Under Margaret Stones, the school's first headteacher, Chetwynde achieved high levels of sporting and academic success.

The school remained under the leadership of the headmaster Russell Collier with a new board of governors, the majority from the Chetwynde Support Group (CSG).

The school began to offer new bursary programs to make it more accessible to the local community and to increase enrollment.

Students now generally attend Barrow Sixth Form College located on the opposite side of Rating Lane to the school.

Under pressure from the Department for Education through the issuing of a financial notice to improve,[7] Chetwynde School began to seek a multi-academy trust to join.

[10][11][12][13] In the 2011 GCSEs, pupils achieved a 100% pass rate with all gaining at least five "A*" to "C" grades, making Chetwynde the best school in Cumbria for GCSE results.

[15] In 2013, Chetwynde School Sixth Form maintained its 100% A-Level pass rate for the fourth consecutive year.

[17] In sport, the school has competitive rugby union, football, cricket, hockey, tennis, cross country running, basketball, and athletics teams.