Ullswater Community College
Ullswater Community College is a large mixed secondary school in Penrith, Cumbria, England. It teaches around 1,520 pupils aged 11 to 18, with about 200 in the sixth form. The school opened in 1980 as Ullswater High School after two nearby schools merged (Tynefield Girls and Ullswater Boys).
The campus has two main blocks, Cumberland and Westmorland, named after historic counties, plus Eamont Block for students with learning disabilities and other blocks like Eden, Resources and Rural Science. Ullswater covers a very large area of about 600 square miles and has a neighbour and rival, Queen Elizabeth Grammar School (QEGS), which is selective.
Past leaders include David Robinson (until 2004), Stewart Gimber, Nigel Pattinson (from 2009), Nick Ellery, and Stephen Gilby (since 2019). The school is a Business and Enterprise College with strong links to the local community. It built a large Applied Learning Centre, opened in 2011 by the Duke of Gloucester.
In 2012 there was controversy over a pay rise for the headteacher at a time of staff redundancy. In 2016, the Prince of Wales visited to see work in applied subjects such as Construction, Motor Vehicle and Hair and Beauty.
GCSE results improved a lot: in 2012, 95.5% of students gained five or more A*-C grades, up from 54% in 2009. The school had been named the most improved secondary school in the North West by SSAT in 2010. The school was rated Good by Ofsted in 2023.
Website: https://www.ullswatercc.co.uk
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 20:30 (CET).