Litherland High School

Litherland High School has shown significant improvement since its previous inspection, transitioning from a 'Requires Improvement' status to a 'Good' rating overall. The commitment of the staff toward student success has fostered a positive environment where pupils feel safe, valued, and respected. The curriculum has been strengthened in recent years, allowing a diverse range of subjects and enabling higher student achievement. Notably, the support for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND) is well-implemented, ensuring they can learn alongside their peers effectively. Despite these strengths, there are areas needing attention. Some subjects still lack adequate assessment strategies, which makes it difficult for teachers to identify gaps in pupils' learning accurately. The school also has room for improvement in developing subject-specific vocabulary, which is essential for deepening students’ understanding. While overall performance is promising, close monitoring of curriculum impact and assessments will be crucial for continued advancement.

Strengths

• Pupils feel proud to attend and appreciate the care of staff.
• High expectations for pupil behaviour lead to positive outcomes.
• The curriculum is broad, ambitious, and has improved significantly.
• Support for pupils with SEND is effective and well-implemented.
• Pupils engage in diverse extracurricular activities that enhance personal development.
• Teachers use their subject knowledge effectively to deliver learning.

Areas for Improvement

• Some subjects lack effective assessment strategies to identify learning gaps.
• Not all subjects have identified the necessary subject-specific vocabulary.

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 Litherland High School attended 88.2% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 37.7% 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, 11.5% of pupils at Litherland High School were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). No 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 Litherland High School had 17.0 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 14.8% 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, 25.4% of pupils at Litherland High School were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 4.5% 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 Litherland High School received £8,873 and spent £8,903 for each of its 736 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £953,000 (-£1,295 per pupil).

Across all 8 schools of The Heath Family (North West), income was £8,879 and spending £8,893 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

Litherland High School is part of The Heath Family (North West), which runs 8 schools. The nearest others:

• Litherland Moss Primary School Liverpool
• The Prescot School Liverpool
• Halsnead Primary School Prescot
• The Heath School Runcorn
• Bridgewater Park Primary School Runcorn
• Palace Fields Primary Academy Runcorn
• Daresbury Primary School Warrington

What is Litherland High School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Litherland High School is Good, from an inspection in April 2024.

When was Litherland High School last inspected by Ofsted?

Litherland High School was last inspected in April 2024.

How many pupils does Litherland High School have?

Litherland High School has 761 pupils on roll.

What age range does Litherland High School cover?

Litherland High School for pupils aged 11 to 16.

What are Litherland High School's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 37.2, and 33% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Litherland High School?

Litherland High School is at Sterrix Lane, Litherland, Liverpool, Merseyside, L21 0DB.