Ofsted: Good trending_up Places Available emoji_events #14 in Westmorland and Furness public Top 37% UK

Dowdales School

verifiedData: DfE 2024/25–2025/26 · Ofsted

person Ms Emma Aubrey (Headteacher)

location_onDalton-in-Furness, LA15 8AH

language Visit Website phone 01229469800

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Ofsted

Good

Inspected 2019

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Students

797

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Attainment 8

41.1

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GCSE Rank

#12 in Westmorland and Furness

#2,740 of 4,024 nationally

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Dowdales School is a Community school secondary school in Dalton-in-Furness, serving ages 11-16. Rated Good by Ofsted.

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School Summary

Dowdales School is a community school in Dalton-in-Furness, Westmorland and Furness, admitting pupils aged 11-16. The school has approximately 877 pupils on roll, of whom 21% are eligible for free school meals.

In 2026, pupils achieved an Attainment 8 score of 41.1, placing the school #12 in Westmorland and Furness and #2,740 of 4,024 nationally. 34.50% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in English and Maths. 11.4% of all GCSE entries were graded 9–7.

Ofsted last inspected the school in 2019. The school's current overall rating is Good.

In the most recent admissions cycle, applications were at 1.0× capacity.

The pupil-to-qualified-teacher ratio is 18.5:1. There are no current teaching vacancies.

In the 2024/25 academic year, there were no permanent exclusions. The average suspension rate was 3.1 per 1,000 pupils per term.

verified Source: DfE 2024/25–2025/26 · Ofsted

Academic Performance

verified Data: UK Gov 2024/25

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Secondary Performance Trends (KS4)

2026

Attainment 8 Score

41.1

across 8 GCSE slots

Grade 5+ E&M

34.50%

Grade 4+ E&M

51.40%

Grade 9–7 (all GCSEs)11.4%

5+ GCSEs (4+ incl. E&M)48.60%

Triple Science Entry22.30%

EBacc Slot Score11.8 / 30

2025

Attainment 8 Score

41.8

across 8 GCSE slots

Grade 5+ E&M

26.00%

Grade 4+ E&M

52.00%

Grade 9–7 (all GCSEs)9.6%

Entering EBacc20.00%

EBacc APS3.41

2024

Progress 8 Score

-0.29

vs National Avg

Attainment 8

44.1

Grade 5+ E&M

35.60%

Entering EBacc17.80%

EBacc APS3.67

2023

Progress 8 Score

-0.40

vs National Avg

Attainment 8

43.6

Grade 5+ E&M

Entering EBacc11%

EBacc APS3.72

2022

Progress 8 Score

-0.48

vs National Avg

Attainment 8

44.5

Grade 5+ E&M

Entering EBacc34%

EBacc APS3.9

2019

Progress 8 Score

-0.04

vs National Avg

Attainment 8

46.4

Grade 5+ E&M

Entering EBacc33%

EBacc APS4.06

2018

Progress 8 Score

-0.12

vs National Avg

Attainment 8

46.4

Grade 5+ E&M

Entering EBacc19%

EBacc APS3.99

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Student Destinations (After Secondary)

This module shows what students did after finishing Key Stage 4 (GCSEs). It reflects how well the school prepares pupils for the real world.

2026

Stayed in Education / Employment

93.3%

Education (e.g. Sixth Form/College)69.4%

Apprenticeships21.1%

Employment2.8%

Not in Education / Employment (NEET)5%

2025

Stayed in Education / Employment

93%

Education (e.g. Sixth Form/College)70%

Apprenticeships18%

Employment4%

Not in Education / Employment (NEET)6%

2024

Stayed in Education / Employment

95%

Education (e.g. Sixth Form/College)70%

Apprenticeships18%

Employment7%

Not in Education / Employment (NEET)5%

2023

Stayed in Education / Employment

93%

Education (e.g. Sixth Form/College)65%

Apprenticeships19%

Employment9%

Not in Education / Employment (NEET)5%

2022

Stayed in Education / Employment

95%

Education (e.g. Sixth Form/College)75%

Apprenticeships12%

Employment8%

Not in Education / Employment (NEET)4%

2021

Stayed in Education / Employment

95%

Education (e.g. Sixth Form/College)73%

Apprenticeships18%

Employment4%

Not in Education / Employment (NEET)4%

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Ranking History & Trajectory

National & Local Authority position based on DfE performance data · Methodology

Year	Secondary Overall (Nat)	LA Rank	GCSE Attainment	Progress 8 Rank
2026	#2,371 / 4,024	#14	#2,740	#1
2025	#2,351 / 3,948	#14	#2,562	#1
2024	#1,975 / 4,450	#13	#2,126	#2,258
2023	#2,333 / 4,321	#14	#2,209	#2,440
2022	#2,305 / 4,199	#15	#2,370	#2,521
2019	#1,420 / 2,711	#9	#1,416	#1,482
2018	#1,491 / 2,537	#12	#1,325	#1,634

