Heron Hill Primary School

About Heron Hill Primary School

Heron Hill Primary School sits within the Westmorland and Furness local authority, a mixed state primary for children aged 3 to 11. In the most recent local rankings of similar schools, it placed 58th out of 121, putting it just below the middle of the pack. The top-performing peers in the area are Yarlside Academy, St Mary's Catholic Primary School in Ulverston, and Staveley CofE School, all of which scored higher on the same ranking metric. Heron Hill's own ranking score of 55 places it in the bottom half of schools nationally, though it's worth noting that the local authority itself has only six schools rated Outstanding by Ofsted, so Good provision is the norm here. The school is led by headteacher Lucy Middleton and currently has 424 pupils on roll, slightly exceeding its official capacity of 420. It is a non-religious school with nursery provision, and it has a notably low proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals at 7.1 per cent.

Academically, Heron Hill's Key Stage 2 results for the 2023/24 year show a mixed picture. The proportion of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined was 55 per cent, which is below the local authority average of 58 per cent. In individual subjects, reading saw 79 per cent at expected and 24 per cent at a higher standard, while maths had 74 per cent at expected and 10 per cent at higher. Writing was weaker, with 65 per cent at expected and 11 per cent at higher. The school's average scaled scores were 105 in reading and 104 in maths, both close to the national benchmark of 100. In its most recent Ofsted inspection, carried out in October 2022, the school was rated Good overall, with leadership and management also judged Good. This represents a clear improvement from its previous graded inspection in 2013, when it was rated Requires Improvement. The ungraded inspection in 2022 confirmed that the school remains Good.

Heron Hill offers a solid range of facilities and activities for a primary of its size. There is a library, music rooms, a dining hall, an outdoor playground, a forest school area, and even a chapel. Sports provision includes swimming, cricket, gymnastics and athletics, while clubs cover science, chess, choir and eco activities. The school has a broad SEND offer, with support for specific learning difficulties like dyslexia, moderate learning difficulties, speech and language needs, visual impairment, autistic spectrum disorder, and social, emotional and mental health needs. For the 2025/26 admissions cycle, the school was oversubscribed: 37 first-preference applications were received for 37 places, but total applications reached 77, giving an oversubscription ratio of 2.08. This suggests strong local demand, so families considering Heron Hill should be prepared to apply early. It is likely to suit families who value a Good-rated, well-resourced community primary with a forest school and a wide range of clubs, and who are comfortable with academic results that sit around the local average.

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