Wirral’s best secondary schools 2025

Trying to find the right school for your child in Wirral? You’re in the right place.

With so many options, many parents find themselves drowning in league tables and Ofsted reports. That’s exactly why we’ve done the heavy lifting for you. Our expert team has analysed the latest 2023/2024 Department for Education data to bring you a list of the top-performing state secondary schools in Wirral.

We show two ranking tables, one for Progress 8 and one for GCSE 9–7 results, and also provide a complete list of all secondary schools in Wirral. This full list includes Progress 8 scores, GCSE 9–7 percentages, and Ofsted ratings where available. The schools in this table are ordered alphabetically rather than ranked, so you can easily see every school in one place, even if some data points are missing.

Top secondary schools in Wirral by Progress 8

Upton Hall School FCJ in Upton is currently ranked #1 in Wirral based on its published Progress 8 score of +0.91. Progress 8 is a headline accountability measure used by the Department for Education to show how much progress pupils make between the end of primary school and their GCSEs, compared to students with similar prior attainment nationally.

RankSchool nameTypeGenderProgress 8Ofsted ratingGCSE 9-7%
1Upton Hall School FCJAcademy converterGirls+0.91Outstanding53.97%
2Birkenhead High School AcademyAcademy sponsor ledGirls+0.43Good15.08%
3West Kirby Grammar SchoolAcademy converterGirls+0.42Good49.89%
4Wirral Grammar School for GirlsAcademy converterGirls+0.38Outstanding49.88%
5Wirral Grammar School for BoysAcademy converterBoys+0.36Good42.11%
6Calday Grange Grammar SchoolAcademy converterBoys+0.31Good44.53%
7Pensby High SchoolFoundation schoolMixed+0.28Good8.9%
8St Anselm's CollegeAcademy converterBoys+0.03Good23.54%
9Prenton High School for GirlsAcademy converterGirls+0.02Good11%
10Woodchurch High SchoolAcademy converterMixed-0.09Good5.63%
11Clare Mount Specialist Sports CollegeCommunity special schoolMixed-0.15Outstanding0%
12Ridgeway High SchoolFoundation schoolMixed-0.16Good7.67%
13Weatherhead High SchoolAcademy converterGirls-0.27Good12.11%
14Co-op Academy BebingtonAcademy sponsor ledMixed-0.34Good4.81%
15St John Plessington Catholic CollegeAcademy converterMixed-0.35Good6.42%
16South Wirral High SchoolFoundation schoolMixed-0.38-7.27%
17Hilbre High SchoolAcademy converterMixed-0.43Good5.15%
18Birkenhead Park SchoolAcademy sponsor ledMixed-0.55Requires improvement5.56%
19West Kirby School and CollegeNon-maintained special schoolMixed-0.82Outstanding0%
20The Mosslands SchoolCommunity schoolBoys-0.83Requires improvement6.23%
21St Mary's Catholic College, A Voluntary AcademyAcademy sponsor ledMixed-0.99Requires improvement4.43%
22The Oldershaw SchoolAcademy converterMixed-1.24-3.07%
23The Observatory SchoolCommunity special schoolMixed-1.36-5.88%
24Meadowside SchoolCommunity special schoolMixed-1.57-0%
25Kilgarth SchoolCommunity special schoolBoys-1.98Outstanding0%

Note: Rankings use 2023/2024 CSP data for state-funded schools and may not reflect recent changes, check school websites for the latest information.

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Top secondary schools in Wirral by GCSE % 9–7

Birkenhead School in Oxton is currently ranked #1 in Wirral based on the percentage of GCSE grades awarded at 9–7. This measure highlights how many pupils achieve the very top exam results, giving a clear picture of each school’s academic excellence.

