Maghull High School

Maghull High School is a school with improving foundations but uneven outcomes. Leaders, including the trust, have strengthened their oversight and taken effective action on behaviour, inclusion, safeguarding and personal development. Pupils are proud to attend, feel safe and cared for, benefit from calm lessons, and have access to a broad pledge of cultural, enrichment and careers opportunities. The sixth form is also well regarded, with tailored study programmes and improving guidance for students, including those with SEND. The main concerns are achievement and attendance. Results at the end of key stage 4 are below national averages, particularly for disadvantaged pupils, and too many pupils do not attend regularly enough, with persistent absence well above national figures. Teaching is not yet consistently effective at checking what pupils know and correcting misconceptions, so some pupils develop gaps that widen. Support for writing and number skills is still early in development. Recent curriculum and teaching improvements are promising but too new for their impact to be seen. The inspection was a full section 5 inspection of a school in Southport Learning Trust. The school has 1,104 pupils, an above-average proportion with EHC plans, a below-average proportion with SEN support, and is located in a well-below-average deprivation area. Leaders know what needs to improve, but they now need to refine how they evaluate the impact of their actions and tackle the remaining weaknesses more consistently.

Strengths

• Safeguarding standards are met, with an open and positive culture where concerns are actively identified and managed.
• Leadership has strengthened, and leaders, governors and trustees have a sharp and realistic understanding of the school.
• Leaders have taken effective action to improve behaviour, creating calm, purposeful lessons and a reduction in suspensions and exclusions.
• Inclusion systems effectively identify barriers for disadvantaged pupils and pupils with SEND.
• Staff know pupils well and receive helpful SEND training and bespoke guidance to support learning.
• The Maghull High Pledge provides cultural, confidence-building and residential opportunities for all pupils.
• Personal development includes a suitable PSHE curriculum, effective wellbeing support and the Phoenix Centre.
• The sixth form offers tailored study programmes, improved assessment and strong personal development and mentoring.
• Careers guidance is well designed and increasingly helps pupils, including SEND and disadvantaged pupils, progress to ambitious destinations.
• Reading support is effective, with many pupils developing their reading skills rapidly.
• Staff are proud to work at the school and value leaders' consideration for workload and wellbeing.
• Leaders work with families and external agencies to provide timely help for pupils who need it.

Areas for Improvement

• Achievement in national examinations at the end of key stage 4 is below national averages.
• Disadvantaged pupils' achievement remains well below national averages and the disadvantage gap is wide.
• Teachers' checks on what pupils know are not consistently effective, so misconceptions and widening gaps are not addressed promptly.
• Improvements to teaching are at an early stage and have not yet sufficiently improved assessment practice.
• Too many pupils, including those with SEND and disadvantaged pupils, do not attend school regularly enough.
• Persistent absence remains well above national averages and has been a longstanding issue.
• Support for writing and number skills is in the early stages of development.
• Recent curriculum changes at key stages 3 and 4 are too new for their impact on achievement to be seen.
• Leaders, including the trust, need to refine evaluation processes to assess the impact of their actions more rigorously.

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 Maghull High School attended 87.7% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 33.5% 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, 9.9% of pupils at Maghull High School 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 Maghull High School had 16.0 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 12.5% 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, 16.7% of pupils at Maghull High School were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 5.3% 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 Maghull High School received £8,171 and spent £8,303 for each of its 1,107 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £313,000 (£282 per pupil).

Across all 8 schools of Southport Learning Trust, income was £7,959 and spending £8,218 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 · Sefton local authority: places and applications

Maghull High School is part of Southport Learning Trust, which runs 9 schools. The nearest others:

• Bedford Primary School Liverpool
• Range High School Liverpool
• Merefield School Southport
• Birkdale High School Southport
• Greenbank High School Southport
• Kew Woods Primary School Southport
• Meols Cop High School Southport
• Stanley High School Southport

What is Maghull High School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Maghull High School is Needs attention, from an inspection in July 2026.

When was Maghull High School last inspected by Ofsted?

Maghull High School was last inspected in July 2026.

How many pupils does Maghull High School have?

Maghull High School has 1,098 pupils on roll.

What age range does Maghull High School cover?

Maghull High School for pupils aged 11 to 18.

What are Maghull High School's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 38.4, and 25% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Maghull High School?

Maghull High School is at Ormonde Drive, Maghull, Liverpool, Merseyside, L31 7AW.