Birkenhead High School Academy
Academy sponsor led · sixth form · 1,226 pupils
92% stayed in education · Attainment 8 50.5
Academy converter
Wirral Grammar School for Boys
- Pupils on roll
- 1,123of 1,194 places
- Free school meals
- 10.8%
- Year 11 cohort 2025
- 156
- Ofsted
- Good, 8 November 2022Read the Ofsted report
Results below include those reported under the school’s previous registration: Wirral Grammar School for Boys (URN 105113, until 1 September 2011).
What the data says
Of the 155 pupils who finished Year 11 at Wirral Grammar School for Boys in 2023, 74% stayed on in Wirral Grammar School for Boys’ own sixth form (Wirral average 38%), 3% went to a further education college and 1% started an apprenticeship.
Among the 141 students who left the sixth form in 2023, 61% went to university (Wirral 39%, England 37%), and 44% of level 3 students progressed to one of the most selective universities, against 19% nationally; 15% started an apprenticeship, well above the 7% England average.
GCSE results in 2025 were well above the national picture: Attainment 8 of 65.4 against 46.1 across England and 45.3 in Wirral, with 91% of pupils getting grade 5 or above in both English and maths (England 45%) — as a selective grammar school, Wirral Grammar School for Boys admits pupils by test at 11, which drives these figures.
Chemistry is unusually popular at GCSE: 99% of the year group took it, against 23% of pupils across England.
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 Wirral and England.
School sixth formSixth form collegeFurther education collegeOther educationApprenticeshipEmploymentNo sustained destination
| Measure | This school | Wirral | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils in the cohort | 155 | 3,848 | 607,348 |
| Any sustained destination | 99% | 91% | 92% |
| Stayed in education | 97% | 85% | 86% |
| — school sixth form | 74% | 38% | 34% |
| — sixth form college | 19% | 19% | 13% |
| — further education college | 3% | 25% | 37% |
| — other education | 1% | 3% | 2% |
| Apprenticeship | 1% | 3% | 3% |
| Employment | 2% | 3% | 3% |
| No sustained destination | 1% | 7% | 6% |
| Destination unknown | 0% | 3% | 3% |
Where students went after sixth form
Destinations of students who finished 16–18 study in 2023, measured the following year.
University (higher education)Further educationOther educationApprenticeshipEmploymentNo sustained destination
| Measure | This school | Wirral | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Students in the cohort | 141 | 3,298 | 541,441 |
| Any sustained destination | 92% | 79% | 79% |
| University (higher education) | 61% | 39% | 37% |
| — most selective universities (top third), of level 3 students | 44% | 23% | 19% |
| Further education | 1% | 6% | 5% |
| Apprenticeship | 15% | 8% | 7% |
| Employment | 15% | 25% | 28% |
| No sustained destination | 6% | 16% | 16% |
GCSE results 2025
| Measure | This school | Wirral | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Attainment 8 (average points per pupil) | 65.4 | 45.3 | 46.1 |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 91% | 44% | 45% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 99% | 62% | 65% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate subjects | 96% | 39% | 41% |
| EBacc average point score | 6.21 | 3.96 | 4.09 |
| Disadvantaged pupils in the cohort | 7% | 33% | 28% |
| Attainment 8 — disadvantaged pupils | 62.4 | 32.3 | 34.9 |
| Attainment 8 — other pupils | 65.6 | 51.6 | 50.4 |
| Pupils with high prior attainment (Key Stage 2) | — | — | — |
| English as an additional language | 11% | 6% | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| English Language | 156 | 100% | 89% | 38% | 20% | 99% |
