Appleby Grammar School
Academy converter · sixth form · 357 pupils
74% stayed in education · Attainment 8 40.7
Academy converter
Kirkby Stephen Grammar School
- Pupils on roll
- 377of 545 places
- Free school meals
- 20.5%
- Year 11 cohort 2025
- 66
- Ofsted
- Good, 30 January 2024Read the Ofsted report
Results below include those reported under the school’s previous registration: Kirkby Stephen Grammar School (URN 112433, until 1 August 2011).
What the data says
Of the 57 pupils who finished Year 11 at Kirkby Stephen Grammar School in 2023, 42% stayed on in Kirkby Stephen Grammar School’s own sixth form (Westmorland and Furness average 32%), 28% went to a further education college and 23% started an apprenticeship.
Apprenticeships are a real route from here: 23% of leavers started one, roughly three times the England figure of 3%.
Among the 34 students who left the sixth form in 2023, 65% went to university (Westmorland and Furness 27%, England 37%), and 21% of level 3 students progressed to one of the most selective universities, against 19% nationally.
Media Studies is unusually popular at GCSE: 42% of the year group took it, against 4% of pupils across England.
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 | This school | Westmorland and Furness | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils in the cohort | 57 | 2,451 | 607,348 |
| Any sustained destination | 100% | 95% | 92% |
| Stayed in education | 72% | 78% | 86% |
| — school sixth form | 42% | 32% | 34% |
| — sixth form college | 2% | — | 13% |
| — further education college | 28% | 45% | 37% |
| — other education | 0% | 2% | 2% |
| Apprenticeship | 23% | 11% | 3% |
| Employment | 5% | 5% | 3% |
| No sustained destination | 0% | 4% | 6% |
| Destination unknown | 0% | 1% | 3% |
Where students went after sixth form
Destinations of students who finished 16–18 study in 2023, measured the following year.
University (higher education)Further educationOther educationApprenticeshipEmploymentNo sustained destination
| Measure | This school | Westmorland and Furness | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Students in the cohort | 34 | 2,081 | 541,441 |
| Any sustained destination | 88% | 83% | 79% |
| University (higher education) | 65% | 27% | 37% |
| — most selective universities (top third), of level 3 students | 21% | — | 19% |
| Further education | 0% | 6% | 5% |
| Apprenticeship | 6% | 16% | 7% |
| Employment | 18% | 34% | 28% |
| No sustained destination | 12% | 13% | 16% |
GCSE results 2025
| Measure | This school | Westmorland and Furness | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Attainment 8 (average points per pupil) | 47.7 | 45.4 | 46.1 |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 41% | 42% | 45% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 65% | 63% | 65% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate subjects | 12% | 24% | 41% |
| EBacc average point score | 3.99 | 3.90 | 4.09 |
| Disadvantaged pupils in the cohort | 17% | 17% | 28% |
| Attainment 8 — disadvantaged pupils | 44.3 | 34.1 | 34.9 |
| Attainment 8 — other pupils | 48.3 | 47.7 | 50.4 |
| Pupils with high prior attainment (Key Stage 2) | — | — | — |
| English as an additional language | 5% | 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 Literature | 66 | 100% | 86% | 15% | 21% | 76% |
| Mathematics | 66 | 100% | 88% | 11% | 22% | 74% |
| English Language | 66 | 100% | 89% | 12% | 20% | 76% |
| Physics | 46 | 70% | 23% | 9% | 46% | 70% |
| Biology | 46 | 70% | 23% | 11% | 45% | 89% |
| Chemistry | 46 | 70% | 23% | 9% | 47% | 80% |
| History | 44 | 67% | 41% | 23% | 26% | 68% |
| Geography | 29 | 44% | 41% | 34% | 25% | 90% |
| Media Studies | 28 | 42% | 4% | 18% | 20% | 86% |
| Design and Technology | 22 | 33% | 11% | 5% | 23% | 45% |
| Food Preparation and Nutrition | 20 | 30% | 8% | 10% | 21% | 50% |
| Combined Science | 20 | 30% | 65% | 5% | 9% | 25% |
| Fine Art | 19 | 29% | 9% | 21% | 28% | 95% |
| Physical Education | 17 | 26% | 11% | 29% | 24% | 76% |
| Drama | 12 | 18% | 7% | 8% | 27% | 83% |
| Spanish | 11 | 17% | 19% | 18% | 27% | 55% |
| Computer Science | 10 | 15% | 13% | 10% | 30% | 50% |
| Russian | 1 | 2% | 0% | — | 87% | — |
A levels and other level 3 courses
| Measure | This school | Westmorland and Furness | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Students at the end of 16–18 study | 46 | — | — |
| — of whom A level students | 26 | 893 | 261,341 |
| Average A level grade | C | C+ | B- |
| Average points per A level entry | 29.44 | 32.79 | 35.00 |
| Average grade, best 3 A levels | C | C+ | B- |
| AAB or better with two facilitating subjects | 4% | 16% | 18% |
| Average grade, applied general courses | — | — | — |
| Average grade, T levels | — | — | — |
A level subjects
Entries as a share of A level students, compared with the share across England.
| Subject | Entries | Share of cohort | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| History | 12 | 46% | 13% |
| Chemistry | 11 | 42% | 17% |
| Biology | 10 | 38% | 20% |
| Media Studies | 9 | 35% | 4% |
| Sociology | 9 | 35% | 13% |
| Mathematics | 6 | 23% | 31% |
| Physical Education | — | — | 3% |
| Physics | — | — | 12% |
| Geography | — | — | 10% |
| English Language and Literature | — | — | 2% |
| Fine Art | — | — | 3% |
Applied, technical and other level 3 courses
| Subject | Qualification | Entries | Share of cohort | England |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Health Studies | OCR Cambridge Technical Certificate at Level 3 | — | — | — |
| Media Studies | GCE AS level (All) | — | — | — |
| Sociology | GCE AS level (All) | — | — | — |
| Media Studies | GCE AS level (Not continued to A2) | — | — | — |
| Sociology | GCE AS level (Not continued to A2) | — | — | — |
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.