% | 86% |
| Fine Art | 19 | 40% | 9% | 0% | 28% | 58% |
| History | 18 | 38% | 41% | 39% | 26% | 83% |
| Physics | 18 | 38% | 23% | 67% | 46% | 100% |
| Chemistry | 18 | 38% | 23% | 67% | 47% | 100% |
| Biology | 18 | 38% | 23% | 50% | 45% | 100% |
| French | 15 | 31% | 18% | 40% | 29% | 87% |
| Drama | 15 | 31% | 7% | 0% | 27% | 53% |
| Food Preparation and Nutrition | 14 | 29% | 8% | 43% | 21% | 93% |
| Computer Science | 7 | 15% | 13% | 29% | 30% | 71% |
| Music | 3 | 6% | 5% | — | 33% | — |
| Classical Civilisation | 1 | 2% | 1% | — | 40% | — |
| Art and Design | 1 | 2% | 7% | — | 24% | — |
| Ancient History | 1 | 2% | 0% | — | 37% | — |
Other secondary schools in Westmorland and Furness
Cartmel Priory CofE School
Academy converter · 371 pupils
85% stayed in education · Attainment 8 47.2
Chetwynde School
Free schools · 508 pupils
76% stayed in education · Attainment 8 44.2
Dallam School
Academy converter · sixth form · 761 pupils
86% stayed in education · Attainment 8 44.1
Dowdales School
Community school · 877 pupils
70% stayed in education · Attainment 8 41.8
Furness Academy
Academy sponsor led · 1,187 pupils
72% stayed in education · Attainment 8 42.4
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.