| Mathematics | 156 | 100% | 88% | 54% | 22% | 99% |
| Physics | 155 | 99% | 23% | 40% | 46% | 94% |
| Chemistry | 155 | 99% | 23% | 39% | 47% | 95% |
| Biology | 155 | 99% | 23% | 38% | 45% | 98% |
| English Literature | 155 | 99% | 86% | 29% | 21% | 99% |
| History | 113 | 72% | 41% | 35% | 26% | 87% |
| Business Studies | 107 | 69% | 18% | 39% | 20% | 98% |
| Geography | 94 | 60% | 41% | 52% | 25% | 99% |
| Spanish | 90 | 58% | 19% | 30% | 27% | 90% |
| French | 70 | 45% | 18% | 26% | 29% | 80% |
| Computer Science | 55 | 35% | 13% | 22% | 30% | 76% |
| Physical Education | 43 | 28% | 11% | 47% | 24% | 95% |
| Art and Design | 43 | 28% | 7% | 86% | 24% | 100% |
| Food Preparation and Nutrition | 33 | 21% | 8% | 33% | 21% | 97% |
| Religious Studies | 29 | 19% | 31% | 41% | 32% | 83% |
| Design and Technology | 25 | 16% | 11% | 24% | 23% | 96% |
| Geology | 24 | 15% | 0% | 88% | 61% | 100% |
| Music | 20 | 13% | 5% | 55% | 33% | 100% |
| Chinese | 1 | 1% | 1% | — | 75% | — |
Technical awards and other Key Stage 4 qualifications
| Subject | Entries | Share of cohort | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Computer Appreciation / Introduction | 16 | 14% | — |
A levels and other level 3 courses
| Measure | This school | Wirral | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Students at the end of 16–18 study | 260 | — | — |
| — of whom A level students | 115 | 1,844 | 261,341 |
| Average A level grade | B- | B- | B- |
| Average points per A level entry | 37.33 | 35.37 | 35.00 |
| Average grade, best 3 A levels | B- | B- | B- |
| AAB or better with two facilitating subjects | 27% | 16% | 18% |
| Average grade, applied general courses | — | — | — |
| Average grade, T levels | — | — | — |
A level subjects
Entries as a share of A level students, compared with the share across England.
| Subject | Entries | Share of cohort | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mathematics | 50 | 43% | 31% |
| Biology | 33 | 29% | 20% |
| Economics | 33 | 29% | 13% |
| Physics | 30 | 26% | 12% |
| Business Studies | 29 | 25% | 13% |
| Chemistry | 23 | 20% | 17% |
| Psychology | 22 | 19% | 23% |
| Geography | 19 | 17% | 10% |
| Law | 16 | 14% | 4% |
| English Language | 10 | 9% | 4% |
| Product Design | 9 | 8% | 2% |
| Spanish | 8 | 7% | 2% |
| History | 8 | 7% | 13% |
| Geology | 7 | 6% | 0% |
| Politics | 6 | 5% | 6% |
| Further Mathematics | 6 | 5% | 5% |
| English Literature | 6 | 5% | 11% |
| Computer Science | — | — | 5% |
| French | — | — | 1% |
| Fine Art | — | — | 3% |
Applied, technical and other level 3 courses
| Subject | Qualification | Entries | Share of cohort | England |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Study Skills | Extended Project (Diploma) | 37 | 32% | — |
| Sports Studies | OCR Cambridge Technical Extended Certificate at Level 3 | 11 | 10% | — |
| Music performance: Group | VRQ Level 3 | 9 | 8% | — |
| Sports Studies | OCR Cambridge Technical Certificate at Level 3 | — | — | — |
Other secondary schools in Wirral
Birkenhead Park School
Academy sponsor led · 731 pupils
71% stayed in education · Attainment 8 39.9
Calday Grange Grammar School
Academy converter · sixth form · 1,493 pupils
95% stayed in education · Attainment 8 68.1
Co-op Academy Bebington
Academy sponsor led · sixth form · 1,044 pupils
89% stayed in education · Attainment 8 37.3
Hilbre High School
Academy converter · sixth form · 1,154 pupils
83% stayed in education · Attainment 8 39.0
Pensby High School
Foundation school · sixth form · 915 pupils
80% stayed in education · Attainment 8 44.8
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.