Cowley International College
Community school · sixth form · 1,514 pupils
80% stayed in education · Attainment 8 39.3
Academy sponsor led
Hope Academy
- Pupils on roll
- 1,235of 1,350 places
- Free school meals
- 30.0%
- Year 11 cohort 2025
- 274
- Ofsted
- Inspected, 12 November 2024Read the Ofsted report
Results below include those reported under the school’s previous registrations: Newton-le-Willows Community High School (URN 104828, until 1 September 2011); St Aelred's Catholic Technology College (URN 104832, until 1 September 2011).
What the data says
Hope Academy has no sixth form. Of the 239 pupils who finished Year 11 there in 2023, 35% moved to a sixth form college, 39% to a further education college and 5% started an apprenticeship.
Sixth form colleges are the main next step: 35% of leavers went to one, roughly twice the England rate of 13%.
Art and Design is unusually popular at GCSE: 24% of the year group took it, against 7% of pupils across England.
GCSE results in 2025 were below the national picture: Attainment 8 of 43.8 against 46.1 across England and 41.8 in St. Helens, with 33% of pupils getting grade 5 or above in both English and maths (England 45%).
Where pupils went after Year 11
Destinations of the 2023 Year 11 leavers, measured the following year: the share in a sustained place for at least two terms. Compared with all state-funded schools in St. Helens and England.
School sixth formSixth form collegeFurther education collegeOther educationApprenticeshipEmploymentNo sustained destination
| Measure | Hope Academy | St. Helens | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils in the cohort | 239 | 1,990 | 607,348 |
| Any sustained destination | 87% | 88% | 92% |
| Stayed in education | 80% | 82% | 86% |
| — school sixth form | 4% | 18% | 34% |
| — sixth form college | 35% | 25% | 13% |
| — further education college | 39% | 37% | 37% |
| — other education | 3% | 2% | 2% |
| Apprenticeship | 5% | 3% | 3% |
| Employment | 2% | 3% | 3% |
| No sustained destination | 7% | 8% | 6% |
| Destination unknown | 6% | 4% | 3% |
GCSE results 2025
| Measure | Hope Academy | St. Helens | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Attainment 8 (average points per pupil) | 43.8 | 41.8 | 46.1 |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 33% | 36% | 45% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 57% | 57% | 65% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate subjects | 33% | 34% | 41% |
| EBacc average point score | 3.71 | 3.59 | 4.09 |
| Disadvantaged pupils in the cohort | 27% | 31% | 28% |
| Attainment 8 — disadvantaged pupils | 33.9 | 30.2 | 34.9 |
| Attainment 8 — other pupils | 47.4 | 47.0 | 50.4 |
| Pupils with high prior attainment (Key Stage 2) | — | — | — |
| English as an additional language | 6% | 5% | 19% |
Progress 8 is not available for 2025 and 2026: these cohorts had no Key Stage 2 tests in 2020 and 2021, so there is no baseline. Attainment 8 shows results without taking pupils’ starting points into account.
Subjects taken at GCSE
Entries in 2025 as a share of the Year 11 cohort, and the share of entries graded 7–9 and 4–9, compared with all entries in England.
| Subject | Entries | Share of cohort | England | Grades 7–9 | England | Grades 4–9 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mathematics | 270 | 99% | 88% | 15% | 22% | 66% |
| English Language | 270 | 99% | 89% | 16% | 20% | 65% |
| English Literature | 264 | 96% | 86% | 13% | 21% | 66% |
| Religious Studies | 252 | 92% | 31% | 28% | 32% | 69% |
| Combined Science | 228 | 83% | 65% | 10% | 9% | 52% |
| History | 129 | 47% | 41% | 19% | 26% | 55% |
| Geography | 104 | 38% | 41% | 30% | 25% | 67% |
| Art and Design | 65 | 24% | 7% | 8% | 24% | 65% |
| Spanish | 61 | 22% | 19% | 23% | 27% | 80% |
| Photography | 37 | 14% | 6% | 30% | 19% | 95% |
| Biology | 32 | 12% | 23% | 38% | 45% | 97% |
| Physics | 31 | 11% | 23% | 35% | 46% | 97% |
| Chemistry | 30 | 11% | 23% | 43% | 47% | 100% |
| French | 29 | 11% | 18% | 17% | 29% | 55% |
| Physical Education | 28 | 10% | 11% | 64% | 24% | 96% |
| Statistics | 24 | 9% | 5% | 17% | 20% | 67% |
| Design and Technology | 23 | 8% | 11% | 22% | 23% | 83% |
| Business Studies | 19 | 7% | 18% | 37% | 20% | 89% |
| Computer Science | 16 | 6% | 13% | 56% | 30% | 94% |
| Drama | 15 | 5% | 7% | 0% | 27% | 60% |
| Arabic | 1 | 0% | 1% | — | 47% | — |
| Polish | 1 | 0% | 1% | — | 84% | — |
Technical awards and other Key Stage 4 qualifications
| Subject | Entries | Share of cohort | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Childcare Skills | 34 | — | — |
| Building / Construction Operations (General / Combined) | 28 | — | — |
| Sports Studies | 27 | — | — |
| Engineering Studies | 27 | — | — |
| Small Business Management | 23 | — | — |
| Health Studies | 14 | — | — |
| Computer Appreciation / Introduction | 13 | — | — |
Other secondary schools in St. Helens
De La Salle School
Academy sponsor led · 1,180 pupils
85% stayed in education
Outwood Academy Haydock
Academy sponsor led · 791 pupils
79% stayed in education · Attainment 8 41.2
Rainford High School
Academy converter · sixth form · 1,646 pupils
89% stayed in education · Attainment 8 50.6
Rainhill High School
Academy converter · sixth form · 1,535 pupils
86% stayed in education · Attainment 8 45.9
St Augustine of Canterbury Catholic Academy
Academy sponsor led · 549 pupils
78% stayed in education · Attainment 8 42.6
Sources: Department for Education school and college performance tables 2024/2025 (Key Stage 4 and 16–18 results, subject entries, destination measures for 2023 leavers); Get Information About Schools register as at 19 September 2026; Ofsted management information as at 31 August 2026. Small numbers are suppressed by DfE and shown as “—”. How to read these figures.