Range High School

Range High School is a generally effective and improving secondary school. Inspectors found safeguarding effective, pupils safe and well cared for, and all judged areas meeting at least the expected standard. The school is part of Southport Learning trust and is a larger-than-average secondary with a high proportion of pupils receiving SEN support, a below-average proportion eligible for free school meals and with EHC plans, and use of 13 alternative provisions, 11 of which are unregistered. The school's main strengths are its improved and logically sequenced curriculum, especially at key stage 3; strong teacher subject knowledge and adaptation to pupils' needs; effective support for reading, writing and number skills; and good progress for pupils with SEND from their starting points. Attendance and behaviour have improved, pupils are respectful and bullying is rare, and personal development, enrichment, careers guidance and sixth-form provision are well designed. Leaders have created a supportive family feel, with effective staff training and trust support. Concerns remain around the achievement of a small number of disadvantaged pupils in some subjects, and disadvantaged pupils' progress and attainment gaps are still evident in published data. Leaders do not always rigorously track the academic progress of pupils with SEND, trustees and governors do not always robustly check information from leaders, and pupils in alternative provision do not have full access to the personal development offer. Next steps focus on sharper monitoring and sustained support for pupils with barriers to learning or wellbeing, including SEND and disadvantaged pupils.

Strengths

• Curriculum is logically sequenced across all subjects and year groups, with notable improvement in key stage 3.
• Teachers have strong subject knowledge and use detailed pupil information to adapt learning effectively.
• Pupils who need help with reading, writing and number skills receive effective support and generally catch up by key stage 4.
• Pupils with SEND achieve well from their starting points, including in national examinations and high-quality work.
• Disadvantaged pupils are well known and receive bespoke guidance; current work is in line with classmates.
• Attendance is improving and now in line with national rates, with persistent absence reducing.
• Behaviour structures are clear and effective; pupils are kind, respectful and settle quickly to learning.
• Bullying is rare, not tolerated, and dealt with promptly.
• Personal development curriculum is well designed, including accredited citizenship and adapted PSHE for pupils with SEND.
• Pupils benefit from a wide enrichment offer, careers guidance and leadership opportunities.
• Sixth form provides an ambitious, broad programme with bespoke support and strong careers guidance.
• Leaders, including trust and governors, provide appropriate support and staff value effective training.
• Pastoral support and external professional liaison are effective, including for pupils known to social care.

Areas for Improvement

• A small number of disadvantaged pupils do not achieve as well as national peers in some subjects.
• Disadvantaged pupils' progress and attainment gaps remain, with 2024/25 Progress 8 and Attainment 8 below national averages.
• Leaders do not always rigorously track the academic progress of pupils with SEND.
• Trustees and governors do not always robustly check the information provided by school leaders, limiting their role in driving continuous improvement.
• Pupils in alternative provision do not have full access to the school's personal development offer.
• Leaders should sharpen monitoring systems to better evaluate the effectiveness of their actions.
• Leaders should continue developing support for pupils with barriers to learning or wellbeing, including SEND and disadvantaged pupils, to sustain attendance and achievement improvements.

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 Range High School attended 90.4% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 25.1% 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 Range High School 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 Range High School had 15.6 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 9.3% 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, 18.5% of pupils at Range High School were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 2.2% 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 Range High School received £7,659 and spent £8,230 for each of its 1,026 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £424,000 (-£413 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
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All schools in Liverpool · Sefton local authority: places and applications

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

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

What is Range High School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Range High School is Expected standard, from an inspection in September 2026.

When was Range High School last inspected by Ofsted?

Range High School was last inspected in September 2026.

How many pupils does Range High School have?

Range High School has 979 pupils on roll.

What age range does Range High School cover?

Range High School for pupils aged 11 to 18.

What are Range High School's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 50.2, and 51% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Range High School?

Range High School is at Stapleton Road, Formby, Liverpool, Merseyside, L37 2YN.