Kirkby High School

Kirkby High School has significantly improved since its last inspection, moving from a grade of 'Requires Improvement' to 'Good' across all inspection areas. The school provides a nurturing and engaging environment where pupils feel safe, valued, and motivated to learn. Students enjoy positive relationships with staff and participate in various extracurricular activities that enhance their educational experience. The curriculum has been thoughtfully redesigned to support all students, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), ensuring a broad and ambitious educational pathway.

Strengths

• Pupils enjoy attending the school and feel happy and safe.
• Strong relationships between pupils and staff foster a positive learning environment.
• Leaders have high expectations of behaviour and learning.
• The curriculum is thoughtfully redesigned to build on prior knowledge.
• Pupils experience a wide range of extracurricular opportunities.
• Effective support for pupils with SEND enables them to achieve well.
• Careers guidance is well established, helping pupils with future transitions.

Areas for Improvement

• Curriculum implementation is less strong in a small number of subjects.
• Some pupils struggle with reading, affecting their curriculum achievement.

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 Kirkby High School attended 87.1% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 39.2% 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, 10.8% of pupils at Kirkby High School were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). 5 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 Kirkby High School had 15.1 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 8.8% 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, 19.7% of pupils at Kirkby High School were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 4.6% 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 Kirkby High School received £11,520 and spent £10,746 for each of its 1,029 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £927,000 (£901 per pupil).

Across all 11 schools of The Rowan Learning Trust, income was £7,984 and spending £7,872 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 · Knowsley local authority: places and applications

Kirkby High School is part of The Rowan Learning Trust, which runs 11 schools. The nearest others:

• Prescot Primary School Prescot
• Plantation Primary School Liverpool
• Orrell Holgate Academy Wigan
• Orrell Lamberhead Green Academy Wigan
• Marus Bridge Primary School Wigan
• Hawkley Hall High School Wigan
• The Acorns Primary and Nursery School Ellesmere Port
• Whitley Village School Warrington
• Farington Primary School Leyland
• The Heys School Manchester

What is Kirkby High School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Kirkby High School is Good, from an inspection in October 2022.

When was Kirkby High School last inspected by Ofsted?

Kirkby High School was last inspected in October 2022.

How many pupils does Kirkby High School have?

Kirkby High School has 1,042 pupils on roll.

What age range does Kirkby High School cover?

Kirkby High School for pupils aged 11 to 16.

What are Kirkby High School's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 34.8, and 24% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Kirkby High School?

Kirkby High School is at Bracknell Avenue, Kirkby, Liverpool, Merseyside, L32 9PP.