Penny Bridge CofE School

About Penny Bridge CofE School

Penny Bridge CofE School’s headline KS2 results sit slightly below the Westmorland and Furness local authority average, but the gap is narrow. The school achieved a 55% combined expected standard in reading, writing and maths, compared with the LA average of 58% for primary schools. That three-point difference places Penny Bridge in the bottom half of the 121 primaries in the authority, ranked 57th. However, the picture is more nuanced when you look at individual subjects. Writing is a clear strength: 75% of pupils met the expected standard, and 10% reached the higher standard. Reading also performed well, with 70% at expected and an average scaled score of 103. Maths was the weakest area, with 60% at expected and an average score of 101. The school’s overall Ofsted rating is Good, awarded in July 2024, and it has held a Good or Outstanding rating across both its recent inspections.

The 2024 Ofsted report gives a more detailed view of the school’s strengths. Personal development was judged Outstanding, the only category to reach that level. Behaviour and attitudes, leadership and management, and the quality of education were all rated Good. Early years provision was also Good. The previous inspection in 2011 had rated the school Outstanding overall, so the 2024 judgement represents a step down, but inspectors noted that the school continues to provide a good standard of education. With only 120 pupils on roll, the school is oversubscribed: for 2025/26 entry, there were 24 applications for 15 places, all 15 first-preference applicants received offers, and the oversubscription ratio was 1.6. The proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals is just 5%, well below the national average.

Penny Bridge is a Church of England primary for mixed-gender pupils aged 4 to 11, with no nursery or sixth form. The school offers a wide range of facilities including a forest school, chapel, library, gymnasium, art studios, ICT suite, and playing fields. Sports include football, athletics, rounders and netball, and clubs cover film, drama and gardening. The school’s SEND provision is notably comprehensive, supporting pupils with specific learning difficulties such as dyslexia, moderate learning difficulties, social, emotional and mental health needs, speech, language and communication needs, hearing impairment, physical disability, and autistic spectrum disorder. This breadth of support, combined with the strong personal development rating and the forest school, suggests the school is well suited to families who value pastoral care and inclusive provision alongside academic progress.

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