St Hilda's Church of England High School

St Hilda's Church of England High School is a larger-than-average secondary school with a sixth form and off-site post-16 provision at the Fowler Education and Football Academy. The school is performing to the expected standard overall, with attendance and behaviour judged to be a strong standard and safeguarding standards met. Pupils are reported to be happy and safe, behaviour is exemplary, attendance is consistently high, and the school has managed significant contextual and staffing changes while maintaining high expectations. The school serves a growing number of pupils with SEND, including a well-above-average proportion with EHC plans, and leaders have strengthened support through prompt identification and targeted help. The main strengths are the calm and purposeful culture, strong attendance work, effective SEND and vulnerable-pupil support, and a broad personal development offer. Reading and numeracy support is having a positive impact on vulnerable groups, and post-16 vocational outcomes have remained above national averages. However, provision is not yet consistently strong across all areas. Achievement, curriculum and teaching, inclusion, leadership and governance, personal development, and post-16 provision are all at the expected standard, with leaders identifying remaining inconsistencies in curriculum delivery, assessment, extended writing, and oversight across phases. Key concerns include variability in how well learning activities build pupils' knowledge securely, particularly for previously high-attaining pupils and some post-16 students. Extended writing is not consistently embedded across subjects, assessment practice is uneven, and A-level progress has only recently moved closer to national averages. Leaders and governors do not yet have a consistently sharp understanding of quality of education, inclusion, attendance, and enrichment across all phases, including the off-site post-16 provision. Disadvantaged pupils and some vulnerable students do not fully benefit from wider opportunities, and the careers programme is still being embedded.

Strengths

• Pupils feel extremely happy and safe in school, and behaviour across the school is exemplary.
• Attendance is consistently high, with persistent absence well below national averages.
• Staff are well trained to help pupils overcome barriers to attendance and re-engage with school life.
• The school responds quickly and thoughtfully to the rising number of pupils with SEND, using the 'hub' effectively.
• Routines and procedures are well established, creating a calm and purposeful learning atmosphere.
• Older students act as excellent role models, and relationships between staff and pupils are warm and respectful.
• Targeted reading and numeracy support has a substantially positive impact on vulnerable pupils.
• Leaders have strengthened the breadth and structure of the curriculum, including PSHE, so most pupils follow a coherent and ambitious curriculum.
• Leaders maintain high expectations and have driven improvement at pace despite staffing challenges and contextual changes.
• Governors meet statutory duties and hold leaders to account with appropriate support and challenge.
• Pupils benefit from a broad personal development programme, including diversity week, house events, and enrichment activities.
• Post-16 vocational attainment and progress have remained above national averages over time.

Areas for Improvement

• Achievement is not consistently strong, particularly at post-16 where progress for previously high-attaining pupils does not consistently align with national averages.
• Some learning activities do not help pupils build knowledge in a secure and connected way, slowing progress for some high-attaining and post-16 students.
• Extended writing is not consistently embedded across subjects, so some pupils do not develop language and vocabulary as well as intended.
• Assessment practice is not consistently used across subjects, including PSHE, to check understanding and address misconceptions.
• Leaders and governors do not have a consistently sharp understanding of quality of education, inclusion, attendance, and enrichment across all phases, including off-site post-16 provision.
• Oversight of disadvantaged pupils' and vulnerable students' progress in off-site post-16 provision is not as close as it could be.
• Some pupil groups, particularly disadvantaged pupils, do not benefit fully from the wider enrichment and personal development offer.
• The careers programme is still being embedded to ensure students proceed to highly appropriate education, employment, or training.
• A-level attainment and progress have improved but remain variable across subjects and were previously below national averages.

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 St Hilda's Church of England High School attended 93.1% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 15.4% 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, 4.7% of pupils at St Hilda's Church of England High School were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). No 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 St Hilda's Church of England High School had 17.4 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 13.9% 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, 15.6% of pupils at St Hilda's Church of England High School were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 7.6% 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 St Hilda's Church of England High School received £7,334 and spent £7,333 for each of its 1,301 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £19,000 (£14 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).

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What is St Hilda's Church of England High School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for St Hilda's Church of England High School is Expected standard, from an inspection in March 2026.

When was St Hilda's Church of England High School last inspected by Ofsted?

St Hilda's Church of England High School was last inspected in March 2026.

How many pupils does St Hilda's Church of England High School have?

St Hilda's Church of England High School has 1,298 pupils on roll.

What age range does St Hilda's Church of England High School cover?

St Hilda's Church of England High School for pupils aged 11 to 18.

What are St Hilda's Church of England High School's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 44.6, and 44% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is St Hilda's Church of England High School?

St Hilda's Church of England High School is at Croxteth Drive, Sefton Park, Liverpool, Merseyside, L17 3AL.