West Lakes Academy

West Lakes Academy was inspected in June 2025 and is judged inadequate for the quality of education and for leadership and management, while behaviour and attitudes, personal development and sixth-form provision require improvement. The school has been placed in special measures. The curriculum does not help pupils build the knowledge they need, expectations of achievement are low, and teaching and assessment are weak, particularly for pupils with SEND and disadvantaged pupils. The trust has not held the school to account effectively, and a period of leadership turbulence and low staff morale has slowed improvement. There are clear strengths in the school's care and safeguarding. Pupils are typically happy, feel safe, and benefit from respectful relationships with staff. Behaviour contributes to a calm atmosphere, the school now responds swiftly to pupil concerns, and attendance has begun to improve. Some sixth-form students on vocational pathways achieve well and move on to meaningful destinations, and the West Lakes Connect provision supports improved attendance and self-belief for pupils who access it. However, wider personal development opportunities are limited, some pupils are not motivated in lessons, and reading and SEND support are underdeveloped. The new substantive headteacher and additional leaders understand what needs to be done, but the systems they are developing are in their infancy and have not yet had enough impact on current pupils. Inspectors also recommended that the school does not seek to appoint early career teachers at this time.

Strengths

• Pupils are typically happy and feel safe at school.
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective.
• Pupils' behaviour contributes to a calm atmosphere.
• Pupils enjoy respectful relationships with staff who care for them well.
• The school takes swift and appropriate action on concerns pupils report.
• Behaviour support helps most pupils who struggle to manage their behaviour.
• Attendance rates have begun to improve following recent action.
• Pupils know how to keep themselves physically and mentally healthy and safe.
• Pupils value differences and recognise the features of healthy relationships.
• Careers education enables pupils to make informed decisions about their futures.
• West Lakes Connect meets pupils' needs and improves attendance and self-belief.
• Some sixth-form vocational students achieve well and move to meaningful destinations.
• Some older pupils receive support to become confident readers.

Areas for Improvement

• The school is in special measures because it is failing to give pupils an acceptable standard of education.
• The curriculum lacks coherence and ambition, so pupils do not build sufficient depth of knowledge.
• Expectations of pupils' achievement are low.
• There are considerable weaknesses in how well teachers deliver the curriculum.
• Assessment rarely checks deeper learning or helps staff address gaps and misconceptions.
• Pupils with SEND are not accurately identified or well supported, and staff lack expertise.
• Disadvantaged pupils and some sixth-form students do not achieve well.
• The reading programme is at an early stage and fluency support is inconsistent.
• Some pupils are not motivated in lessons and expectations of attitudes to learning are low.
• High rates of absenteeism mean some pupils miss essential learning.
• Wider personal development opportunities are limited, so pupils are not well prepared for life in modern Britain.
• The trust has not held the school to account effectively for the decline in quality of education.
• Leadership turbulence and low staff morale have limited the pace of improvement.
• Sixth-form provision requires improvement, including limited wider experiences for some students.
• HMCI strongly recommends that the school does not seek to appoint early career teachers.

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 West Lakes Academy attended 90.0% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 24.1% 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, 12.7% of pupils at West Lakes Academy were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). No pupils were 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 West Lakes Academy had 17.0 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 26.4% 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, 11.8% of pupils at West Lakes Academy were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 5.3% 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 2023–24 West Lakes Academy received £8,345 and spent £8,251 for each of its 1,148 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £618,000 (£538 per pupil).

Across all 9 schools of Changing Lives Learning Trust, income was £7,328 and spending £7,847 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 Cumberland · Cumberland local authority: places and applications

West Lakes Academy is part of Changing Lives Learning Trust, which runs 9 schools. The nearest others:

• Thornhill Primary School Egremont
• St Bees Village Primary School St Bees
• Arlecdon Primary School Frizington
• Flimby Primary School Maryport
• Dearham Primary School Maryport
• Queen Elizabeth Grammar School Penrith Penrith
• Kirkby Thore School Penrith
• Settlebeck School Sedbergh

What is West Lakes Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for West Lakes Academy is Inadequate, from an inspection in September 2026.

When was West Lakes Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

West Lakes Academy was last inspected in September 2026.

How many pupils does West Lakes Academy have?

West Lakes Academy has 1,017 pupils on roll.

What age range does West Lakes Academy cover?

West Lakes Academy for pupils aged 11 to 18.

What are West Lakes Academy's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 39.6, and 32% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is West Lakes Academy?

West Lakes Academy is at Main Street, Egremont, Cumbria, CA22 2DQ.