The Nelson Thomlinson School

Type Secondary / Voluntary controlled school
Age Range 11-18
Religion Unknown
Address High Street
Wigton
Cumbria
CA7 9PX
Phone 01697342160
Reference Number 112397

The Nelson Thomlinson School has demonstrated overall good performance in its recent Ofsted inspection, marking a notable transition from its previous outstanding grade. The school fosters a supportive and respectful environment where pupils feel safe and are encouraged to excel academically. Strong traditions in community engagement and a well-structured curriculum contribute positively to pupil achievement, including for those with special educational needs and/or disabilities. While the school provides ample extracurricular opportunities and effective personal development programs, there are areas in need of improvement, particularly in fostering a more robust reading culture.

General Makeup

Number of pupils 1160
Boy/Girl ratio Boys: 46.38%
Girls: 53.62%
Percentage of students eligible for free school meals 13.6%
Percentage of students where English is not their first language 4%

Class Sizes

Average size of one teacher classes 19.7

Year Groups

Year Boys Girls Total
7 92 106 198
8 105 95 200
9 91 102 193
10 95 111 206
11 94 100 194
12 36 55 91
13 25 53 78

Ethnicities

Ethnicity Percentage
White, British 92.5%
White, Other 2.6%
Unclassified 1.3%
African 1%
Mixed, Other 0.7%
Pakistani 0.4%
White & Asian 0.3%
Indian 0.3%
Chinese 0.2%
Asian, Other 0.2%

Overall Ofsted Rating Good
 >  Quality of education Good
  >  Behaviour & Attitude Good
  >  Personal Development Good
  >  Leadership & Management Good
  >  Sixth Form Provision Good
Last Report Date 17 Oct 2023
Date Report
17 Oct 2023 School inspection:
16 May 2013 Full inspection:
30 Jun 2010 Interim assessment
11 Feb 2009 Curriculum and development visit
14 Nov 2006 Full inspection:
05 Feb 2001 Full inspection

Strengths

  • Pupils feel safe and are happy at school.
  • Strong expectations for pupil achievement are communicated effectively.
  • A broad and ambitious curriculum is well-designed and logically ordered.
  • Extracurricular activities engage most pupils and develop their wider talents.
  • Effective support is provided for pupils with SEND.
  • Leaders prioritize staff well-being and ongoing training.

Areas for Improvement

  • The culture of reading is not fully embedded across the school.
  • Some pupils in key stage 4 struggle with reading fluency.
  • Systems for analyzing attendance patterns are underdeveloped.
  • Communication with parents and stakeholders needs improvement.

Attainment 8 Score

Attaimenment 8 is a measure of a pupil's average grade across a set of 8 subjects. The 8 subjects which make up Attainment 8 are:

  • English
  • Maths
  • 3 subjects from qualifications that count towards the English Baccalaureate (EBacc), like sciences, language and history
  • 3 more GCSE qualifications (including EBacc subjects) or technical awards from a list approved by the Department for Education

Each grade a pupil gets is assigned a point score from 9 (the highest) to 1 (the lowest). These scores are added up, with English and maths counted twice.

School Score Percentile (local) Percentile (nationwide)
46.2

GCSE Results

Metric School Score Percentile (local) Percentile (nationwide)
Grade 5 or above in English and maths 46.9%
5 or more GCSEs at grade 9-4 (or A-C) 66%

Attainment 8 Score

Attaimenment 8 is a measure of a pupil's average grade across a set of 8 subjects. The 8 subjects which make up Attainment 8 are:

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GCSE Results

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Points

Points Percentile (local) Percentile (nationwide)
Average Points 31.79
Average Points (best 3) 32.16

Grades

School Local Nationwide
Average Grade C+ C C+
Average Grade (best 3) C+ C+ C+
Percentage Percentile (local) Percentile (nationwide)
Students getting AAB or better 10.8%
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2025 Admissions

Number of Applications Number of Offers
First Preference
Second Preference 68 6
Third Preference 32 0
From another Local Authority 2 2

Previous Years

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Destinations after GCSE's

Staying in Education
 >  Further Education
 >  School Sixth Form
 >  Sixth Form College
 >  Other Education
Apprenticeships
Employment
Not in education or employment
Unknown

Name Distance
Thomlinson Junior School
The Goose Market, High Street, Wigton, Cumbria, CA7 9PG
0.2 miles
Wigton Nursery and Infant School
Longthwaite Road, Wigton, Cumbria, CA7 9JR
0.27 miles
St Cuthbert's Catholic Primary School
East End, Wigton, Cumbria, CA7 9HZ
0.44 miles
Boltons CofE School
Bolton Low Houses, Wigton, Cumbria, CA7 8PA
2.64 miles
Rosley CofE School
Rosley, Wigton, Cumbria, CA7 8AU
3.57 miles
Wiggonby CofE School
Wiggonby, Wigton, Cumbria, CA7 0JR
3.85 miles
Thursby Primary School
Thursby, Carlisle, Cumbria, CA5 6PN
4.51 miles
Name Distance
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Key Stage 2 Attainment

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