Walney School

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Walney School
Location
Map
Sandy Gap Lane

Barrow-in-Furness
,
Cumbria
,
LA14 3JT

England
Coordinates54°06′17″N 3°15′31″W / 54.10474°N 3.25855°W / 54.10474; -3.25855
Information
TypeAcademy
Local authorityWestmorland and Furness
Department for Education URN141041 Tables
OfstedReports
Head teacherAlison Redshaw
GenderCoeducational
Age11 to 16
Enrolment518
Coloursgreen, blue, grey
Websitewww.walney-school.co.uk

Walney School is a secondary school on Walney Island in Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria. As a result of the Education Act 1944, Walney Island needed to have its own secondary school. Today (2020) it is an 11 – 16 Academy with approximately 585 students currently on roll.

History

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Vickerstown is an area of Barrow-in-Furness, is an example of a planned estate built for workers by a company needing to expand. It was constructed in the early 20th century by Vickers Shipbuilding and Engineering, on Walney Island; an island connected to the British mainland via Barrow Island, by a swing bridge. The school is on the edge of Vickerstown. As a result of the Education Act 1944, Walney Island needed to have its own secondary school. The present Sandy Gap site was agreed in 1951 and the school built.[1]

Lord Cavendish opened a new Sensory Garden in 2003.[2]

Walney School achieved Specialist Engineering Status in 2009, in Winter 2010 began to expand, by building a £6m redevelopment and extension. It will has 10 new classrooms, two music rooms, two art rooms and an additional science block. The single storey classrooms also have a Sedam turf roof, with plants growing on top to have an environmental and visual appeal. The work was meant to be undertaken in five phases, taking 65 weeks, for completion in August, the next year but due to bad weather was finally completed in summer 2012.[3] Although to go along with the Specialist Engineering Status the £300,000 engineering innovation centre was built and completed in September 2011.[4]

In October 2013 harvest mites were found in the ventilation system of the school resulting in it being closed for three days. Cumbria County Council found no link to the Sedam turf roof and ordered a new roof maintenance plan to be introduced.[5][6][7]

In September 2014 the school converted to academy status as part of the Queen Katherine School Multi-Academy Trust.[8]

Since June 2022 George Hastwell School have been occupying four of the classrooms in Walney School during Thursdays and will be moving in fully as of September 2022.[citation needed]

Context

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Walney School is an 11–16 academy with approximately 518 students on roll and a capacity for 900.[9] It converted to an academy in September 2014, when the predecessor school was condemned by Ofsted and placed in special measures. Since 2025 the school has been sponsored by the Furness Education Trust.[10][11]

Inspections

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In 2025 the school was inspected by Ofsted and graded as "requires improvement" in all areas, the same rating it has held since 2018. However, following new leadership and joining the Furness Education Trust, the leadership team are said to be "energised by the challenge" and that the school is on a "positive trajectory."[12][13]

Achievements

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In 2004, at General Certificate of Secondary Education and General National Vocational Qualification, the school was ranked 33rd out of the forty-seven secondary schools in Cumbria at the time. It has no Sixth Form, so does not teach at 'A'-level.[14]

References

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  1. ^ Walney Island Comprehensive School at walney-island.com (accessed 11 April 2008)
  2. ^ Walney School's Garden at bbc.co.uk (accessed 11 April 2008)
  3. ^ "Bug-infested roof 'could be removed'". BBC News. 7 October 2013. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
  4. ^ "Barrow Engineering Project". www.raeng.org.uk. Royal Academy of Engineering. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
  5. ^ "Walney School bug bites: Council finds no turf roof link". BBC News. 24 October 2013. Retrieved 6 December 2025.
  6. ^ "Barrow's Walney School: Part of bug-infested roof 'could be removed'". BBC News. 7 October 2013. Retrieved 6 December 2025.
  7. ^ "Harvest mite infestation closes Walney School in Barrow-in-Furness". BBC News. 23 September 2013. Retrieved 6 December 2025.
  8. ^ "Ofsted Report 2016". ofsted.gov.uk. Retrieved 30 March 2020. This article contains quotations from this source, which is available under the Open Government Licence v3.0. © Crown copyright
  9. ^ "Walney School - GOV.UK". get-information-schools.service.gov.uk. Retrieved 6 December 2025.
  10. ^ Warner, Amy (21 January 2025). "Walney Secondary School joins Furness Education Trust". Furness Education Trust. Retrieved 5 December 2025.
  11. ^ "Secondary school in Barrow joins multi-academy trust". The Mail. 20 January 2025. Retrieved 5 December 2025.
  12. ^ "Walney School at 'pivotal' time after longstanding issues". BBC News. 18 July 2025. Retrieved 5 December 2025.
  13. ^ "Furness school told it requires improvement by Ofsted inspectors". The Mail. 22 July 2025. Retrieved 5 December 2025.
  14. ^ Walney School at BBC secondary school tables online (accessed 11 April 2008)
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