Top secondary schools in Merseyside: Sunday Times School Guide reveals best state schools in Parent Power survey
This article contains affiliate links. We may earn a small commission on items purchased through this article, but that does not affect our editorial judgement.
The top state secondary schools in North West have been revealed in Parent Power, The Sunday Times’ Schools Guide 2022.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdThe 29th edition of the Parent Power list identifies the UK’s highest-achieving schools ranked by their examination results from 2017-2019. Some 1,700 schools are included nationally.
The guide allows parents to study the rankings and make informed decisions when it comes to applying for school places for their children.
As well as an assessment of all academic results on a school-by-school basis, Parent Power enables parents to compare the performance of a given school with other schools in the same town, local authority or nationally.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdThe Sunday Times’ full list of North West schools includes Merseyside, Greater Manchester, Lancashire, Cheshire and beyond.
Best schools in Merseyside
The top 20 North West schools as listed by the Sunday Times calculates the rankings through a combination of A-Level and GCSE results. Schools such as Carmel College, in St Helens, and Greenbank High School, in Sefton that don’t offer both qualifications are not in the top 20 list.
Top of the pile for state secondary schools in Merseyside is The Liverpool Blue Coat School, in Wavertree, ahead of Wirral Grammar School for Girls, in Bebington.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdAt the Blue Coat School 82.3% of grades were between A*-B at A-level, whilst at GCSE 78.2% were between 9-7 – formerly A*-A - to rank second in the North West and 26th nationally.
Wirral Grammar School for Girls boasted rankings of 75.2% of grades between A*-B at A-level and 59.8% between 9-7 for GCSEs to rank sixth in the North West and 72nd nationally.
Other Merseyside schools inside the top 20 in the North West are West Kirby Grammar School and Calday Grange Grammar School, also in West Kirby.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdAt West Kirby Grammar School 69.5% of grades were between A*-B at A-level, whilst at GCSE 58.6% were between 9-7 – formerly A*-A - to rank ninth in the North West and 99th nationally.
Calday Grange Grammar School boasted rankings of 56.7% per cent of grades between A*-B at A-level and 56.7% per cent between 9-7 for GCSEs to rank 16th in the North West and 173rd nationally.
The Belvedere Academy was the fifth best school in Merseyside but ranked outside the top 20 for the North West. 52.9% of grades were between A*-B at A-level, whilst at GCSE 41.6% were between 9-7 – formerly A*-A - to 252nd nationally.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdParent Power top state secondary schools in the North West of England
- Altrincham Grammar School for Girls
- The Blue Coat School, Liverpool
- Altrincham Grammar School for Boys
- Lancaster Girls’ Grammar School
- Loreto Grammar School, Altrincham
- Wirral Grammar School for Girls, Bebington
- Lancaster Royal Grammar School
- Sale Grammar School
- West Kirby Grammar School
- St Ambrose College, Altrincham
- The King David High School, Manchester
- Urmston Grammar School, Manchester
- Clitheroe Royal Grammar School
- Bacup and Rawtenstall Grammar School
- Cheadle Hulme High School
- Calday Grange Grammar School, West Kirby
- The Fallibroome Academy, Macclesfield
- Stretford Grammar School, Manchester
- Queen Elizabeth Grammar School, Penrith
- Bishop Heber High School, Malpas
How the rankings are determined
The rankings in the secondary school league tables are determined by the average percentage of examination entries in the three years, 2017-19, gaining A* to B grades at A-level and the average percentage of entries returning 9-7 or A* and A grades at GCSE.
Only schools that published their results in those years or disclosed them to The Sunday Times have been included in the guide, which includes around 1,700 schools.
Examination outcomes from 2020 and 2021 have not been used in determining this year’s Sunday Times Parent Power guide rankings due to the disruption caused by the pandemic.
Advertisement
Hide AdAdvertisement
Hide AdAlastair McCall, editor of Parent Power, said: “The need for clarity about school examination performance has never been greater after two years of teacher assessed grades, during which for completely understandable reasons, the numbers of top grades increased dramatically.
“We felt it was important to go back to the last sets of moderated public examination outcomes from 2019, 2018 and 2017 to get the most accurate and current view of school academic achievement. By taking a three-year average, we mitigated against relatively poor performance in a one-off year.”
A fully searchable national database by school name, local authority, town and postcode, together with regional rankings are available on The Times and Sunday Times website.
Comment Guidelines
National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.