RankSchool nameTypeGenderProgress 8Ofsted ratingGCSE 9-7%
1Birkenhead SchoolOther independent schoolMixed--55.74%
2Upton Hall School FCJAcademy converterGirls+0.91Outstanding53.97%
3West Kirby Grammar SchoolAcademy converterGirls+0.42Good49.89%
4Wirral Grammar School for GirlsAcademy converterGirls+0.38Outstanding49.88%
5Calday Grange Grammar SchoolAcademy converterBoys+0.31Good44.53%
6Wirral Grammar School for BoysAcademy converterBoys+0.36Good42.11%
7St Anselm's CollegeAcademy converterBoys+0.03Good23.54%
8Birkenhead High School AcademyAcademy sponsor ledGirls+0.43Good15.08%
9Weatherhead High SchoolAcademy converterGirls-0.27Good12.11%
10Prenton High School for GirlsAcademy converterGirls+0.02Good11%
11Pensby High SchoolFoundation schoolMixed+0.28Good8.9%
12Ridgeway High SchoolFoundation schoolMixed-0.16Good7.67%
13South Wirral High SchoolFoundation schoolMixed-0.38-7.27%
14St John Plessington Catholic CollegeAcademy converterMixed-0.35Good6.42%
15The Mosslands SchoolCommunity schoolBoys-0.83Requires improvement6.23%
16The Observatory SchoolCommunity special schoolMixed-1.36-5.88%
17Woodchurch High SchoolAcademy converterMixed-0.09Good5.63%
18Birkenhead Park SchoolAcademy sponsor ledMixed-0.55Requires improvement5.56%
19Hilbre High SchoolAcademy converterMixed-0.43Good5.15%
20Co-op Academy BebingtonAcademy sponsor ledMixed-0.34Good4.81%
21St Mary's Catholic College, A Voluntary AcademyAcademy sponsor ledMixed-0.99Requires improvement4.43%
22The Oldershaw SchoolAcademy converterMixed-1.24-3.07%
23Clare Mount Specialist Sports CollegeCommunity special schoolMixed-0.15Outstanding0%
24Kilgarth SchoolCommunity special schoolBoys-1.98Outstanding0%
25West Kirby School and CollegeNon-maintained special schoolMixed-0.82Outstanding0%
26LIFE Wirral Sports SchoolOther independent schoolMixed--0%
27Meadowside SchoolCommunity special schoolMixed-1.57-0%
28Progress Schools - Hamilton SquareOther independent schoolMixed--0%
29UtopiaOther independent special schoolMixed--0%

Note: Rankings use 2023/2024 CSP data for state-funded schools and may not reflect recent changes, check school websites for the latest information.

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All secondary schools in Wirral

Below is the complete list of secondary schools in Wirral, including both state-funded and independent schools where data is available. This table provides an at-a-glance view of each school’s key performance metrics, including Progress 8 scores, the percentage of GCSE grades awarded at 9–7, and Ofsted ratings, where published.

School nameTypeGenderProgress 8Ofsted ratingGCSE 9-7%
Birkenhead High School AcademyAcademy sponsor ledGirls+0.43Good15.08%
Birkenhead Park SchoolAcademy sponsor ledMixed-0.55Requires improvement5.56%
Birkenhead SchoolOther independent schoolMixed--55.74%
Calday Grange Grammar SchoolAcademy converterBoys+0.31Good44.53%
Clare Mount Specialist Sports CollegeCommunity special schoolMixed-0.15Outstanding0%
Co-op Academy BebingtonAcademy sponsor ledMixed-0.34Good4.81%
Edstart Schools WirralOther independent special schoolMixed---
Foxfield SchoolCommunity special schoolMixed-Good-
Hilbre High SchoolAcademy converterMixed-0.43Good5.15%
Horizons Independent SchoolOther independent special schoolMixed---
IMPACT Northwest SchoolsOther independent special schoolMixed---
Kilgarth SchoolCommunity special schoolBoys-1.98Outstanding0%
LIFE Wirral Sports SchoolOther independent schoolMixed--0%
Meadowside SchoolCommunity special schoolMixed-1.57-0%
Pensby High SchoolFoundation schoolMixed+0.28Good8.9%
Prenton High School for GirlsAcademy converterGirls+0.02Good11%
Progress Schools - Hamilton SquareOther independent schoolMixed--0%
Progress Schools - WirralOther independent schoolMixed---
Ridgeway High SchoolFoundation schoolMixed-0.16Good7.67%
South Wirral High SchoolAcademy converterMixed-Good-
South Wirral High SchoolFoundation schoolMixed-0.38-7.27%
St Anselm's CollegeAcademy converterBoys+0.03Good23.54%
St John Plessington Catholic CollegeAcademy converterMixed-0.35Good6.42%
St Mary's Catholic College, A Voluntary AcademyAcademy sponsor ledMixed-0.99Requires improvement4.43%
The Mosslands SchoolCommunity schoolBoys-0.83Requires improvement6.23%
The Observatory SchoolCommunity special schoolMixed-1.36-5.88%
The Oldershaw SchoolAcademy converterMixed-1.24-3.07%
Upton Hall School FCJAcademy converterGirls+0.91Outstanding53.97%
UtopiaOther independent special schoolMixed--0%
Weatherhead High SchoolAcademy converterGirls-0.27Good12.11%
West Kirby Grammar SchoolAcademy converterGirls+0.42Good49.89%
West Kirby School and CollegeNon-maintained special schoolMixed-0.82Outstanding0%
Wirral Grammar School for BoysAcademy converterBoys+0.36Good42.11%
Wirral Grammar School for GirlsAcademy converterGirls+0.38Outstanding49.88%
Wirral WrapOther independent special schoolMixed---
Woodchurch High SchoolAcademy converterMixed-0.09Good5.63%

