Head Teacher’s Welcome
John Ruskin School is a fully comprehensive, oversubscribed 11 – 16 community school situated in beautiful surroundings. We provide education in the heart of the Lake District for our catchment communities of Coniston, Hawkshead, Langdale and Broughton. However, many students from other areas also choose to travel to our school. It is a thriving community that promotes high levels of academic and personal achievement for its students.
Parents are hugely supportive of John Ruskin School and many families have seen generations pass through our doors. It is a school that knows its students very well and uses that understanding to encourage, challenge and push them to achieve the very best they can. Whether that is through their academic studies or making the most of the school’s unique location through experiences like the Duke of Edinburgh award scheme, the annual fell race or the Big JRS Picnic, John Ruskin School places a real importance on developing the character of our young people so they are ready to become citizens of the world.
The school has been very successful in terms of GCSE outcomes in recent years, (links to the school performance tables and our most recent Ofsted report are on the parent information page). We are proud of our students’ achievements at GCSE, but also in the other aspects of life at John Ruskin School that make it such a unique place to study and work. Whether it be sports day, rock night or our tutor group led assemblies, a huge importance is put on these whole school events where we have the opportunity to come together as the John Ruskin School family. This was recognised in our last Ofsted report in 2019 which identified that: ‘John Ruskin School is a welcoming school where staff know every pupil. There is a strong sense of community spirit. Relationships between pupils and their teachers are warm. Pupils are well cared for, happy and safe.’
John Ruskin School works closely with other secondary schools through the South Lakes Federation and is part of The Fells Federation, coming under one governing body with Coniston Church of England Primary School. These advantages show that we continue to be a forward thinking school, working with colleagues across Cumbria to get the very best for our young people.
I look forward to you finding out why John Ruskin School is such a positive learning environment.
Mr P Blackburn
Head Teacher
Our School Vision
Our vision at John Ruskin School is to create a school community where as a student you can:
- Be respected
- Be resilient
- Be valued
- Be ready for your future
- Be you
Silver DofE at JRS

Annual fell race – John Ruskin School