Arnside National CofE School

About Arnside National CofE School

Arnside National CofE School’s Key Stage 2 results put it well ahead of the local authority average for primary schools in Westmorland and Furness. While the LA average for pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined sits at 58%, Arnside achieves 75% — a substantial 17 percentage point gap. That performance places the school 15th out of 99 primaries in the local authority rankings, comfortably in the top 25% nationally. The school’s maths and reading average scores of 105 and 106 respectively are also solid, though it’s worth noting that no pupils reached the higher standard in maths, compared with 25% in reading and 30% in writing. This suggests a school that reliably gets most children to the expected level but is particularly strong at stretching its more able readers and writers.

Arnside’s most recent Ofsted inspection, in June 2024, awarded it a Good rating across every category — quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years provision. That’s a clear improvement from its previous graded inspection in March 2020, when the school was rated Requires Improvement overall, with quality of education, early years provision, and leadership all marked as requiring improvement. The turnaround is notable: every area has moved up by at least one grade, and behaviour and attitudes, which were already Good, have held steady. With only 104 pupils on roll against a capacity of 168, the school is operating well below capacity, and the 9.8% of pupils eligible for free school meals is below the national average, suggesting a relatively advantaged intake.

The school offers a range of facilities including a library, playing fields, a sensory room, music rooms, a gymnasium, ICT suite and a chapel, plus clubs such as drama, science, eco and gardening. Sports on offer include gymnastics, netball, dance, athletics, cricket and football. For children with additional needs, Arnside has provisions for specific learning difficulties (dyslexia), moderate learning difficulty, speech, language and communication needs, and autistic spectrum disorder. Admission data for 2025/26 shows the school was oversubscribed: 17 applications for 9 places, with all 9 first-preference applicants offered a spot. It also has nursery provision for children from age 3. This is a small village school with strong academic outcomes, a clear upward trajectory in its Ofsted ratings, and a family-friendly feel that suits parents looking for a church school with a broad extracurricular offer.

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