The Lakes School

Community school·Secondary school Windermere, Westmorland and Furness·LA23 1HW
Composite score
58.5
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#1,382
National rank
#165
In North West
#8
In Westmorland and Furness
Top 44%
Nationally

Performance (KS4 GCSE)

Attainment 8 score
46.8
National avg ≈ 46
Progress 8 score
—
% achieving 9–5 in English & Maths
42%
% achieving 9–4 in English & Maths
60%
% EBacc grade 5+
0%
EBacc average points score
3.92

Ofsted judgements

Legacy framework · Read full report ↗

Overall effectiveness
Good
Quality of education
Good
Behaviour and attitudes
Good
Personal development
Good
Leadership and management
Good
Safeguarding effective?
Yes
Sixth form provision
Good

Getting a place

Offered a place after putting it first
100%
58 first choices, 61 places
First choices per place
0.95
fewer first choices than places
Applications naming the school
91
any preference, for 61 places
Applications from another council area
1%
First preferences per place, last five years▼ 0.05
00.511.5
1 per place
0.9920220.9920231.0020241.0020250.952026

Red dashed line = one first choice per place. How to read this

Every child who put The Lakes School first was offered a place in 2026, so no distance cut-off applied: living further away did not cost a place that year.

Application figures: DfE, school level applications and offers (2026 intake).

School profile

Age range
11–18
Pupils on roll
439
Gender
Mixed
Religious character
None
Admissions
Non-Selective

Pupil background

% FSM ever-6
14.1%
Typical secondary: 27.5%
% EAL
11.6%
Typical secondary: 12.0%

Special educational needs

% SEN support
9.8%
Typical secondary: 13.7%
% with an EHC plan
4.3%
Typical secondary: 2.9%

Attendance

Overall absence
8.7%
Typical secondary: 8.9%
Persistently absent
27.1%
Typical secondary: 25.7%

Staffing & funding

Pupils per teacher
15.3
Typical secondary: 16.7
Spend per pupil
£7,896
Typical secondary: £7,815

“Typical” = the median secondary school in England. What this means

What pupils do next

The share of this school's Year 11 leavers in education, training or employment for at least two terms afterwards.

In education, training or work
95%
66 pupils tracked
Stayed in education
89%
Apprenticeship
3%
Employment
3%

DfE, KS4 destination measures.

Nearby secondary schools

Location

About The Lakes School

The Lakes School is a secondary school in Windermere, Westmorland and Furness, classified by the DfE as a community school. Around 439 pupils aged 11 to 18 attend the school. The school holds a 'Good' judgement from Ofsted. The school's average Attainment 8 score in the latest GCSE results was 46.8 — broadly in line with the national average (national average: 46). Its Attainment 8 score has fallen by 0.6 points compared with the previous year. On our composite score, which combines the DfE attainment measures above, this places it in the top 44% of secondary schools nationally.

42% of pupils achieved a grade 5 or above in both English and maths, in line with the national average of about 45%. 60% achieved a standard pass (grade 4+) in English and maths. Getting a place is straightforward: for the September 2026 intake every family who made The Lakes School their first choice was offered one of its 61 Year 7 places. After Year 11, 95% of its leavers went on to education, an apprenticeship or work that they stayed in for at least two terms. Overall pupil absence was 8.7%. There are about 15.3 pupils per teacher. Given the recent dip in results, it may be worth asking the school what is behind the change and what is being done in response. This overview is generated automatically from the latest published DfE performance tables and Ofsted data; figures are rounded, and you can check the originals via the official links above.

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