Cowley International College

Cowley International College is experiencing significant improvements under new leadership and a supportive multi-academy trust. The school has shown marked progress in areas such as attendance, behavior, and curriculum design, indicating a strong commitment from leaders and governors to enhance students' educational experiences. However, despite these positive changes, the overall academic achievement remains inconsistent, particularly in national tests, and challenges related to pupils' attendance and progress across all subjects persist.

Strengths

• Strong commitment from leaders and governors to improve the school.
• Effective safeguarding culture ensuring pupils feel safe.
• Introduction of a new personal development curriculum addressing key topics.
• Improvements in behavior and classroom engagement.
• Development of an ambitious and well-structured curriculum.

Areas for Improvement

• Inconsistent academic performance in national tests.
• Low historical attendance rates among some pupil groups.
• Inconsistencies in teaching practices leading to uneven student progress.
• Gaps in pupils' knowledge, particularly in writing.

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 Cowley International College attended 87.4% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 30.1% 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, 10.8% of pupils at Cowley International College were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). 10 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 Cowley International College had 16.3 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 18.5% 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, 14.6% of pupils at Cowley International College were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 3.7% 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 Cowley International College received £8,635 and spent £8,100 for each of its 1,516 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £2,070,000 (£1,365 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

All schools in St Helens · St. Helens local authority: places and applications

What is Cowley International College's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Cowley International College is Needs attention, from an inspection in May 2026.

When was Cowley International College last inspected by Ofsted?

Cowley International College was last inspected in May 2026.

How many pupils does Cowley International College have?

Cowley International College has 1,514 pupils on roll.

What age range does Cowley International College cover?

Cowley International College for pupils aged 11 to 18.

What are Cowley International College's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 40.3, and 33% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Cowley International College?

Cowley International College is at Hard Lane, St Helens, Merseyside, WA10 6PN.