Fir Ends Primary School

About Fir Ends Primary School

Fir Ends Primary School is a small state primary in Cumberland, a local authority where just five out of 144 primary schools hold an Outstanding Ofsted rating. The school itself is rated Good, a significant improvement from its previous Requires Improvement judgement, and its most recent ungraded inspection in January 2025 confirmed that standards are being maintained. In Cumberland’s primary school rankings, Fir Ends sits at 102 out of 111 schools based on the proportion of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths. The top-performing peers in the area are Jericho Primary School, Irthington Village School and Shankhill CofE Primary School, all of which score considerably higher on the same metric. With just 92 pupils against a capacity of 135, Fir Ends is a genuinely small school, and its nursery provision means children can join from age three. The school serves a relatively affluent intake, with only 7.2 per cent of pupils eligible for free school meals.

Academically, Fir Ends’ Key Stage 2 results for 2023/24 show that 31 per cent of pupils reached the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined, compared with a Cumberland local authority average of 54 per cent. The school’s ranking places it in the bottom 50 nationally, at the 97th percentile. In individual subjects, 54 per cent of pupils met the expected standard in reading, maths and writing respectively, while the proportion reaching the higher standard was 23 per cent in reading and 8 per cent in both maths and writing. Average scaled scores were 103 in reading and 101 in maths. Progress scores are not available in the data, so it is not possible to say how much value the school adds relative to pupils’ starting points. The parent view, based on 34 responses collected between September 2024 and September 2025, shows that 79 per cent of parents would recommend the school, though responses to specific questions were mixed.

The school offers a range of facilities including a library, music rooms, art studios, a gymnasium, playing fields and a forest school, alongside clubs such as choir, eco club, gardening and film club. Sports on offer include football, netball, cricket, athletics, rounders and dance. For children with additional needs, the school lists provisions for moderate learning difficulty, social, emotional and mental health needs, and speech, language and communication needs, though no parents responded to the SEND-specific question in the parent view. For the 2025/26 intake, the school was oversubscribed: it received 13 applications for 10 places, all of which were first-preference offers, giving an oversubscription ratio of 1.3. This suggests a steady local demand, particularly from families who live close enough to secure a place. Fir Ends will suit parents looking for a small, community-focused primary with nursery provision, a Good Ofsted rating and a range of extracurricular activities, but who are aware that its academic outcomes are below the local average.

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