Holly Lodge Girls' College

Holly Lodge Girls’ College is performing well overall. Inspectors found the school to be good across the quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and sixth-form provision, with effective safeguarding arrangements. This was the school’s first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic, and it remains a good school following its previous inspection. Pupils are described as friendly, welcoming and proud of their diverse community, and they respond well to the school’s high expectations. Behaviour is typically strong, pupils feel safe, and pastoral support is a notable strength, with bullying dealt with quickly and effectively.

Strengths

• Pupils are friendly, welcoming and proud of their diverse community
• High expectations contribute to infrequent poor behaviour and strong conduct in lessons
• Pupils feel safe and benefit from a strong pastoral system
• Staff deal with bullying quickly and effectively
• The curriculum is ambitious and aligned with the school’s ‘expect to achieve’ ethos
• Learning is organised coherently, with essential knowledge and vocabulary carefully identified
• Teachers are well trained, have strong subject knowledge and use consistent strategies
• Teachers routinely check pupils’ learning and help them catch up when gaps appear
• Pupils with SEND are identified quickly and supported well in lessons
• Reading is a priority, with focused help for pupils who fall behind
• Behaviour routines are clear and lessons often feature exemplary behaviour
• Careers education and guidance are effective, including work experience in the sixth form
• The sixth form offers a broad range of subjects, and vocational students attain particularly well
• Alternative provisions are used well to support some pupils and improve attendance

Areas for Improvement

• Pupils in key stage 4 have insufficient time devoted to PE and PSHE
• The school has not identified the barriers preventing many pupils from accessing clubs and activities
• Attendance for some groups of pupils is lower than the school would like

Admissions: local authority offers data from the Department for Education. A school is oversubscribed when at least 5% of the families who put it first were not offered a place, and undersubscribed when everyone who put it first got in but 10% or more of its places were unfilled in the Department's school capacity survey (the latest survey is used for entry years it does not cover). Places: Department for Education, School capacity, from local authorities' annual survey as at 1 May. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024–25); the survey was not run in 2020. Places include sixth form places. Forecasts are the local authority's own for the school's planning area, an area it uses to plan places that is not the school's catchment area. The forecast starts from a head count in 2025; the dashed line is the Department's estimate of places in that area, including those the authority has firm plans for. Planned places are cumulative, and only those with firm plans are counted.

In 2024–25 pupils at Holly Lodge Girls' College attended 89.1% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 29.1% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 23.4%).

Sessions missed

Pupils persistently absent

Source: Department for Education, Pupil absence in schools in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Persistent absence means missing 10% or more of sessions; severe absence means 50% or more. No figures were published for 2019/20.

In 2024–25, 8.9% of pupils at Holly Lodge Girls' College were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). 3 pupils were permanently excluded.

Pupils suspended at least once

Source: Department for Education, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). A pupil can be suspended more than once, so suspensions per 100 pupils can be higher than the share of pupils suspended. Very small numbers are hidden by the DfE. Exclusion figures dropped in 2020 and 2021 because of school closures.

In 2025–26 Holly Lodge Girls' College had 15.3 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 6.0% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 14.1%).

Pupils per teacher

Teachers who left the school within a year

Source: Department for Education, School workforce in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Pupils per teacher counts full-time-equivalent pupils and teachers. Turnover is the share of a year's teachers (full-time equivalent) who were not at the school the following year, whether they moved to another school or left state-funded teaching. Turnover and sickness figures run one year behind the ratios. Sick leave is the share of teachers who took at least one day in the year, so it swings widely at small schools, where a few teachers can make it 0% or 100%. The national figures are for all state schools of the same type.

In 2025–26, 22.0% of pupils at Holly Lodge Girls' College were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 1.5% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 3.5%).

Pupils by main type of need

Source: Department for Education, Special educational needs in England (the 2025–26 school census). SEN support is extra help in school without an EHC plan. National figures are for all state-funded secondary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2025–26 Holly Lodge Girls' College received £9,159 and spent £9,013 for each of its 1,022 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £1,483,000 (-£1,451 per pupil).

Income per pupil

Spending per pupil

Source: Department for Education, Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool. Each year is the one the financial year ends in (2024 is 2023–24).

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

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What is Holly Lodge Girls' College's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Holly Lodge Girls' College is Good, from an inspection in November 2024.

When was Holly Lodge Girls' College last inspected by Ofsted?

Holly Lodge Girls' College was last inspected in November 2024.

How many pupils does Holly Lodge Girls' College have?

Holly Lodge Girls' College has 1,016 pupils on roll.

What age range does Holly Lodge Girls' College cover?

Holly Lodge Girls' College for pupils aged 11 to 18.

What are Holly Lodge Girls' College's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 42.1, and 45% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Holly Lodge Girls' College?

Holly Lodge Girls' College is at 140 Mill Lane, West Derby, Liverpool, Merseyside, L12 7LE.