Moving with a family means choosing schools as well as a job. This page sets out what is here: the state secondary schools near our practices, the independent options, sixth forms and colleges, a university and a new medical school, and how to apply for a place.
145
State primary, infant and junior schools in Cumberland
106 have a nursery
17
State secondary schools within reach of our practices
Listed below
30 hours
Funded childcare a week for eligible working parents
From 9 months old
Primary school numbers: Cumberland Council School Organisation Plan 2025.
State secondary schools
A real choice of schools
These are the state secondary schools closest to our practices. Each name links to the school’s website, and each has a link to its latest Ofsted report.
Carlisle and the north
Workington, Cockermouth and Keswick
Keswick School, a state day and boarding school, was rated Outstanding in every area by Ofsted in April 2024.
Whitehaven, Egremont and the south-west
Inspection outcomes change. Read each school’s latest report and visit before you decide.
For primary schools and nurseries, use Cumberland Council’s school finder to see what is near any address.
Find a school near you
Independent schools
Independent options
Austin Friars
Carlisle · ages 3 to 18 · day school
A co-educational Catholic foundation, established in 1951, taking children from nursery to sixth form.
St Bees School
St Bees, near Whitehaven · ages 11 to 18 · day and boarding
A co-educational school on the west coast, a few miles from Whitehaven, which reopened in 2018.
Sedbergh School
Sedbergh · ages 13 to 18 · boarding
A co-educational boarding school about an hour from Carlisle by road. Its prep school, Casterton, Sedbergh Preparatory School, takes children from age 3 to 13.
After 16
Sixth form, college and apprenticeships
West Coast Sixth Form
A joint sixth form run by The Whitehaven Academy and Workington Academy, offering more than 20 A level and vocational qualifications.
Lakes College
At Lillyhall, Workington: more than 200 courses and apprenticeships, T Levels and degree-level study. A new A level centre, Lillyhall Sixth Form, opened in September 2026. The National College for Nuclear is next door.
Carlisle College
In the centre of Carlisle and part of the NCG group of colleges: courses for 16 to 18 year olds, apprenticeships, adult learning and degree-level programmes.
Energy Coast UTC
A university technical college at Lillyhall for ages 14 to 19, with entry at 14 and at 16.
Higher education
A university and a medical school on the doorstep
University of Cumbria
Two Carlisle campuses: Fusehill Street for health, science, education, business, law and policing, and Brampton Road for creative and media arts. A new city-centre campus at the Citadels is planned to welcome its first students in 2028.
Pears Cumbria School of Medicine
Opened in Carlisle in August 2025 with a first cohort of 58 students. It offers a four-year graduate-entry medical degree, awarded by Imperial College London, in partnership with the University of Cumbria.
How it works
Applying for a school place
Cumberland Council co-ordinates school admissions for the whole area.
Starting secondary school in September 2027: apply by 31 October 2026.
Starting reception in September 2027: apply by 15 January 2027.
Moving during the school year: contact your preferred school directly. Schools can offer places themselves.
Childcare
Eligible working parents in England can get 30 hours a week of funded childcare, for 38 weeks of the year, for children aged from 9 months to 4 years.
Family life
What families do here
Swim and play
Information checked on 3 October 2026.
[Local colleagues to review this page before publishing]
To confirm