The Academy of St Nicholas

The Academy of St Nicholas has made significant strides since its last inspection, moving from a requires improvement grade to being judged as good in multiple areas. The school's leadership has successfully transformed the curriculum to be ambitious and aligned with national expectations, benefiting all students, including those with special educational needs. The warm relationships between staff and pupils foster a supportive learning environment where students feel safe and valued. Pupils enjoy a range of extracurricular activities, contributing to their personal development.

Strengths

• Broad and ambitious curriculum for all pupils.
• High expectations and care from teachers.
• Effective support for special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) pupils.
• Strong emphasis on developing pupils' vocabulary and reading skills.
• Well-planned careers program with exposure to various opportunities.

Areas for Improvement

• Some teachers do not check pupils' knowledge effectively.
• A small number of pupils do not follow school routines during social times.

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 Academy of St Nicholas attended 88.3% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 36.6% 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, 17.5% of pupils at The Academy of St Nicholas were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). 4 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 The Academy of St Nicholas had 15.8 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 24.2% 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, 25.6% of pupils at The Academy of St Nicholas were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 3.6% 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 2024–25 The Academy of St Nicholas received £9,758 and spent £10,134 for each of its 928 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £1,008,000 (£1,086 per pupil).

Across all 11 schools of The Liverpool Joint Catholic and Church of England Academies Trust, income was £8,407 and spending £8,419 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 Academy of St Nicholas is part of The Liverpool Joint Catholic and Church of England Academies Trust, which runs 11 schools. The nearest others:

• St Margaret's Church of England Academy Liverpool
• St Cleopas' Church of England Primary Academy Liverpool
• The Academy of St Francis of Assisi Liverpool
• Faith Primary Academy Liverpool
• St Teresa of Lisieux Catholic Primary Academy Liverpool
• St Michaels Church of England Academy Crosby
• St Mary's Catholic Junior Academy Newton-Le-Willows
• St Mary's Catholic Infant Academy St Helens
• Hope Academy Newton-Le-Willows
• Trinity St Peter's CofE Primary School Liverpool

What is The Academy of St Nicholas's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for The Academy of St Nicholas is Good, from an inspection in January 2023.

When was The Academy of St Nicholas last inspected by Ofsted?

The Academy of St Nicholas was last inspected in January 2023.

How many pupils does The Academy of St Nicholas have?

The Academy of St Nicholas has 841 pupils on roll.

What age range does The Academy of St Nicholas cover?

The Academy of St Nicholas for pupils aged 11 to 19.

What are The Academy of St Nicholas's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 35.2, and 21% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is The Academy of St Nicholas?

The Academy of St Nicholas is at 51 Horrocks Avenue, Garston, Liverpool, Merseyside, L19 5NY.