"[2] A February 2011 report from the Office for Standards in Education, Children's Services and Skills (Ofsted) said that then Whitehaven School has made inadequate progress in making improvements and demonstrating a better capacity for sustained improvement' in the previous two years, according to a report issued subsequent to an Ofsted team visit in January 2011.

In January 2015 the trust announced that they had appointed Philip Grant as the new principal, who was moving to the academy from Newton Rigg College, Penrith where he was the director of studies.

Staff and parents were concerned about the lack of teaching resources with some teachers printing exam practice papers at home using their own materials, such was the shortage in school.

Staff raised their concerns writing directly to the Regional Schools Commissioner, Janet Renou, who claims she has been working with Bright Tribe and the Education and Skills Funding Agency to try to address the state of the building.

[6] The multi-academy trust, which runs nine other primary and secondary schools throughout Cumbria, confirmed that its chief operating officer was stepping down.

Janet Renou said "...it is clear that a new sponsor is required to deliver the improvement needed to ensure pupils get the education they deserve – and the process of identifying an alternative is under way.

"[6] In 2018 it emerged that the Bright Tribe Trust had taken the money intended for repairs to the school, and then not carried out the work; the Conservative government, which had approved the academy initiative, had been warned about the problems in 2015, but had taken no action.

[11] Key Stage 5 (Sixth Form) courses are provided for students who choose to continue their study at the academy.

Students from Whitehaven and Workington wanting to enter one of the three pathways of sixth-form education - Academic, Vocational and Other - will study in a combined sixth form with a free bus service between the two sites.