Ullswater Community College

Ullswater Community College (UCC) is a large mixed comprehensive school in Penrith, Cumbria. It currently has around 1450 students, including about 200 in the sixth form.

The School was formed under the name of Ullswater High School in 1980 when two single sex secondary modern schools on the same site called Tynefield (girls) and Ullswater (boys) merged. Apart from the modern school having two sets of all facilities (two halls, two gyms, two kitchens) the only reminder of the split schools is a 'Mixed Yard' in the middle of the school. This was a playground where boys and girls were allowed to 'mix' at breaks. The two main blocks of the school consist of the former schools, now renamed Cumberland block and Westmorland block, named after the historic counties of Cumbria.

The character of the school comes from two main factors. The first is its enormous catchment area, the largest in England. The second is the existence of its neighbour and great rival, Queen Elizabeth Grammar School ('QEGS'). QEGS is a selective school.

Mr David Robinson served as headmaster until 2004 thereafter the school was led by Mr Stewart Gimber as the head teacher. UCC had a good Inspection in 2006 but in 2009 it was given a Notice to Improve by Ofsted. In September 2009 Mr Nigel Pattinson took over the role as head teacher. UCC is a Business & Enterprise College and has many links with the local community through enterprise projects. The school also has a large adult or further education centre.

In January 2011, The construction of a new training centre began and was completed in September 2011. The new "Applied Learning Centre" was opened on the 29th of November 2011 by the minor royal, The Duke of Gloucester.

In May 2012 controversy arose as Nigel Pattinson, the headmaster, was given a pay rise at a time when the school was making staff redundant and was short of money. The governors defended their actions saying that the rise was due to the school meeting the targets that they had set for Mr. Pattinson. However in the Cumberland and Westmorland Herald, one reader pointed out that if he had met the target's then he had obviously not done so without the assistance of other staff.

GCSE Results 2012 – Overall, 95.5% of students at the College – which was rated by the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust (SSAT) as ‘most improved secondary school in the North West’ in 2010 – gained five or more A*–C grades, compared with last year’s 92%. Over the last 3 years, the College has improved its results from 54% in 2009 to the current figure of 95.5%, which represents an improvement of 42%.