Richard Rose Central Academy

Richard Rose Central Academy is a secondary comprehensive school within United Learning Trust, serving pupils aged 11 to 18 including a sixth form. Inspectors found the school has improved markedly since its previous inspection and now provides a good quality of education across its key judgements, including sixth-form provision. Pupils are happy, behave extremely well and benefit from a well-thought-out curriculum, strong teaching and high expectations. The school has worked determinedly, with trust support, to improve standards, and safeguarding arrangements are effective. The main concerns are not about behaviour or the broad curriculum design but about consistency in a few subjects and in pupils' oral confidence. In a small number of subjects, activities do not always help pupils apply learning independently or deepen their understanding, and some pupils, including sixth-form students, lack confidence in discussion, debate and articulating their ideas. The school has recognised the oracy issue but its work is at an early stage. Published key stage 4 outcomes do not yet reflect the current quality of provision because they stem from historic weaknesses, and the school is focused on ensuring current improvements translate into strong outcomes.

Strengths

• Pupils are happy, wear their uniform with pride and behave extremely well.
• Pupils listen attentively, follow instructions quickly and disruption to learning is rare.
• The school has exceptionally high expectations of what pupils can achieve.
• The curriculum is extremely well thought out and carefully designed to build knowledge and skills.
• Teachers have strong subject knowledge and communicate new information clearly.
• Behaviour policy is applied consistently and fairly by staff.
• Teachers regularly check understanding and address misconceptions swiftly.
• Pupils are given plenty of opportunities to recall prior learning and connect it to new ideas.
• Disadvantaged pupils build knowledge successfully over time and achieve well.
• Pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities are well supported and learn well.
• Effective reading support helps pupils read more confidently and fluently.
• Attendance has improved, including for disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND.
• The wider development offer includes clubs, trips, university visits and safety education.
• Sixth-form students act as excellent role models and take on leadership responsibilities.
• Leaders rigorously evaluate the school and are unafraid to make changes where needed.
• Governors bring expertise and carefully hold the school to account.
• Staff support the school's ambitious vision and appreciate flexibility around planning time.
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective.

Areas for Improvement

• In a few subjects, teaching approaches and activity choices do not help pupils deepen learning or build independence.
• Some pupils, including sixth-form students, lack confidence in articulating their understanding orally.
• Opportunities for pupils to express themselves through discussion and debate are inconsistent.
• The school's work to develop pupils' oracy skills is in the early stages.
• Published key stage 4 outcomes do not yet reflect the current quality of education, reflecting historic weaknesses.

Admissions: local authority offers data from the Department for Education. A school is oversubscribed when at least 5% of the families who put it first were not offered a place, and undersubscribed when everyone who put it first got in but 10% or more of its places were unfilled in the Department's school capacity survey (the latest survey is used for entry years it does not cover). Places: Department for Education, School capacity, from local authorities' annual survey as at 1 May. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024–25); the survey was not run in 2020. Places include sixth form places. Forecasts are the local authority's own for the school's planning area, an area it uses to plan places that is not the school's catchment area. The forecast starts from a head count in 2025; the dashed line is the Department's estimate of places in that area, including those the authority has firm plans for. Planned places are cumulative, and only those with firm plans are counted.

In 2024–25 pupils at Richard Rose Central Academy attended 89.2% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 31.5% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 23.4%).

Sessions missed

Pupils persistently absent

Source: Department for Education, Pupil absence in schools in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Persistent absence means missing 10% or more of sessions; severe absence means 50% or more. No figures were published for 2019/20.

In 2024–25, 7.4% of pupils at Richard Rose Central Academy were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). One pupil was permanently excluded.

Pupils suspended at least once

Source: Department for Education, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). A pupil can be suspended more than once, so suspensions per 100 pupils can be higher than the share of pupils suspended. Very small numbers are hidden by the DfE. Exclusion figures dropped in 2020 and 2021 because of school closures.

In 2025–26 Richard Rose Central Academy had 17.2 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 23.7% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 14.1%).

Pupils per teacher

Teachers who left the school within a year

Source: Department for Education, School workforce in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Pupils per teacher counts full-time-equivalent pupils and teachers. Turnover is the share of a year's teachers (full-time equivalent) who were not at the school the following year, whether they moved to another school or left state-funded teaching. Turnover and sickness figures run one year behind the ratios. Sick leave is the share of teachers who took at least one day in the year, so it swings widely at small schools, where a few teachers can make it 0% or 100%. The national figures are for all state schools of the same type.

In 2025–26, 10.6% of pupils at Richard Rose Central Academy were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 2.3% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 3.5%).

Pupils by main type of need

Source: Department for Education, Special educational needs in England (the 2025–26 school census). SEN support is extra help in school without an EHC plan. National figures are for all state-funded secondary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2024–25 Richard Rose Central Academy received £8,368 and spent £8,172 for each of its 1,036 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £926,000 (£894 per pupil).

Across all 93 schools of United Learning Trust, income was £8,687 and spending £8,616 per pupil.

Income per pupil

Spending per pupil

Source: Department for Education, Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool. Each year is the one the financial year ends in (2024 is 2023–24). Academy figures include a share of the trust's central services, shared out by pupil numbers, and are rounded to the nearest £1,000. Premises costs were defined differently from 2024, so compare them across that gap with care.

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Carlisle · Cumberland local authority: places and applications

Richard Rose Central Academy is part of United Learning Trust, which runs 98 schools. The nearest others:

• Richard Rose Morton Academy Carlisle
• Marsden Heights Community College Nelson
• The Hyndburn Academy Blackburn
• Accrington Academy Accrington
• Dukesgate Academy Salford
• The Lowry Academy Manchester
• Cravenwood Primary Academy Manchester
• Brentnall Academy Salford
• Marlborough Road Academy Salford
• The Albion Academy Salford

What is Richard Rose Central Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Richard Rose Central Academy is Good, from an inspection in May 2025.

When was Richard Rose Central Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

Richard Rose Central Academy was last inspected in May 2025.

How many pupils does Richard Rose Central Academy have?

Richard Rose Central Academy has 1,035 pupils on roll.

What age range does Richard Rose Central Academy cover?

Richard Rose Central Academy for pupils aged 11 to 18.

What are Richard Rose Central Academy's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 42.4, and 37% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Richard Rose Central Academy?

Richard Rose Central Academy is at Victoria Place, Carlisle, Cumbria, CA1 1LY.