Pensby High School

Pensby High School is maintaining its status as a good school with a strong focus on high expectations for all pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND). The school fosters a positive and inclusive environment where pupils feel safe and valued, contributing to their personal and academic growth. The curriculum is well-structured and supports cumulative knowledge building, preparing students effectively for further stages of their education. Overall, the school is committed to promoting a broad, rich curriculum and the well-being of their pupils, which contributes to a positive school culture.

Strengths

• Pupils demonstrate high pride in their uniforms and school values.
• Leaders have high expectations of pupil achievement and behaviour.
• The curriculum is thoughtfully designed to support knowledge retention.
• Strong subject knowledge from teachers enhances pupil learning.
• Effective support systems are in place for pupils with SEND.
• Leaders prioritize reading and encourage pupils to read widely.
• A range of extracurricular activities enriches the learning experience.

Areas for Improvement

• Some assessment systems do not effectively check learning in certain subjects.
• A small number of pupils do not attend school regularly enough, impacting their learning.

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 Pensby High School attended 92.3% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 20.8% 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, 5.7% of pupils at Pensby High School 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 Pensby High School had 18.2 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 12.6% 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, 16.6% of pupils at Pensby High School were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 3.4% 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 Pensby High School received £8,053 and spent £8,113 for each of its 915 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £1,361,000 (£1,487 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 Wirral · Wirral local authority: places and applications

What is Pensby High School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Pensby High School is Good, from an inspection in May 2023.

When was Pensby High School last inspected by Ofsted?

Pensby High School was last inspected in May 2023.

How many pupils does Pensby High School have?

Pensby High School has 915 pupils on roll.

What age range does Pensby High School cover?

Pensby High School for pupils aged 11 to 18.

What are Pensby High School's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 45.9, and 47% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Pensby High School?

Pensby High School is at Irby Road, Heswall, Wirral, Merseyside, CH61 6XN.