Caldew School

What Caldew School does

Caldew School is a state-funded secondary school located in Dalston, near Carlisle in Cumbria, England. It operates as a company limited by guarantee and exempt charity (Company no. 07680823), serving approximately 1,020 students aged 11-18 across Year 7 through Sixth Form, with a Published Admissions Number of 174 per year group and a Sixth Form of around 150 students studying roughly 30 A Level and BTEC Level 3 courses. The school delivers the National Curriculum at Key Stages 3-4 leading to GCSEs, plus post-16 provision, supplemented by enhanced performance sports, LAMDA drama qualifications, SEND and autism resourced provision, career guidance aligned to Gatsby Benchmarks, and a broad extra-curricular programme.

The school's underlying technology stack comprises a Firefly Virtual Learning Environment for curriculum delivery, homework, and remote learning; Microsoft Office 365 including Teams for video conferencing; SIMS for student information management with a parent portal; iPay for catering payments; School Cloud for parents' evening bookings; and AccessIT for the library catalogue. None of these are proprietary — they are mainstream UK education-sector platforms integrated to provide a unified digital learning environment.

Caldew School's business model is overwhelmingly state-funded: core education is free to students, with revenue generated primarily through Department for Education per-pupil funding, local authority allocations, and Pupil Premium. Ancillary revenue streams are modest in scale and include catering services, the out-of-catchment 'spare seat' transport scheme priced at £655 per year, third-party school bus services (Stagecoach, Irving of Dalston), and facilities lettings for evening/weekend hire. In autumn 2025, the school received a £10 million investment commitment from the Story Group of companies (Story Contracting, Story Homes, Story Plant), representing a transformational capital injection rather than recurring revenue, used for a £1 million Sixth Form Centre refurbishment, enhanced sports coaching, equipment, and additional teaching staff.

Name

Caldew School

Legal name

Caldew School

Website

https://caldew.cumbria.sch.uk

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Caldew School is a state-funded secondary school in Dalston, Cumbria, delivering National Curriculum education for around 1,020 students aged 11-18 across GCSE and Sixth Form programmes, recently enhanced by a £10 million investment from the Story Group of companies.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Secondary Education

NAICS

Elementary and Secondary Schools (6111), Educational Support Services (611710)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Public Special Education Schools & Programs (EDAJAAAH)

akta.pro secondary industry

Standards Alignment & Curriculum Mapping (State/National) (EDAJAFAD)

Keywords

• Secondary education
• Sixth form courses
• GCSE curriculum
• School library services
• Remote learning platform

Headquarters

HQ city

Dalston, Carlisle

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. State Education Funding: Government-funded secondary education throughDfE funding, local authority funding, and Pupil Premium allocation for eligible students.
2. Lettings and Facilities Hire: School facilities are available for hire during evenings and weekends, including sports facilities and general spaces, generating ancillary revenue.
3. Catering Services: Breakfast, lunch, and break services provided to students, with online payment system via ipay.
4. Out-of-Catchment Transport: Spare seat scheme for students not entitled to free transport, charged at £655 per year.

Pricing tiers

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Caldew School is a state-funded secondary school in Dalston, Carlisle, Cumbria providing full-time education for students aged 11-18 across Years 7-13. The school delivers the National Curriculum with GCSE qualifications in Years 7-11 and approximately 30 A Level and BTEC Level 3 courses in the Sixth Form (Years 12-13) for around 150 students, supplemented by library services, remote learning provision, and ancillary services such as catering and school transport.

