Dowdales School is a state-funded secondary school in Westmorland and Furness, North West, for pupils aged 11 to 16 for boys and girls. DfE data records 877 pupils on roll and a published capacity of 1,050.
The latest recorded Ofsted overall judgement is Good (5 Feb 2025). The published Attainment 8 score was 41.8 for 2024/25. Admissions data records 153 first-preference applications and 160 offers made on national offer day for 2026/27.
Reporting periods vary by source — Methodology.
School admissions data, what the Ofsted report means for you, and how it compares to nearby schools.
Good
Based on 5 Feb 2025 · Legacy grading · Open inspection report ↗
| Area | Judgement |
|---|---|
| Leadership & management | Good |
| Area | Judgement |
|---|---|
| Overall effectiveness | Good |
| Leadership & management | Outstanding |
Ungraded inspection · 5 Feb 2025: Standards maintained
Published 10 Sept 2019.
Ofsted legacy grades; compare inspection dates and frameworks.
Distance unavailable; check admission criteria with the school or council.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| School’s local authority | Westmorland and Furness |
| Applications open | Usually 1 September 2026 |
| Application deadline | 31 October 2026 |
| National offer day | 1 March 2027 |
Apply through your home council; confirm local dates and any extra school forms.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Offers made on National Offer Day | 160 |
| First-preference applications | 153 |
| Applications (all preferences) | 360 |
| First-preference offers | 153 |
Source: Published admissions data; follow each measure’s labelled basis, including all preferences where shown.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Attainment 8 (average score) | 41.8 |
| English & maths: grades 9–4 | 52% |
| English & maths: grades 9–5 | 26% |
| EBacc entry | 20% |
| EBacc grades 9–4 | 12% |
| EBacc grades 9–5 | 4.7% |
| EBacc average point score | 3.41 |
DfE · 2024/25; compare the same year and measure (— unavailable or suppressed).
| Destination | Pupils |
|---|---|
| This school’s sixth form | 9% |
| Sixth-form college | 0% |
| Further education college | 61.2% |
| Apprenticeship | 18% |
| Employment | 4.5% |
| Not sustained | 5.6% |
| Unknown | 1.7% |
Cohort: 178 pupils · Sustained education or employment: 92.7%
DfE destinations follow school leavers, not current pupils.
18.5 pupils per qualified teacher
2025/26 · Full-time equivalent teachers, not class size.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Authorised absence2024/25 | 7.67% |
| Unauthorised absence2024/25 | 1.78% |
| Group | Pupils |
|---|---|
| White British | 94.2% |
| White other | 0.4% |
| Mixed | 3.6% |
| Asian | 0.5% |
| Black | 0.6% |
| Other | 0.3% |
DfE school, census, workforce, absence and exclusion data; periods vary, and missing values are not zero.
DfE data; confirm current support with the school's SENCO.
91% would recommend this school
117 responses · Sep 2024 – Sep 2025
| Question | Agree or strongly agree |
|---|---|
| Happy at school | 92% |
| Feels safe | 91% |
| Well behaved pupils | 87% |
| Bullying dealt with | 23% |
| Question | Agree or strongly agree |
|---|---|
| Aware of curriculum | 76% |
| Concerns dealt with | 58% |
| SEND support | 80% |
| High expectations | 88% |
| Child does well | 87% |
| Progress updates | 88% |
| Subject range | 97% |
| Clubs & activities | 96% |
| Personal development | 83% |
View the Ofsted dataset: voluntary responses may not represent all families; separate from Classpot reviews.
| Measure | Value |
|---|---|
| Teaching hours | 08:50 – 15:25 |
Source: School website · checked 2026-05-19; confirm current arrangements.
Check the school website for term dates, holidays and INSET days.
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