The Belvedere Academy

The Belvedere Academy is performing well overall. Pupils and sixth-form students are happy, safe and confident, behave with kindness and respect, and benefit from an ambitious curriculum and high academic expectations. The school provides exceptional support to reduce barriers to learning, including for pupils with SEND, and pupils achieve well. Personal development and behaviour are particular strengths: pupils access a wide range of enrichment, careers and leadership opportunities, and an inclusive culture allows lessons to proceed without disruption. Safeguarding arrangements are effective. Leadership is clear and ambitious, with effective support and challenge from local governors and the Girls’ Day School Trust. Staff feel well supported, and recent curriculum review has improved provision so that it better meets pupils’ needs. However, in a small number of subjects the curriculum is still being refined, so teachers are not yet fully clear about the precise knowledge pupils should learn and the order in which to teach it. Some pupils also have gaps in reading knowledge, and support is not always precisely targeted enough to help them develop fluency swiftly. This was the school’s first routine inspection since the COVID-19 pandemic and its first section 5 inspection since 2015. It is a girls’ academy within the Girls’ Day School Trust, and under the current framework it does not receive an overall effectiveness grade.

Strengths

• Pupils are happy, safe and confident and uphold the school’s values.
• Pupils behave with kindness and respect and contribute to a purposeful atmosphere.
• The curriculum is ambitious and meets pupils’ needs and interests.
• Pupils achieve well and rise to high academic expectations.
• The school provides exceptional support to reduce barriers to learning.
• Pupils with SEND are identified well and access the same ambitious curriculum as their peers.
• Reading is prioritised, with dedicated lessons and staff training.
• Behaviour and attitudes are outstanding, with consistent and inclusive support.
• Personal development is outstanding, with extensive enrichment and experiences.
• Careers guidance is highly bespoke and prepares pupils well for next steps.
• Governors and trustees provide effective support and challenge.
• Staff feel well supported with training and policies promoting work-life balance.
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective.

Areas for Improvement

• In a small number of subjects, the curriculum is still being refined and not sufficiently clear about the knowledge pupils should learn and the order in which to learn it.
• Some pupils have gaps in reading knowledge, and support is not always precisely targeted enough to help them develop fluency swiftly.

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 The Belvedere Academy attended 92.7% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 19.4% 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, 3.9% of pupils at The Belvedere Academy were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). One pupil was 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 The Belvedere Academy had 16.3 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 6.7% 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, 17.9% of pupils at The Belvedere Academy were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 4.1% 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 2024–25 The Belvedere Academy received £7,711 and spent £7,102 for each of its 1,128 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £801,000 (£710 per pupil).

Across all 2 schools of Gdst Academy Trust, income was £7,520 and spending £6,870 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). Academy figures include a share of the trust's central services, shared out by pupil numbers, and are rounded to the nearest £1,000. Premises costs were defined differently from 2024, so compare them across that gap with care.

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Liverpool · Liverpool local authority: places and applications

The Belvedere Academy is part of Gdst Academy Trust, which runs 2 schools. The nearest others:

• Birkenhead High School Academy Prenton

What is The Belvedere Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for The Belvedere Academy is Good, from an inspection in May 2025.

When was The Belvedere Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

The Belvedere Academy was last inspected in May 2025.

How many pupils does The Belvedere Academy have?

The Belvedere Academy has 1,182 pupils on roll.

What age range does The Belvedere Academy cover?

The Belvedere Academy for pupils aged 11 to 19.

What are The Belvedere Academy's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 52.4, and 55% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is The Belvedere Academy?

The Belvedere Academy is at 17 Belvidere Road, Princes Park, Liverpool, Merseyside, L8 3TF.