Appleby Grammar School
Academy converter · sixth form · 357 pupils
74% stayed in education · Attainment 8 40.7
Academy converter
Queen Elizabeth Grammar School Penrith
- Pupils on roll
- 1,026of 1,065 places
- Free school meals
- 5.0%
- Year 11 cohort 2025
- 160
- Ofsted
- Good, 24 January 2023Read the Ofsted report
Results below include those reported under the school’s previous registration: Queen Elizabeth Grammar School (URN 112428, until 1 May 2011).
What the data says
Of the 158 pupils who finished Year 11 at Queen Elizabeth Grammar School Penrith in 2023, 85% stayed on in Queen Elizabeth Grammar School Penrith’s own sixth form (Westmorland and Furness average 32%), 12% went to a further education college and 1% started an apprenticeship.
Among the 119 students who left the sixth form in 2023, 64% went to university (Westmorland and Furness 27%, England 37%), and 51% of level 3 students progressed to one of the most selective universities, against 19% nationally.
GCSE results in 2025 were well above the national picture: Attainment 8 of 64.8 against 46.1 across England and 45.4 in Westmorland and Furness, with 88% of pupils getting grade 5 or above in both English and maths (England 45%) — as a selective grammar school, Queen Elizabeth Grammar School Penrith admits pupils by test at 11, which drives these figures.
German is unusually popular at GCSE: 22% of the year group took it, against 5% of pupils across England.
Where pupils went after Year 11
Destinations of the 2023 Year 11 leavers, measured the following year: the share in a sustained place for at least two terms. Compared with all state-funded schools in Westmorland and Furness and England.
School sixth formSixth form collegeFurther education collegeOther educationApprenticeshipEmploymentNo sustained destination
| Measure | This school | Westmorland and Furness | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils in the cohort | 158 | 2,451 | 607,348 |
| Any sustained destination | 99% | 95% | 92% |
| Stayed in education | 97% | 78% | 86% |
| — school sixth form | 85% | 32% | 34% |
| — sixth form college | 0% | — | 13% |
| — further education college | 12% | 45% | 37% |
| — other education | 0% | 2% | 2% |
| Apprenticeship | 1% | 11% | 3% |
| Employment | 2% | 5% | 3% |
| No sustained destination | 1% | 4% | 6% |
| Destination unknown | 0% | 1% | 3% |
Where students went after sixth form
Destinations of students who finished 16–18 study in 2023, measured the following year.
University (higher education)Further educationOther educationApprenticeshipEmploymentNo sustained destination
| Measure | This school | Westmorland and Furness | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Students in the cohort | 119 | 2,081 | 541,441 |
| Any sustained destination | 88% | 83% | 79% |
| University (higher education) | 64% | 27% | 37% |
| — most selective universities (top third), of level 3 students | 51% | — | 19% |
| Further education | 3% | 6% | 5% |
| Apprenticeship | 4% | 16% | 7% |
| Employment | 18% | 34% | 28% |
| No sustained destination | 9% | 13% | 16% |
GCSE results 2025
| Measure | This school | Westmorland and Furness | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Attainment 8 (average points per pupil) | 64.8 | 45.4 | 46.1 |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 88% | 42% | 45% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 96% | 63% | 65% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate subjects | 64% | 24% | 41% |
| EBacc average point score | 6.01 | 3.90 | 4.09 |
| Disadvantaged pupils in the cohort | 3% | 17% | 28% |
| Attainment 8 — disadvantaged pupils | — | 34.1 | 34.9 |
| Attainment 8 — other pupils | — | 47.7 | 50.4 |
| Pupils with high prior attainment (Key Stage 2) | — | — | — |
| English as an additional language | 9% | 5% | 19% |
Progress 8 is not available for 2025 and 2026: these cohorts had no Key Stage 2 tests in 2020 and 2021, so there is no baseline. Attainment 8 shows results without taking pupils’ starting points into account.
