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School profile

The Whitehaven Academy

Cleator Moor Road, Whitehaven, Cumbria, CA28 8TY

State-funded
Secondary
Ages 11–18
Mixed
Sixth form

Overview

The Whitehaven Academy is a state-funded school (academy sponsor led) in Whitehaven, North West, for pupils aged 11–18. This summary is generated only from official structured fields.

School details

Official establishment type
Academy sponsor led
Establishment group
Academies
Phase of education
Secondary
Age range
Ages 11–18
Gender of entry
Mixed
Sixth form
Yes
School capacity
1,465
Pupils on roll
859
URN
146634

Admissions

Local authority
Cumberland
Academy trust or group
CUMBRIA EDUCATION TRUST

Contact the school or your local authority for catchment and application deadlines.

School places

DfE school capacity survey · May 2025 (2024/25)

Capacity at survey date
900
Pupils on roll
810
Unfilled places at survey date
90

A dated snapshot from the Department for Education school capacity survey, separate from the school details above. Unfilled places at the survey date do not mean places are currently available for admission. About this data

Official admissions data

Applications & demand

Preferences expressed by families through coordinated admissions, shown over time.

2026/27 admissions · Year 7

First preferences
180

Times the school was named as a family's first preference.

Total preferences
356

All recorded preference positions for this school.

Offers made
170

Offers recorded through coordinated admissions, not physical capacity.

First preferences compared with offers

1.06 first preferences per offer

180 first preferences and 170 offers were recorded for 2026/27.

What does this mean?

This is the Department for Education's own published comparison of first preferences with total offers recorded. It indicates the level of requests made through coordinated admissions. Offers are not necessarily the school's maximum capacity, admissions arrangements vary between local authorities, the figure is not a measure of school quality, and it should not be used on its own to judge the likelihood of gaining a place.

First preferences over time

Latest five available admissions years. Missing years are not estimated.

Admissions history

Admissions yearFirst preferencesTotal preferencesOffers made
2026/27180356170
2025/26166361169
2024/25206337174
2023/24169315173
2022/23122302169

Source: Department for Education · Applications and offers data.

Official performance data

School performance

Official Department for Education results for this school. Results are shown for the academic year they relate to.

2024/25 results

  • Attainment 8 score

    School
    39.7
    England
    47.1

    Pupils included: 126

  • Grade 5 or above in English & maths

    School
    32.5%
    England
    46.5%

    Pupils included: 126

  • Grade 4 or above in English & maths

    School
    50%
    England
    66.4%

    Pupils included: 126

  • Entering the EBacc

    School
    8.7%
    England
    41.5%

    Pupils included: 126

Progress 8 was not published for 2024/25.

Source: Department for Education · School performance data.

Official inspection data

Ofsted inspections

Inspection information published by Ofsted, shown in Ofsted's own words.

Ofsted inspection

Inspected 23 May 2023 · Published 12 July 2023

Original education inspection framework (September 2019 to August 2024)

Overall effectiveness

Good

This is a historical Ofsted judgement given under the previous inspection framework. It is not a School Nest rating.

Quality of education
Good
Behaviour and attitudes
Good
Personal development
Good
Effectiveness of leadership and management
Good
Safeguarding was effective
Yes
Sixth form provision (where applicable)
Good

View on Ofsted(opens in a new tab)

Ofsted changed how it inspects and reports on schools in November 2025. Judgements from the previous and current frameworks use different systems and should not be directly compared.

School Nest shows the inspection information Ofsted currently publishes for this school. It is not a complete record of every inspection the school has ever had.

Source: Ofsted · Inspections and outcomes. Official Ofsted page for this school

Location

Address
Cleator Moor Road, Whitehaven, Cumbria, CA28 8TY
Local authority
Cumberland

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