Find the best secondary schools in Liverpool. Compare Ofsted ratings, catchment areas, GCSE results and Progress 8.
Liverpool has 32 secondary schools, all in Liverpool council's area. Most state schools here offer places by distance from home once children in care and siblings of current pupils have been admitted, so how close you live decides your chances at any school with more applicants than places. Some councils draw a fixed catchment boundary instead, and the distance at which the last place went changes every year. Of the 32, 16 are faith schools that can put children of their faith first, and 1 selects by ability through the 11-plus, so distance counts for less there.
Use the distance checker to measure your home's straight-line distance to any Liverpool secondary school, and each school's page for its Ofsted report, results and admissions details. Check your distance to a school or try the admissions calculator.
| School | Type | Our rating |
|---|---|---|
| The Blue Coat School | selective, sixth form | 4.5 / 5 |
| The Belvedere Academy | girls, sixth form | 4.0 / 5 |
| Liverpool College | Church of England, all-through, sixth form | 4.0 / 5 |
| St Edward's College | Roman Catholic, sixth form | 4.0 / 5 |
| King David High School | Jewish, sixth form | 3.9 / 5 |
| Calderstones School | sixth form | 3.9 / 5 |
| St Hilda's Church of England High School | Church of England, sixth form | 3.8 / 5 |
| St Margaret's Church of England Academy | Church of England, boys, sixth form |
There are 32 secondary schools in Liverpool. Of those, 2 are all-through schools, teaching both primary and secondary years.
Apply by 31 October in your child's Year 6, for a place starting the following September. You apply to the council where you live, even if the school is in another council's area, and can usually list between 3 and 6 schools in order of preference. Offers are sent on 1 March, or the next working day.
Yes, 1 secondary school in Liverpool selects pupils by ability: The Blue Coat School. Entry is by the 11-plus, usually sat in September of Year 6. You register for the test separately, normally in the summer term of Year 5, and still name the school on your council application by 31 October.
Of the 32 secondary schools in Liverpool, 28 have a sixth form. Students at a school that stops at 16 apply separately for sixth form, either at another school or at a college.
Of the 32 secondary schools in Liverpool, 16 have a religious character: 9 Roman Catholic, 4 Church of England, 1 Church of England/Roman Catholic, 1 Jewish and 1 Roman Catholic/Church of England. When a faith school has more applicants than places, it can give priority to children of its faith. Many ask for a supplementary form, sometimes signed by a religious leader, so read the school's admissions policy before you apply.
Yes, Liverpool has 7 girls' schools and 4 boys' schools. The other 21 are mixed. Some single-sex schools take both boys and girls into the sixth form.
| 3.5 / 5 |
| West Derby School | boys, sixth form | 3.5 / 5 |
| Cardinal Heenan Catholic High School | Roman Catholic, boys, sixth form | 3.4 / 5 |
| Bellerive FCJ Catholic College | Roman Catholic, girls, sixth form | 3.4 / 5 |
| St Julie's Catholic High School | Roman Catholic, girls, sixth form | 3.3 / 5 |
| St John Bosco Arts College | Roman Catholic, girls, sixth form | 3.2 / 5 |
| Archbishop Beck Catholic College | Roman Catholic, sixth form | 3.1 / 5 |
| Holly Lodge Girls' College | girls, sixth form | 3.1 / 5 |
| North Liverpool Academy | sixth form | 3.1 / 5 |
| Broughton Hall Catholic High School | Roman Catholic, girls, sixth form | 3.1 / 5 |
| Dixons Broadgreen Academy | sixth form | 3.0 / 5 |
| LIPA School | all-through | 3.0 / 5 |
| Childwall Sports & Science Academy | sixth form | 3.0 / 5 |
| Liverpool Life Sciences UTC | sixth form | 2.9 / 5 |
| Dixons Croxteth Academy | sixth form | 2.8 / 5 |
| The Academy of St Nicholas | Roman Catholic/Church of England, sixth form | 2.7 / 5 |
| The Academy of St Francis of Assisi | Church of England/Roman Catholic | 2.6 / 5 |
| Dixons Fazakerley Academy | Mixed | 2.5 / 5 |
| The Studio School Liverpool | sixth form | 2.3 / 5 |
| Gateacre School | sixth form | 2.2 / 5 |
| King's Leadership Academy, Liverpool | sixth form | 2.1 / 5 |
| St Francis Xavier's Catholic Academy | Roman Catholic, boys, sixth form | 2.1 / 5 |
| Notre Dame Catholic Academy | Roman Catholic, sixth form | 2.0 / 5 |
| Archbishop Blanch CofE High School | Church of England, girls, sixth form | Not yet rated |
| King's Leadership Academy Wavertree | Mixed | Not yet rated |
Our rating is out of 5 and combines Parent View survey results, the latest Ofsted inspection and published results. Source: Department for Education (GIAS) and Ofsted.
On our star rating, the highest rated are The Blue Coat School (4.5), The Belvedere Academy (4.0), Liverpool College (4.0), St Edward's College (4.0) and King David High School (3.9). The rating is our own, out of 5. It combines Parent View survey results, the latest Ofsted inspection and GCSE results, with the parent survey carrying the most weight. Of the 32 schools here, 30 have enough published data for a rating.
Only when you qualify for more than one school. Each school ranks applicants against its own admission criteria without knowing where you placed it. If you qualify for several, the council offers the one you ranked highest, so putting a popular school first does not lower your chances at your second choice.
No. Distance only matters when a school has more applicants than places, and then it offers places in the order its admission criteria set out. Children in care or adopted from care come first by law. Most schools put brothers and sisters of current pupils next, then distance or catchment area. Faith schools and grammar schools use different criteria. How far away the last place went changes every year, depending on who applies.
The council offers a place at another school with room, which may be further from home. You can accept it and still join the waiting lists for the schools you preferred. Waiting lists are ranked by the admission criteria, not by how long a child has been on them. You can also appeal to an independent panel for any school that refused you.