Kendal schools

[Melissa8]

Hello,
I am new here and haven't really posted before.
My family and I are looking to relate to South Lakes from Liverpool and we are very fond of Kendal. Our DS is currently in year 4 so will be starting secondary in just under two years. I wondered if anybody could share their thoughts/knowledge on schools in the area. I am hoping to arrange some tours of the local primaries in due course but would love to hear more from any locals on here. As a teacher myself, I will also be looking for work in a school so any advice/help would be much appreciated!

As you haven't had a reply I shall add my twopenneth worth, even though it's quite a while since my children were in Kendal schools. To be honest, I don't think there is a bad primary in Kendal. They are all pretty good and it's probably personal preference and availability that is key. Personally, I wasn't too keen on Castle Park but it was more a feeling than anything specific. My two ended up at Heron Hill and loved it there, lots of space and a nice school. Stramongate was more enclosed and a bugger to get to by car, Ghyllside has had its ups and downs but seems fine! St Thomas went through a rough patch but that was YEARS ago!
I would find out which ones have vacancies and then go look!

As for teaching, I applied for a job in Kendal along with 450 others! Didn't get it😒

Thanks for your reply! I am
inclined to agree, all the primary schools look pretty great so far. I gave arrange to visit one already during our half term holiday 😊

Do you know what the secondaries are like in Kendal? Thanks again.

When we were there, Kirkbie Kendal was considered the better school but again, i dont think there is much between them now. Again, depends where you live, Queen Katherine's is at one side and Kirbie at the other! I really don't think it's worth travelling all the way( in relative terms) round the town to avoid one or the other.

Thank you very much for your advice! Have a great weekend!

And you. And enjoy your life in Kendal, I miss it all the time!

Named changed for this (obviously) so as not to be outed 😊

I don’t think there are any ‘bad’ primaries in Kendal. Certainly some are better at some things than others, and if your child has particular needs (eg SEN) then ask a lot of questions, but generally, they’re all pretty good.

The two town secondaries are both very good. Kirkbie Kendal has historically been seen as the stronger / more academic school and Queen Katherine suffered a bad OFSTED a few years ago, but now both are excellent. Again, unless your child had particular needs, whichever is closest is probably your ‘best’ option. GCSE results are strong at both and A-Level are amongst the best in the country. I wouldn’t hesitate to send my DC to either.

The primaries surrounding Kendal are also very good, but secondaries more mixed: Settlebeck, Cartmel, QES, all good. Dallam used to have a great reputation, but has had loads of upheaval over the last few years. The new head seems good, but it’s going to take a lot of work to get it back into a strong position. Lakes School gets mixed reviews.

Work wise, are you looking for primary or secondary? I’m less sure of primary jobs market, but both Kendal secondaries are good to work in, and there are very few applicants for each job. Lancaster, Ulverston, Penrith, all also commutable distance.

Tbh, your bigger problem is likely to be housing. Are you looking to rent (virtually impossible) or buy? (Doable, but look carefully at flood maps) You might need to be flexible about location, but wherever you end up living, the schools are likely to be good 😊

Hope that helps. Feel free to PM me. It’s a great place to live, work and bring up kids.

Apologies for the late reply, KendalTeacher. Thank you very much for all your advice! I will PM you :)

@Melissa8 ive just heard Queen Katherine is to joint Cumbria Education Trust (CET). I checked it out and it’s true https://www.cumbriaeducationtrust.org/2023/10/17/expansion-on-the-cards-for-cet/

Could mean a few changes in the coming years - might be worth checking out?

CET have done some really good things with schools out west. Dragged Workington and Whitehaven out of special measures and really turned them around so could be a good thing for the school? Something to consider.

Hey! Thank you very much for this! I will look into it further. Incidentally, my mum is a teacher currently based in Whitehaven so I will ask her, too.

I went to Kirkbie Kendal but it was a LONG time ago (late 90s and early 00s) and I'm not in the area anymore. When I was there though, there was a sense that we were 'lesser' than Queen Katherine. We were better at Sport (not me personally, I was awful!) but their exam results were better and they were better at Music. They were a bigger school too. Both very mixed catchment areas and most people stuck to the one closer to them so in reality there probably wasn't much to choose between them. Historically speaking, Kirkbie Kendal was the old grammar so possibly tried to cling to a bit of prestige from that but it was too long ago to count even then.

Both good schools though, I think - then and now. And no realistic private or grammar options unless you're prepared to travel 10 miles plus each way so there was no creaming off.

Primaries - all good. There was a bit of snobbery about Ghyllside due to its catchment but, as well as serving a large council estate it also had some of the nicest houses in the town in its catchment so very mixed. Identical story for St Thomas' - that was also very much a church school (C of E) as was Dean Gibson (RC). Vicarage Park officially C of E but less 'practising' than St Thomas' - also the smallest Kendal school (St Marks in Natland is smaller and used to take Kendal children if they wanted to travel a couple of miles - some probably did). Either Stramongate or Castle Park was weaker than the others, I think, but I can't remember which one! And probably not relevant now anyway! Heron Hill, good reputation.

Dallam is excellent. The upheaval with the SLT was a blip for them but the new head is strong and the school is back to how it was previously. It didn't take much work.

Kirkbie Kendal has had some issues and I wouldn't consider it. For the first time I've heard a few negative things about QES but I still wouldn't hesitate to send my children there.

Thanks @miniaturepixieonacid and @Ahyeh, It's really helpful to have so many insights. I think I've found a primary for DS that would be great for the next two years - think I'll learn more about the demographics of the secondaries while we are there. There doesn't seem to be much between them though which is great :) thanks again for taking the time to help!

Can I just add that Settlebeck School in Sedbergh is a really excellent, underappreciated secondary school. I would really advise a look around. Its so warm and welcoming. Because it has a resource provision for SEN pupils parents often won't give it a chance but the care and teaching that the pupils receive in Year 10 and 11 is exemplary in my opinion.

Hi @Bea80, thank you for your post. I'm not familiar with the school but will have a look! Thanks again!

I disagree; vicarage park is a very poor school and is often called a “cult”. The SEN there is lacking and they handle disabled children incredibly poorly to the point they had to leave. An autistic child was locked a room before and refused lunch until she spoke to them. The male PE teacher is downright creepy aswell.

Oh my goodness, I wonder what can have happened?! I went to that Primary school many years ago and the church connection was very loose (just a half termly assembly from the Parish Church vicar and some hymn practices). They also had a name for being the school to send children with SEND too. Everyone who had statements (no EHCPs then) tended to get Vicarage Park named on them and there were several children with significant physical and learning disabilities. Really sad to read how it has changed.