March 1 marks National Offer Day, when parents and children across the region find out where they will begin their secondary school journey.
A joyus day for many, it can also be a stressful day for some parents or carers, with their children not being accepted into their first choice school.
However, if your child is not offered a place at any of the preferred schools listed on your application, the council will offer places at alernative schools.
So to help with deciding on an alternative school, or to see how your child’s soon-to-be institution ranks against others, we’ve complied a list of the highest and lowest rated secondary schools in Liverpool.
The schools below have received the lowest ratings, ranked ‘requires improvement’ and ‘inadequate’ by Ofsted, up to March 2023.
Grades are based on overall effectiveness, quality of education, behaviours and attitudes, personal development, and leadership and management.
1. Liverpool secondary schools rated ‘inadequate’ and ‘requires improvement’
These schools received the lowest Ofsted ratings.
2. Progress Schools (Toxteth) - Inadequate
Published in December 2022, the Ofsted report for Progress Schools states: “Leaders have failed pupils at this school. Their expectations of what pupils can and should achieve are low. Pupils are not inspired to learn. The curriculum offer is poor. Added to this, some pupils take qualifications that are well below their capabilities. Pupils do not achieve well. They are ill-equipped for the next stage in their education. Many pupils do not attend school regularly. Leaders do not follow up on pupils’ absence. They do not meticulously check on pupils’ safety and well-being when they are absent from school. This leaves pupils vulnerable and at considerable risk of harm."
3. Abbot's Lea School
Published in December 2021, the Ofsted report for Abbot’s Lea School states: “Pupils are well prepared for their next steps in education. Older pupils, and students in the sixth form, receive high-quality careers information, advice and guidance. Pupils learn to travel independently, manage their time and write an effective curriculum vitae. Currently, there are unresolved tensions between leaders and some staff. While this is not affecting the overall quality of education for pupils, it is preventing ongoing school improvement."
4. Calderstones School - Requires Improvement
Published in May 2019, the Ofsted report for the Calderstones School states: “Since the last inspection, leaders have been unable to sustain some of the improvements they secured in pupils’ achievement. Those pupils who left the school in 2018 did not make good progress and did not achieve well across a range of subjects, including English and mathematics.”