The Whitehaven Academy

Term dates

Academies can set their own term dates. Many follow Cumberland council's dates, shown below as a guide, but check with the school, especially for INSET days.

• Term
• Holiday
• INSET day
• Exeat

See Cumberland's full dates

Admissions

Places for Year 7 are applied for through your home council, not the school.

Apply for a secondary school place on GOV.UK

How places are given: there's no entrance test. When there are more applicants than places, places usually go by criteria such as siblings, distance or catchment area. Check the council's or school's admissions policy for the exact rules.

For the sixth form, apply to the school directly.

How many families applied: Year 7

For September 2026, 180 families put this school as their first choice, and 170 places were offered. 169 of the families who put it first got a place (94%). More families put it first than there were places.

Offers made on national offer day, from the Department for Education. Waiting lists and appeals can change things later. The hardest schools to get into.

Ofsted inspection

Latest graded inspection, 23 May 2023. Overall: Good

Quality of education

Good

Behaviour and attitudes

Good

Personal development

Good

Leadership and management

Good

Sixth form

Good

Read the Ofsted reports

From Ofsted's published inspection data (Open Government Licence). Report cards and older grades use different scales, so they can't be compared directly.

About and location

Type

Academy

Phase

Secondary

Ages

11–18

Pupils

859 (capacity 1465)

Gender

Mixed

Academy trust

CUMBRIA EDUCATION TRUST

Phone

01946595400

Address

Cleator Moor Road, Whitehaven, CA28 8TY

Website

whitehavenacademy.org.uk

Official school record, including Ofsted reports