Caldew School is a mixed secondary academy in Carlisle, Cumberland Council, teaching 990 pupils aged 11 to 18. Ofsted rated it Good at its last graded inspection in June 2022. In 2024–2025, GCSE Attainment 8 was 44.3 (England 46.1). The 2025–2026 school year runs from 3 September 2025 to 17 July 2026.

Ofsted inspection

The latest published Ofsted judgement for Caldew School.

Latest inspection
Good Overall effectiveness
Quality of educationGood
Behaviour & attitudesGood
Personal developmentGood
Leadership & managementGood
Sixth formGood
Requires Improvement S5 Reinspection Visit 1 · Inspected 21 Jun 2022 · Published 21 Sep 2022
Read full Ofsted report ↗

Scale: Outstanding Good Requires improvement Inadequate

Term dates & holidays 2025–2026

Autumn, spring and summer terms, half-terms, INSET days and bank holidays for Caldew School.

Caldew School term dates calendar 2025–2026
Official term-dates calendar · 2025–2026 · source

Interactive Calendar

September 2025
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
  • 1–2 INSET Days
  • 3–30 Autumn Term
October 2025
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
  • 1–31 Autumn Term
  • 27–31 Autumn Half Term Holiday
November 2025
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
  • 1–30 Autumn Term
December 2025
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
  • 1–19 Autumn Term
  • 20–31 Christmas Holiday
  • 25 Christmas Day
  • 26 Boxing Day
January 2026
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
  • 1–6 Christmas Holiday
  • 1 New Year's Day
  • 6 INSET Day
  • 7–31 Spring Term
February 2026
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28
  • 1–28 Spring Term
  • 16–20 Spring Half Term Holiday
March 2026
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
  • 1–27 Spring Term
  • 28–31 Easter Holiday
April 2026
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
  • 1–12 Easter Holiday
  • 3 Good Friday
  • 6 Easter Monday
  • 13–30 Summer Term
May 2026
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
  • 1–31 Summer Term
  • 4 Early May Bank Holiday
  • 25–29 Summer Half Term Holiday
  • 25 Spring Bank Holiday
June 2026
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
  • 1–30 Summer Term
July 2026
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
  • 1–17 Summer Term
  • 18–31 Summer Holiday
August 2026
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31
  • 1–31 Summer Holiday
  • 31 Summer Bank Holiday
September 2026
MonTueWedThuFriSatSun 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30
  • 1 Summer Holiday

Key dates (2025–2026)

  • INSET Days Sep 1-2, 2025 Inset Day
  • Autumn Term Sep 3, 2025 - Dec 19, 2025 Term
  • Autumn Half Term Holiday Oct 27-31, 2025 Holiday
  • Christmas Holiday Dec 20, 2025 - Jan 6, 2026 Holiday
  • INSET Day Jan 6, 2026 Inset Day
  • Spring Term Jan 7, 2026 - Mar 27, 2026 Term
  • Spring Half Term Holiday Feb 16-20, 2026 Holiday
  • Easter Holiday Mar 28 - Apr 12, 2026 Holiday
  • Summer Term Apr 13, 2026 - Jul 17, 2026 Term
  • Summer Half Term Holiday May 25-29, 2026 Holiday
  • Summer Holiday Jul 18 - Sep 1, 2026 Holiday
  • New Year's Day Jan 1, 2026 Event
  • Good Friday Apr 3, 2026 Event
  • Easter Monday Apr 6, 2026 Holiday
  • Early May Bank Holiday May 4, 2026 Holiday
  • Spring Bank Holiday May 25, 2026 Holiday
  • Summer Bank Holiday Aug 31, 2026 Holiday
  • Christmas Day Dec 25, 2025 Holiday
  • Boxing Day Dec 26, 2025 Event

Exam results & performance

DfE performance tables Official results, 2024–2025 GOV.UK ↗
44.3 Attainment 8 England 46.1
38.7% Grade 5+ English & maths England 45.4%
26.24 A level average score England 35
25.2% Persistent absence England 17.8%

The measures that carry the most signal. Open a section to compare Caldew School with Cumberland Council and England.

Key stage 4 (GCSE) 44.3 Attainment 8 score

Year 11 results across eight qualifications, including English and maths.

This school Cumberland Council England

Attainment 8 score · Average across 8 GCSEs, out of 90 44.3
Cumberland Council 42.3 England 46.1 -1.8 vs England
Grade 5+ in English & maths · A strong pass 38.7%
Cumberland Council 36.5% England 45.4% -6.7 vs England
Attainment 8 — disadvantaged pupils 35.9
Cumberland Council 31.5 England 34.9 +1 vs England
Disadvantage gap · Attainment 8 points; smaller is better 10.5
Cumberland Council 14.3 England 15.5 -5 vs England
Disadvantaged pupils in the year group · Context for the scores above 20.2%
Cumberland Council 24.2% England 28.2%
Pupils in the year group · Small cohorts swing wildly 168
16 to 18 (A level & sixth form) 26.24 A level average point score

Results for students finishing post-16 study.

This school Cumberland Council England

A level average point score · Per entry, 50 = A* 26.24
Cumberland Council 31.8 England 35 -8.8 vs England
A level students · Small cohorts swing wildly 61
Attendance 25.2% Persistently absent pupils

Absence across the whole school year.

This school Cumberland Council England

Persistently absent pupils · Missed 10%+ of sessions; lower is better 25.2%
Cumberland Council 16.2% England 17.8% +7.4 vs England
Overall absence · Lower is better 8.7%
Cumberland Council 6.5% England 6.8% +1.9 vs England
What pupils do after GCSEs 95% In education, apprenticeship or work

Still in education, an apprenticeship or work a year after key stage 4.

This school Cumberland Council England

In education, apprenticeship or work 95%
Cumberland Council 91% England 92% +3 vs England
Same, for disadvantaged pupils 87%
Cumberland Council 79% England 83% +4 vs England
What students do after 16 to 18 study 82% In education, apprenticeship or work

Destinations the year after finishing post-16 study.

This school Cumberland Council England

In education, apprenticeship or work 82%
Cumberland Council 83% England 79% +3 vs England
Went to higher education 39%
Cumberland Council 33% England 37% +2 vs England
About this data source & caveats

Progress 8 is not published for 2024–2025. This year group missed their key stage 2 tests in 2020, so there is no baseline to measure progress from.

Attendance comparisons are pupil-weighted averages we calculate from every school’s published absence figure — the DfE absence file has no local authority or England rows of its own.

We show the headline measures only. Threshold and curriculum-policy figures — grade 4+ in English and maths, EBacc entry and points, the per-subject key stage 2 breakdown, academic and applied splits at 16 to 18 — reflect admissions and curriculum choices more than school quality, so they are left to GOV.UK. Progress measures matter most because they compare pupils with others who started at the same level; attainment on its own largely tracks a school’s intake.

Figures are the Department for Education’s official published results for Caldew School. Results are suppressed where too few pupils were entered. England figures are the average for state-funded schools. “Top x%” is this school’s position among all schools in England with a published figure for that measure — the DfE does not publish league table rankings.

Source: Compare school and college performance, Department for Education. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Location & catchment area

Indicative catchment Other secondary schools

Indicative only. This is a nearest-school (Voronoi) estimate — the area closer to Caldew School than to any other secondary school. Real admissions depend on the school’s own policy (straight-line distance, siblings, faith, feeder schools and available places) and change each year. Always confirm with the school and local authority admissions team.