Ullswater Community College

Information for candidates

Ullswater Community College (UCC) is a happy school, where students and teachers expect to treat one another with respect.

Location: situated in Penrith – a Cumbrian market town on the fringes of the Lake District National Park – UCC is just a stone's throw from Ullswater, the second largest lake in the Lake District.

Caring and well liked: a popular and oversubscribed school, at UCC we're intensely ambitious for our students, care deeply about all aspects of their success and value everyone’s unique differences.

Vision: our vision is to ensure that UCC is ‘best in county’ in all we do. Ofsted rated UCC as "Good" in April 2023. Subsequently, we were recognised as "Best Secondary School in Cumbria" at the annual NewsQuest Educational awards in October 2023.

Community: our wider community is incredibly supportive of our efforts. They value the relationships we develop with them and the wide variety of extra-curricular activities and other opportunities we offer.

About UCC

UCC is a larger than average 11–18 comprehensive school serving the biggest catchment area in England, including both rural and small urban populations.

We have been recognised as one of the most improved in the county and continue to strive for further progress. 

We are currently housed in several buildings of varying age but grouped closely together, with adjacent playing fields across a large site in the heart of Penrith. We have, however, recently been named in the school rebuilding programme and anticipate a significant investment or new build in the near future.

Our staff

UCC is a welcoming and supportive community where staff really do matter – our Staff Wellbeing group is an integral part of the school's culture. Our experienced, approachable senior leadership team has a clear vision for maintaining a responsive and professional working environment.

At UCC we invest heavily in staff development. We offer an outstanding programme of continuing professional development at all levels. Our excellent Early Careers Teacher (ECT) programme is supportive and professionally run.

We consider the well-being of colleagues in every development and encourage all to be fully involved in whole-school and departmental learning initiatives.

Our students

At UCC we pride ourselves on our fantastic students and on our curriculum offer, including for our sixth form.

The percentage of students with statements of special educational needs at UCC is around the national average and we are very proud to host a strategic facility for students who, in the main, have severe, profound or multiple learning difficulties.

The proportion of students who come from minority ethnic groups is very low at UCC, as is the percentage whose first language is not English, although this number has grown in recent years. The proportion eligible for free school meals is lower than the national average. Students come from a wide range of backgrounds, although the majority do not live in areas of significant social deprivation.

A large number of children use school transport; some travelling a considerable distance to reach school each day.

Our pastoral system

Our strong pastoral system is organised on a horizontal basis and most teachers are Form Tutors, in which important aspect of their work they are led and supported by Leaders of Achievement and Success.

These year-group teams deal with the academic progress, welfare and discipline of our students. Our Leaders of Achievement and Success maintain close working contact with parents and with external agencies, ensuring we do everything possible to enable all our students to succeed.

Join us

All those associated with UCC share my pride in being part of something bigger - something that will make a difference to all our students’ lives and set them on their own path to success irrespective of background or ability.

I hope this has provided you with some background and context – please visit the school website to find out even more about our wonderful school.

Stephen Gilby, Headteacher