Schools in Whitehaven
Whitehaven has 17 schools — 14 primaries and 2 secondaries — within Cumberland Council, formed in 2023 following the merger of Allerdale and Copeland councils. Seven of the 17 schools have a faith character, predominantly Roman Catholic, reflecting the town's historically strong Catholic community. Only 2 operate as academies, meaning the majority follow Cumberland's co-ordinated admissions framework.
The two secondary schools serving Whitehaven are The Whitehaven Academy and St Benedict's Catholic High School. St Benedict's prioritises Catholic-faith applicants before applying distance criteria; The Whitehaven Academy as an academy sets its own policy but broadly follows looked-after children, siblings, then proximity. Whitehaven's West Cumbrian coastal location and relative distance from larger urban centres mean it functions as a standalone admissions zone — families have few realistic alternatives outside the town, and the secondaries rarely close their catchments before the outer district boundary.
School demand in Whitehaven
Across the 17 schools in Whitehaven with published capacity data, the average fill rate is 88%. 6 of them are currently at or above their published admission number, and at those schools catchment distance is likely to decide places at the next intake.
7 schools in Whitehaven have a religious character, so faith criteria sit alongside catchment distance in their admissions policies.
2 of the schools in Whitehaven are academies that set their own admissions criteria independently of Cumberland, so check each school's policy directly rather than assuming the council default applies.
7 of the schools in Whitehaven have a current Ofsted rating, of which 7 are rated Good or Outstanding. Demand and catchment distance tend to be tightest at the highest-rated schools.
Primary schools in Whitehaven: 5 oversubscribed (14)
Lowca Community School
Primary · Community school
Whitehaven · CA28 6QS
Moresby Primary School
Primary · Community school
Whitehaven · CA28 8UX
Bransty Primary School
Primary · Community school
Whitehaven · CA28 6EG
Kells Infant School
Primary · Community school
Whitehaven · CA28 9PQ
Monkwray Junior School
Primary · Community school
Whitehaven · CA28 9DT
Jericho Primary School
Primary · Community school
Whitehaven · CA28 6UX
St Bridget's CofE School
Primary · Voluntary controlled school
Whitehaven · CA28 6NY
St James' CofE Infant and Nursery School
Primary · Voluntary controlled school
Whitehaven · CA28 7PZ
St James' CofE Junior School
Primary · Voluntary controlled school
Whitehaven · CA28 7HG
St Mary's Catholic Primary School
Primary · Voluntary aided school
Whitehaven · CA28 9PG
St Begh's Catholic Junior School
Primary · Voluntary aided school
Whitehaven · CA28 7TE
St Gregory and St Patrick's Catholic Infant School
Primary · Voluntary aided school
Whitehaven · CA28 8AJ
Valley Primary School and Nursery
Primary · Community school
Whitehaven · CA28 8DA
Hensingham Primary School
Primary · Academy sponsor led
Whitehaven · CA28 8QZ
Secondary Schools in Whitehaven (2)
Other Schools in Whitehaven (1)
Catchment area boundaries for schools in Whitehaven are set by Cumberland and updated each year. The "last distance offered", how far the furthest successful applicant lived, changes annually based on the number of applications received.