Birkdale High School
Academy converter · 936 pupils
84% stayed in education · Attainment 8 51.9
Free schools
King's Leadership Academy Hawthornes
- Pupils on roll
- 708of 600 places
- Free school meals
- 61.6%
- Year 11 cohort 2025
- 106
- Ofsted
- Good, 27 September 2023Read the Ofsted report
What the data says
King's Leadership Academy Hawthornes has no sixth form. Of the 64 pupils who finished Year 11 there in 2023, 3% moved to a sixth form college, 73% to a further education college and 2% started an apprenticeship.
16% of leavers were not in sustained education, employment or training six months on, compared with 6% nationally.
GCSE results in 2025 were well below the national picture: Attainment 8 of 32.2 against 46.1 across England and 42.9 in Sefton, with 17% of pupils getting grade 5 or above in both English and maths (England 45%).
Spanish is unusually popular at GCSE: 72% of the year group took it, against 19% 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 Sefton and England.
School sixth formSixth form collegeFurther education collegeOther educationApprenticeshipEmploymentNo sustained destination
| Measure | This school | Sefton | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils in the cohort | 64 | 3,063 | 607,348 |
| Any sustained destination | 81% | 89% | 92% |
| Stayed in education | 80% | 83% | 86% |
| — school sixth form | 2% | 25% | 34% |
| — sixth form college | 3% | 2% | 13% |
| — further education college | 73% | 53% | 37% |
| — other education | 2% | 3% | 2% |
| Apprenticeship | 2% | 3% | 3% |
| Employment | 0% | 3% | 3% |
| No sustained destination | 16% | 8% | 6% |
| Destination unknown | 3% | 4% | 3% |
GCSE results 2025
| Measure | This school | Sefton | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Attainment 8 (average points per pupil) | 32.2 | 42.9 | 46.1 |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 17% | 40% | 45% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 35% | 60% | 65% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate subjects | 67% | 38% | 41% |
| EBacc average point score | 2.94 | 3.70 | 4.09 |
| Disadvantaged pupils in the cohort | 59% | 30% | 28% |
| Attainment 8 — disadvantaged pupils | 29.5 | 31.3 | 34.9 |
| Attainment 8 — other pupils | 36.1 | 47.8 | 50.4 |
| Pupils with high prior attainment (Key Stage 2) | — | — | — |
| English as an additional language | 21% | 7% | 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 | 108 | 100% | 88% | 6% | 22% | 40% |
| English Language | 108 | 100% | 89% | 8% | 20% | 49% |
| English Literature | 103 | 97% | 86% | 9% | 21% | 43% |
| Combined Science | 85 | 80% | 65% | 1% | 9% | 19% |
| Spanish | 76 | 72% | 19% | 11% | 27% | 36% |
| History | 59 | 56% | 41% | 8% | 26% | 39% |
| Geography | 37 | 35% | 41% | 5% | 25% | 27% |
| Business Studies | 32 | 30% | 18% | 6% | 20% | 9% |
| Biology | 23 | 22% | 23% | 4% | 45% | 70% |
| Chemistry | 22 | 21% | 23% | 14% | 47% | 73% |
| Physics | 22 | 21% | 23% | 14% | 46% | 68% |
| Computer Science | 20 | 19% | 13% | 5% | 30% | 25% |
| 3D Design | 14 | 13% | 2% | 0% | 16% | 57% |
| Statistics | 11 | 10% | 5% | 9% | 20% | 91% |
| Fine Art | 9 | 8% | 9% | 0% | 28% | 67% |
| Portuguese | 2 | 2% | 0% | — | 50% | — |
| Italian | 2 | 2% | 0% | — | 53% | — |
| Turkish | 2 | 2% | 0% | — | 71% | — |
| German | 2 | 2% | 5% | — | 33% | — |
| Psychology | 1 | 1% | 3% | — | 22% | — |
| Polish | 1 | 1% | 1% | — | 84% | — |
| Photography | 1 | 1% | 6% | — | 19% | — |
| Arabic | 1 | 1% | 1% | — | 47% | — |
Technical awards and other Key Stage 4 qualifications
| Subject | Entries | Share of cohort | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hospitality / Catering Studies | 31 | — | — |
| Sports Coaching | 13 | — | — |
| Speech and Drama | 11 | — | — |
| Computer Appreciation / Introduction | 9 | — | — |
| Health Studies | 9 | — | — |
Other secondary schools in Sefton
Chesterfield High School
Academy converter · sixth form · 1,692 pupils
79% stayed in education · Attainment 8 48.4
Christ The King Catholic High School and Sixth Form Centre
Voluntary aided school · sixth form · 822 pupils
89% stayed in education · Attainment 8 41.8
Deyes High School
Academy converter · sixth form · 1,336 pupils
87% stayed in education · Attainment 8 42.8
Formby High School
Academy converter · sixth form · 1,157 pupils
83% stayed in education · Attainment 8 54.3
Greenbank High School
Academy converter · 1,025 pupils
91% stayed in education · Attainment 8 50.6
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.