Ofsted History

Publication Timeline

Report Archive

04 February 2025

Inspection Report

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09 July 2019

Inspection Report

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15 November 2018

Inspection Report

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20 November 2013

Inspection Report

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15 June 2011

Inspection Report

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25 January 2011

Inspection Report

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12 December 2007

Inspection Report

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18 April 2005

Inspection Report

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Inspection Report

Inspection History

3 Evaluations

2019-07-09

S5 Inspection Legacy

Good

Education

No Judgement

Behaviour

No Judgement

Development

No Judgement

Leadership

Good

verified_user Safeguarding: Met

2018-11-15

None Legacy

No Judgement

Education

No Judgement

2013-11-20

None Legacy

Good

Education

No Judgement

Behaviour

No Judgement

Development

No Judgement

Leadership

Outstanding

Wellbeing, SEN & Pastoral Care

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Behaviour & Discipline (Suspensions & Exclusions)

Official Department for Education (DfE) data. Suspensions measure temporary removals due to behavior, while exclusions represent permanent removals.

Suspension Rate

2.8%per term

sentiment_satisfied Below Average (Good)

National average: 7.3% for this term (secondary).

Pupils Suspended 1+ Times

2.3%(19 pupils)

Spring term 2025

Represents the proportion of unique students suspended at least once in this term.

Permanent Exclusions

0pupils

verified Excellent (Zero)

National average: 7.398% of pupils excluded per term.

Pastoral Context: In the Spring term of 2025, this school served a headcount of 827 pupils. During this period, there were 23 temporary suspensions. The school's suspension rate was 2.8%, which is below the termly national average of 7.3%.

View Historical Disciplinary Records (2017–2025)keyboard_arrow_down

Year / Term	Headcount	Suspensions	Susp. Rate	Nat. Avg	Perm. Excl.
2024/25 (Spring term)	827	23	2.8%	7.3%	0
2024/25 (Autumn term)	817	28	3.4%	7.8%	0
2023/24 (Summer term)	792	15	1.9%	7.4%	0
2023/24 (Spring term)	792	24	3.0%	7.1%	0
2023/24 (Autumn term)	793	17	2.1%	8.2%	1
2022/23 (Summer term)	797	25	3.1%	6.6%	1
2022/23 (Spring term)	797	40	5.0%	6.4%	0
2022/23 (Autumn term)	798	43	5.4%	5.9%	2
2021/22 (Summer term)	831	49	5.9%	4.7%	1
2021/22 (Spring term)	819	43	5.3%	4.9%	0
2021/22 (Autumn term)	819	38	4.6%	4.4%	2
2020/21 (Summer term)	895	51	5.7%	3.6%	0
2020/21 (Spring term)	887	8	0.9%	1.0%	1
2020/21 (Autumn term)	889	49	5.5%	3.9%	2
2019/20 (Summer term)	959	0	0.0%	0.0%	0
2019/20 (Spring term)	959	33	3.4%	3.2%	1
2019/20 (Autumn term)	955	51	5.3%	4.2%	1
2018/19 (Summer term)	979	54	5.5%	3.1%	0
2018/19 (Spring term)	979	42	4.3%	3.8%	0
2018/19 (Autumn term)	980	40	4.1%	3.8%	2
2017/18 (Summer term)	983	54	5.5%	3.4%	1
2017/18 (Spring term)	982	36	3.7%	3.0%	1
2017/18 (Autumn term)	980	27	2.8%	3.7%	1
2016/17 (Summer term)	1,001	32	3.2%	3.0%	0
2016/17 (Spring term)	1,011	42	4.2%	3.3%	2
2016/17 (Autumn term)	1,021	81	7.9%	3.1%	3

Source: DfE Suspensions and Permanent Exclusions in England. Data represents termly statistics as published by the Department for Education.

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Supported Special Educational Needs (SEN)

Primary areas of need currently supported by the school. A high number often indicates specialized internal units or high staff experience in these areas.

Specific Learning Difficulty 67 pupils

Social, Emotional & Mental Health 57 pupils

Speech, Language & Communication 37 pupils

Moderate Learning Difficulty 11 pupils

Other Difficulty/Disability 10 pupils

Autistic Spectrum Disorder 9 pupils

Physical Disability 7 pupils

Hearing Impairment 2 pupils

Severe Learning Difficulty 1 pupils