Ghyllside Primary School

About Ghyllside Primary School

Ghyllside Primary School in Westmorland and Furness enjoys strong backing from its parent community, with 96% of respondents to the most recent Ofsted Parent View survey saying they would recommend the school. That survey, covering September 2024 to September 2025, drew 184 responses and showed particularly high satisfaction with children's happiness and safety: 84% strongly agreed that their child is happy, and 83% strongly agreed that their child feels safe. The school is also clearly popular locally. For the 2025/26 intake, it received 95 applications for 55 places, giving an oversubscription ratio of 1.73. Of those, 54 were first-preference applications, and 54 first-preference offers were made, meaning almost every family that put it first got a place. Parents also rated the range of clubs and activities highly, with 77% strongly agreeing their child can take part, and 72% strongly agreeing there is a good range of subjects available.

Academically, Ghyllside sits in the top half of primary schools nationally and within its local authority. In the 2023/24 Key Stage 2 results, 69% of pupils reached the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined, which is above the Westmorland and Furness local authority average of 58%. The school ranks 31st out of 99 primary schools in the LA, placing it in the top third. At the higher standard, 6% achieved that level in all three subjects. Reading and maths both had an average scaled score of 105, while 81% met expectations in writing and 79% in maths. However, the school's most recent Ofsted inspection, carried out in July 2025, rated overall effectiveness as 'Requires Improvement', a downgrade from its previous 'Good' rating in 2014. The inspection found that quality of education and leadership and management both require improvement, though behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and early years provision were all judged 'Good'.

Ghyllside is a mixed, state primary for children aged 3 to 11, with nursery provision on site. It has capacity for 459 pupils and currently has 449 on roll, with 13.4% eligible for free school meals. The school offers a range of facilities including a library, gymnasium, sports hall, playing fields, art studios, music rooms and a chapel. Clubs include book club, drama, choir and science club, while sports on offer are athletics, dance, cross country, rounders, football and cricket. The school has identified SEND provisions covering specific learning difficulties like dyslexia, moderate learning difficulty, social, emotional and mental health needs, speech, language and communication needs, and autistic spectrum disorder. With strong parent satisfaction and a solid academic record relative to the local average, Ghyllside is a good fit for families who value a broad curriculum and community feel, but who are comfortable with a school currently working through an Ofsted improvement plan.

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