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
St John Plessington Catholic College is currently ranked #1 in Wirral based on its published Progress 8 score of +0.43. 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.
Rank | School name | Type | Gender | Progress 8 | Ofsted rating | GCSE 9-7% |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | St John Plessington Catholic College | Academy converter | Mixed | +0.43 | Good | 6.42% |
2 | Upton Hall School FCJ | Academy converter | Girls | +0.31 | Outstanding | 53.97% |
3 | West Kirby School and College | Non-maintained special school | Mixed | -0.43 | Outstanding | 0% |
4 | Co-op Academy Bebington | Academy sponsor led | Mixed | -0.58 | Good | 4.81% |
5 | Calday Grange Grammar School | Academy converter | Boys | -0.68 | Good | 44.53% |
6 | Pensby High School | Foundation school | Mixed | -0.75 | Good | 8.9% |
7 | Progress Schools - Wirral | Other independent school | Mixed | -1 | - | - |
8 | Wirral Grammar School for Girls | Academy converter | Girls | -1.98 | Outstanding | 49.88% |
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
Upton Hall School FCJ 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.
Rank | School name | Type | Gender | Progress 8 | Ofsted rating | GCSE 9-7% |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Upton Hall School FCJ | Academy converter | Girls | +0.31 | Outstanding | 53.97% |
2 | West Kirby Grammar School | Academy converter | Girls | - | Good | 49.89% |
3 | Wirral Grammar School for Girls | Academy converter | Girls | -1.98 | Outstanding | 49.88% |
4 | Calday Grange Grammar School | Academy converter | Boys | -0.68 | Good | 44.53% |
5 | Wirral Grammar School for Boys | Academy converter | Boys | - | Good | 42.11% |
6 | Pensby High School | Foundation school | Mixed | -0.75 | Good | 8.9% |
7 | South Wirral High School | Foundation school | Mixed | - | - | 7.27% |
8 | St John Plessington Catholic College | Academy converter | Mixed | +0.43 | Good | 6.42% |
9 | Woodchurch High School | Academy converter | Mixed | - | Good | 5.63% |
10 | Hilbre High School | Academy converter | Mixed | - | Good | 5.15% |
11 | Co-op Academy Bebington | Academy sponsor led | Mixed | -0.58 | Good | 4.81% |
12 | West Kirby School and College | Non-maintained special school | Mixed | -0.43 | Outstanding | 0% |
13 | Meadowside School | Community special school | Mixed | - | - | 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.
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 name | Type | Gender | Progress 8 | Ofsted rating | GCSE 9-7% |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Calday Grange Grammar School | Academy converter | Boys | -0.68 | Good | 44.53% |
Co-op Academy Bebington | Academy sponsor led | Mixed | -0.58 | Good | 4.81% |
Hilbre High School | Academy converter | Mixed | - | Good | 5.15% |
Meadowside School | Community special school | Mixed | - | - | 0% |
Pensby High School | Foundation school | Mixed | -0.75 | Good | 8.9% |
Progress Schools - Wirral | Other independent school | Mixed | -1 | - | - |
South Wirral High School | Academy converter | Mixed | - | Good | - |
South Wirral High School | Foundation school | Mixed | - | - | 7.27% |
St John Plessington Catholic College | Academy converter | Mixed | +0.43 | Good | 6.42% |
Upton Hall School FCJ | Academy converter | Girls | +0.31 | Outstanding | 53.97% |
West Kirby Grammar School | Academy converter | Girls | - | Good | 49.89% |
West Kirby School and College | Non-maintained special school | Mixed | -0.43 | Outstanding | 0% |
Wirral Grammar School for Boys | Academy converter | Boys | - | Good | 42.11% |
Wirral Grammar School for Girls | Academy converter | Girls | -1.98 | Outstanding | 49.88% |
Woodchurch High School | Academy converter | Mixed | - | Good | 5.63% |
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.
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