Product overview

Caldew School is a secondary school in Dalston, Carlisle, Cumbria providing education for approximately 174 students per year group across Years 7-13. The school operates a unified educational service comprising core secondary education (Years 7-11) delivering National Curriculum subjects with GCSE qualifications, and a Sixth Form (Years 12-13) offering around 30 A Level and BTEC Level 3 courses for approximately 150 students. Technology-enhanced learning is delivered primarily through the Firefly Virtual Learning Environment, which serves as the central hub for homework, class materials, marks, feedback, and remote learning via Microsoft Teams integration. The school supplements its core curriculum with specialized programmes including an enhanced sports programme (backed by £10 million Story Group investment), Performing Arts with LAMDA qualifications, comprehensive SEND support with autism provision, career guidance aligned with Gatsby Benchmarks, and a broad extra-curricular offering spanning sports, clubs, and enrichment activities. Library services provide physical and digital resources with online catalogue access.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Secondary School Education (Years 7-11) Comprehensive secondary education for students aged 11-16, following the National Curriculum with traditional academic subjects and GCSE qualifications across Key Stage 3 and Key Stage 4.
• Sixth Form (Years 12-13) Post-16 education offering around 30 A Level and BTEC Level 3 courses for approximately 150 students, with university preparation, apprenticeship pathway support, and career guidance.
• Firefly Virtual Learning Environment Online learning platform providing students and parents access to class materials, homework assignments, marks and feedback, video conferencing via Microsoft Teams, and remote learning resources.
• Library Services School library with over 2000 fiction titles and 4000 non-fiction books, online catalogue, study spaces, and access to specialist online resources including JSTOR, Philip Allen Magazines Archive, and university library catalogues.
• Remote Learning Provision Emergency remote education service delivered through Firefly VLE and Microsoft Teams, providing pre-recorded lessons, live video conferencing, class materials, and homework for students unable to attend school.
• School Catering Services Breakfast, lunch, and break services provided to students through the school canteen, with online top-up payments via the iPay system or cash machines in school.
• School Transport Services School transport including out-of-catchment spare seat scheme at £655 per year, Stagecoach S91/S92 Schoolrider service, and Irving of Dalston Transport for eligible students.
• School Facilities Lettings School facilities including sports facilities and general spaces available for hire during evenings and weekends, generating ancillary revenue for the school.

Quantifiable outcome

• Improved GCSE results in Maths and English at grade 4+, now in line with national figures
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration6 records

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered minor.

• Cumbria Youth AllianceminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnered with school for John Muir Award conservation project at Watchtree Nature Reserve, providing generous support and funding for student participation.
• Watchtree Nature ReserveminorOthersVenue for conservation project where students completed John Muir Award challenges and environmental activities.
• John Muir TrustminorOthersNational organization providing the John Muir Award qualification achieved by students through conservation activities.
• Mobius Loop MediaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCreative media company that produced a documentary film about students' John Muir Award conservation journey.
• Talk The TalkminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCommunication workshop provider that delivered speaking and listening skills sessions to Year 7 students preparing for LAMDA examinations.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Harris Federation: One of the largest UK Multi-Academy Trusts operating numerous primary and secondary academies. Comparable as a sponsor/operator of UK state secondary schools with similar funding model (DfE/local authority) and similar governance as an exempt charity, though at much greater scale.
• United Learning: Large UK Multi-Academy Trust and charity operating state-funded primary and secondary schools across England. Comparable to Caldew as a state secondary school operator with exempt charity status, although operating across a national footprint versus Caldew's single-site Cumbria presence.
• Ormiston Academies Trust: UK Multi-Academy Trust operating state secondary and primary academies. Comparable as a state secondary education provider funded through DfE allocations, but at significantly greater scale across multiple regions.
• Star Academies: UK Multi-Academy Trust running state secondary schools. Comparable as a DfE-funded secondary school operator with similar charitable governance structure, though Star focuses on areas of high deprivation and operates nationally.
• Richard Rose Central Academy: Secondary academy in Carlisle, Cumbria. Direct local competitor for Caldew within the same city-region catchment, operating the same state-funded secondary model and competing for overlapping prospective families.
• Greenwood Academies Trust: UK Multi-Academy Trust running secondary and primary academies. Comparable as a state secondary school operator funded through DfE allocations and operating under the same exempt charity/company limited by guarantee governance.
• William Howard School: Secondary school in Brampton, Cumbria — the closest geographic peer to Caldew. Comparable as a state-funded Cumbria secondary school competing for the same catchment-area families and operating under similar DfE funding structures.
• E-ACT: UK Multi-Academy Trust operating state secondary academies nationally. Comparable as a DfE-funded secondary school operator, though E-ACT's footprint and risk-sharing model differs from Caldew's standalone status.
• Queen Elizabeth Grammar School, Penrith: Selective grammar school in Penrith, Cumbria. Comparable as a Cumbria secondary provider but differentiated by selective admissions; competes with Caldew for higher-attaining families across the wider Cumbria region.
• Trinity School, Carlisle: Cumbria-based secondary school competing in the same Carlisle/Dalston admissions geography as Caldew. Comparable state secondary model, curriculum (GCSE/A Level), and Ofsted-regulated inspection regime.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/CaldewSchool
• Instagraminstagram.com/caldewschool
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/caldew-school

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Caldew School