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Disclaimer

All data on this page is sourced from the Department for Education’s 2023/2024 Compare School Performance dataset. It includes state-funded and, where available, independent secondary schools. Some schools may be missing data for Progress 8 scores, GCSE 9–7 results, or Ofsted ratings due to unpublished or unavailable figures. Rankings are based only on schools with published data and may not reflect recent changes. Please check school websites for the latest information.

How we ranked the best schools in Wirral?

Why trust our rankings? Our analysis is based on the latest 2023/2024 data from the Department for Education’s Compare School Performance (CSP) database, which publishes official performance data for all secondary schools in England, including both state-funded and independent schools where available.

We’ve created separate tables to highlight top performers in three key areas:

  • Progress 8 (pupil progress from KS2 to GCSE)
  • GCSE 9–7 grades (academic excellence)
  • Overall school listings, with available Ofsted ratings

Schools are primarily ranked by their Progress 8 score. This clever metric doesn’t just reward schools with high-attaining intakes – it highlights the ones that genuinely support student growth by measuring progress from the end of primary school to GCSEs. It adjusts for prior attainment, making it one of the fairest ways to compare schools.

Where available, we also show the percentage of GCSE grades at 9–7 to reflect high academic achievement, and Ofsted ratings for added context. All figures come directly from CSP’s official dataset.

Where Progress 8 data is not available for any schools in Wirral, the corresponding table will not be shown. This simply means that no schools in this area had published Progress 8 scores at the time of the latest dataset, it does not reflect on the quality of the schools themselves.

How to support your child at home

Helping your child succeed at school doesn’t just happen in the classroom, the right support at home can make a big difference. Encourage a regular study routine, provide a quiet space for learning, and take an interest in what they’re covering in lessons. Even small actions, like checking in on homework or discussing what they learned that day, can build motivation and accountability.

If you’re looking for extra structure, our GCSE Revision Resources are designed to make studying easier. With expert-written notes, topic-by-topic exam questions, and mark schemes, your child can practise exactly what they need to know, when they need to know it.

Boosting confidence before exams

Confidence can make a huge difference to exam performance. Start by helping your child identify their strengths and weaknesses, then focus revision time on areas that need improvement. Practising under timed conditions can reduce exam-day nerves, while celebrating small wins along the way builds self-belief.

Our GCSE Exam Practice pages include hundreds of past-paper style questions and worked solutions, so students can walk into their exams knowing exactly what to expect. By building familiarity with the question styles and formats, they’ll feel prepared and ready to perform at their best.

Explore the best secondary schools in other areas

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FAQs - best secondary schools in Wirral

Based on the latest Department for Education CSP data, the highest-rated secondary school in Wirral is Upton Hall School FCJ by Progress 8 and Birkenhead School by GCSE 9–7 results. In the case of an exact tie across these measures, the first school in alphabetical order is shown here. For full details and to compare all schools, please refer to the performance tables above.
No. This guide covers state-funded secondary schools only, including grammar, comprehensive, academy, and free schools. Independent/private schools are not included in our rankings.
Applications are usually managed by Wirral local authority. You can find deadlines, admissions policies, and catchment area maps on the council’s official website.
Use Ofsted inspection reports, the Department for Education’s CSP performance tables, and our rankings to compare schools side by side. Visit schools during open days for first-hand impressions.
A Progress 8 score above 0 means students make better progress than the national average. Scores above +0.5 indicate well above average progress, while top-performing secondary schools typically achieve +0.7 or higher. The best schools in Wirral consistently score above +0.8.

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