Subjects taken at GCSE
Entries in 2025 as a share of the Year 11 cohort, and the share of entries graded 7–9 and 4–9, compared with all entries in England.
| Subject | Entries | Share of cohort | England | Grades 7–9 | England | Grades 4–9 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| English Language | 160 | 100% | 89% | 36% | 20% | 96% |
| Mathematics | 160 | 100% | 88% | 59% | 22% | 98% |
| English Literature | 159 | 99% | 86% | 31% | 21% | 92% |
| Religious Studies | 152 | 95% | 31% | 40% | 32% | 84% |
| Biology | 119 | 74% | 23% | 51% | 45% | 100% |
| Physics | 118 | 74% | 23% | 44% | 46% | 99% |
| Chemistry | 118 | 74% | 23% | 55% | 47% | 100% |
| History | 111 | 69% | 41% | 44% | 26% | 90% |
| Geography | 95 | 59% | 41% | 57% | 25% | 97% |
| French | 80 | 50% | 18% | 45% | 29% | 96% |
| Physical Education | 59 | 37% | 11% | 17% | 24% | 88% |
| Food Preparation and Nutrition | 57 | 36% | 8% | 84% | 21% | 100% |
| Design and Technology | 43 | 27% | 11% | 60% | 23% | 100% |
| Combined Science | 41 | 26% | 65% | 10% | 9% | 93% |
| German | 35 | 22% | 5% | 46% | 33% | 94% |
| Fine Art | 35 | 22% | 9% | 74% | 28% | 97% |
| Computer Science | 32 | 20% | 13% | 34% | 30% | 91% |
| Drama | 31 | 19% | 7% | 13% | 27% | 77% |
| Music | 16 | 10% | 5% | 69% | 33% | 94% |
| Polish | 2 | 1% | 1% | — | 84% | — |
| Italian | 1 | 1% | 0% | — | 53% | — |
| Latin | 1 | 1% | 1% | — | 74% | — |
A levels and other level 3 courses
| Measure | This school | Westmorland and Furness | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Students at the end of 16–18 study | 237 | — | — |
| — of whom A level students | 121 | 893 | 261,341 |
| Average A level grade | B- | C+ | B- |
| Average points per A level entry | 37.14 | 32.79 | 35.00 |
| Average grade, best 3 A levels | B- | C+ | B- |
| AAB or better with two facilitating subjects | 22% | 16% | 18% |
| Average grade, applied general courses | — | — | — |
| Average grade, T levels | — | — | — |
A level subjects
Entries as a share of A level students, compared with the share across England.
| Subject | Entries | Share of cohort | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mathematics | 41 | 34% | 31% |
| History | 39 | 32% | 13% |
| Biology | 30 | 25% | 20% |
| Chemistry | 26 | 21% | 17% |
| Economics | 25 | 21% | 13% |
| Psychology | 24 | 20% | 23% |
| Religious Studies | 20 | 17% | 4% |
| Physics | 18 | 15% | 12% |
| Geography | 18 | 15% | 10% |
| English Language | 17 | 14% | 4% |
| Geology | 16 | 13% | 0% |
| English Literature | 16 | 13% | 11% |
| Environmental Science | 16 | 13% | 1% |
| Politics | 11 | 9% | 6% |
| Fine Art | 10 | 8% | 3% |
| Physical Education | 8 | 7% | 3% |
| Drama | 8 | 7% | 2% |
| Further Mathematics | 7 | 6% | 5% |
| French | 6 | 5% | 1% |
| Product Design | — | — | 2% |
| German | — | — | 0% |
| Music | — | — | 0% |
Applied, technical and other level 3 courses
| Subject | Qualification | Entries | Share of cohort | England |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Study Skills | Extended Project (Diploma) | 41 | 34% | — |
| Mathematics | GCE AS level (Not continued to A2) | — | — | — |
| Mathematics | GCE AS level (All) | — | — | — |
Other secondary schools in Westmorland and Furness
Cartmel Priory CofE School
Academy converter · 371 pupils
85% stayed in education · Attainment 8 47.2
Chetwynde School
Free schools · 508 pupils
76% stayed in education · Attainment 8 44.2
Dallam School
Academy converter · sixth form · 761 pupils
86% stayed in education · Attainment 8 44.1
Dowdales School
Community school · 877 pupils
70% stayed in education · Attainment 8 41.8
Furness Academy
Academy sponsor led · 1,187 pupils
72% stayed in education · Attainment 8 42.4
Sources: Department for Education school and college performance tables 2024/2025 (Key Stage 4 and 16–18 results, subject entries, destination measures for 2023 leavers); Get Information About Schools register as at 19 September 2026; Ofsted management information as at 31 August 2026. Small numbers are suppressed by DfE and shown as “—”. How to read these figures.