St Anselm's College

St Anselm's College has successfully maintained its high standards since its last inspection, demonstrating effective leadership and a strong commitment to fostering an inclusive and supportive environment for all students. Pupils are proud of their school and benefit from robust relationships with staff, which contribute to a positive atmosphere in the classroom and beyond. The school is ambitious in its educational offerings, providing a broad and deep curriculum that ensures good outcomes for most pupils. Notably, the provision for personal development is considered exceedingly strong, with numerous enrichment opportunities available to students.

Strengths

• Strong relationships between pupils and teachers
• Ambitious curriculum that is broad and deep
• High-quality enrichment opportunities for personal development
• Effective identification and support for pupils with SEND
• Pupils exhibit high standards of behavior and attendance

Areas for Improvement

• Inconsistent curriculum delivery in a minority of subjects
• Variability in the accuracy of checks on pupils' understanding
• Some teachers lack the necessary pedagogical expertise

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 Anselm's College attended 94.7% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 11.0% 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, 1.7% of pupils at St Anselm's College 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 St Anselm's College had 17.3 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 11.1% 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, 4.8% of pupils at St Anselm's College were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 1.6% 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 2023–24 St Anselm's College received £7,200 and spent £7,257 for each of its 987 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £295,000 (£299 per pupil).

Across all 4 schools of The Laetare Catholic Multi Academy Trust, income was £7,306 and spending £7,393 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 Prenton · Wirral local authority: places and applications

St Anselm's College is part of The Laetare Catholic Multi Academy Trust, which runs 5 schools. The nearest others:

• St Edward's College Liverpool
• De La Salle School St. Helens
• Saint Ambrose College Altrincham
• St Joseph's College Stoke-On-Trent

What is St Anselm's College's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for St Anselm's College is Good, from an inspection in May 2025.

When was St Anselm's College last inspected by Ofsted?

St Anselm's College was last inspected in May 2025.

How many pupils does St Anselm's College have?

St Anselm's College has 1,002 pupils on roll.

What age range does St Anselm's College cover?

St Anselm's College for pupils aged 11 to 18.

What are St Anselm's College's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 63.1, and 88% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is St Anselm's College?

St Anselm's College is at Manor Hill, Prenton, Merseyside, CH43 1UQ.