Pensby High School
Irby Road, Heswall, Wirral, CH61 6XN
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Foundation school
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Headteacher
- Mr Kevin Flanagan
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Constituency
- Wirral West
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 900
- Pupils on roll
- 915
- URN
- 105101
- Local authority
- Wirral
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01513420570
About this school
Pensby High School is a foundation secondary school in Wirral. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 915 pupils on roll.
You can read Ofsted's latest judgement for the school below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Numbers and a report only go so far, so visit in person before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 23 March 2023, where inspectors confirmed the school remains Good. The school's last full inspection took place before September 2019, so its area grades are not part of Ofsted's current published data. Older reports are on the school's Ofsted page.
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 157 | 163 | 171 |
| Attainment 8 score | 44.8 | 43.7 | 44.8 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.27 +0.04 to +0.49 | +0.28 +0.06 to +0.50 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 45% | 38% | 42.7% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 66% | 68.1% | 72.5% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 40% | 31.3% | 14% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.9 | 3.7 | 3.7 |
Progress 8 is paused nationally for the 2024/25 and 2025/26 school years. Those pupils sat no key stage 2 tests during the Covid pandemic, so there is no starting point to measure progress from. A blank figure here is not missing school data.
Trends over time
How Pensby High School has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Wirral average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 44.8 | 39.4 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 43.7 | 37.3 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 44.8 | 37.4 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 8.1% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 7.6% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 7.7% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 884 |
| 2023/24 | 902 |
| 2024/25 | 920 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Pensby High School compares
Pensby High School ranked 8th of 19 secondary schools in Wirral for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 56% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 18% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 44.8 | 7.7% | 23.6% | 915 | — |
| Calday Grange Grammar School | 68.1 | 4.6% | 8.7% | 1,493 | 2.6 miles |
| Woodchurch High School | 37.9 | 11.6% | 39.5% | 1,399 | 2.7 miles |
| Upton Hall School FCJ | 65.6 | 4.9% | 10.2% | 1,004 | 3.0 miles |
| Hilbre High School | 39 | 9.8% | 29.5% | 1,154 | 3.0 miles |
| Ridgeway High School | 39.2 | 12.8% | 58.7% | 858 | 3.1 miles |
Results reflect each school's cohort as much as its teaching, and free school meals share is context, not a judgement. Small gaps between neighbouring schools are rarely meaningful on their own.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 23.59%
- English as an additional language
- 3.2%
- Overall absence
- 7.71%
- Persistent absence
- 20.78%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Calday Grange Grammar School2.6 miles
Secondary · Wirral
-
Woodchurch High School2.7 miles
Secondary · Wirral
-
Upton Hall School FCJ3.0 miles
Secondary · Wirral
-
Hilbre High School3.0 miles
Secondary · Wirral
-
Ridgeway High School3.1 miles
Secondary · Prenton
Other schools in Wirral
Pensby High School ranks 6th of the 10 ranked secondary schools in Wirral.
- Calday Grange Grammar School Secondary
- Co-op Academy Bebington Secondary
- Hilbre High School Secondary
- South Wirral High School Secondary
- St John Plessington Catholic College Secondary
- Upton Hall School FCJ Secondary
- West Kirby Grammar School Secondary
- Wirral Grammar School for Boys Secondary
- Wirral Grammar School for Girls Secondary
- Woodchurch High School Secondary
- Castleway Nursery School Nursery
- Ganneys Meadow Nursery School and Family Centre Nursery
Common questions
- What year groups does Pensby High School teach?
- Pensby High School teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Wirral.
- Who is the headteacher of Pensby High School?
- The headteacher of Pensby High School is Mr Kevin Flanagan, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Pensby High School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Pensby High School, and its latest judgement is set out in the inspection section on this page, with the framework and the date it was made.
- How big is Pensby High School?
- Pensby High School has 915 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is Pensby High School full?
- Pensby High School has capacity for 900 pupils and 915 on roll (102%), so it is at or above its published capacity. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is Pensby High School a faith school?
- No. Pensby High School has no designated religious character.
- Is Pensby High School a selective school?
- No. Pensby High School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- How have Pensby High School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 44.8 in 2022/23 and 44.8 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Pensby High School rank locally?
- Pensby High School ranked 8th of 19 secondary schools in Wirral for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 56% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 18% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Pensby High School's absence rate?
- Pensby High School's overall absence rate is 7.7% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Pensby High School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Pensby High School's key stage results are shown in the results section on this page, with the last three years so you can see the trend rather than a single year.
School details come from the Department for Education's Get Information About Schools register. Inspection outcomes come from Ofsted, and exam results from the Department for Education's school performance service. This page was last updated on 29 June 2026.