Liverpool and Merseyside are home to many high-performing secondary schools where pupils excel and go on to achieve brilliant GCSE results. But how do they stack up when compared side-by-side?
We’ve created a league table of the county’s top schools. We started by picking out secondary schools rated ‘outstanding’ by Ofsted - meaning the quality of education provided, student behaviour and attitudes, school leadership and management, and student safeguarding have all been found to be excellent.
To then see if the pupils’ exam results match the Ofsted judgement, we looked at which of these ‘outstanding’ schools have the best ‘Progress 8’ scores. These are based on GCSE results and other student achievements, and help determine how quickly students at any particular school are learning and progressing compared to a nationwide average.
Take a look at Merseyside’s top secondary schools, based on Ofsted reports and academic achievement.

1. Upton Hall School FCJ, Wirral
Upton Hall School FCJ is a girls' Catholic secondary school in Wirral. It has a Progress 8 score of 1.08, putting it in the ‘well above average’ band - the highest rank available. | Google Street View

2. Archbishop Blanch CofE High School, Liverpool
Archbishop Blanch CofE High School is a Church of England secondary school for girls in Liverpool. It has a Progress 8 score of 0.97, putting it in the ‘well above average’ band | Google Street View.

3. Wirral Grammar School for Girls, Wirral
Wirral Grammar School for Girls is a secondary school in Wirral. It has a Progress 8 score of 0.62, putting it in the ‘well above average’ band. | Google Street View

4. Liverpool College, Liverpool
Liverpool College is an academy located on Queen's Drive in Liverpool. It has a Progress 8 score of 0.32, putting it in the ‘well above average’ band. | Google Street View