Kilgarth School
Cavendish Street, Birkenhead, CH41 8BA
- Phase
- Special schools
- School type
- Community special school
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Boys
- Headteacher
- Ms Jane Westlake
- SEN provision
- SEMH - Social, Emotional and Mental Health
- Constituency
- Birkenhead
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 55
- Pupils on roll
- 63
- URN
- 105130
- Local authority
- Wirral
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01516528071
About this school
Kilgarth School is a boys' community special school in Birkenhead. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 63 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. Seeing a school for yourself shows what no page can, so arrange a visit before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 6 November 2024, where inspectors found that standards have been maintained. 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 | 12 | 8 | 12 |
| Attainment 8 score | 8.3 | 7.3 | 7.8 |
| Progress 8 score | -1.73 -2.53 to -0.93 | -1.98 -2.96 to -1.00 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 8% | 0% | 8.3% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 0.3 | 0.3 | 0.4 |
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 Kilgarth 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 | 8.3 | 39.4 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 7.3 | 37.3 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 7.8 | 37.4 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 17.2% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 27% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 24.7% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 50 |
| 2023/24 | 59 |
| 2024/25 | 60 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 83.33%
- English as an additional language
- 0%
- Overall absence
- 24.67%
- Persistent absence
- 57.38%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Wirral Hospitals' School0.6 miles
Academies · Wirral
-
Progress Schools - Wirral0.8 miles
Independent schools
-
IMPACT Northwest Schools0.9 miles
Special schools · Birkenhead
-
Birkenhead School1.2 miles
Independent schools · Prenton
-
Progress Schools - Hamilton Square1.3 miles
Independent schools
Other schools in Birkenhead
- Horizons Independent School Special schools
- IMPACT Northwest Schools Special schools
- Wirral Wrap Special schools
- Bedford Drive Primary School Primary
- Bidston Avenue Primary School Primary
- Birkenhead Christ Church CofE Primary School Primary
- Co-op Academy Portland Primary
- Devonshire Park Primary School Primary
- Holy Cross Catholic Primary School Primary
- Our Lady and St Edward's Catholic Primary School Primary
- Rock Ferry Primary School Primary
- St Anne's Catholic Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does Kilgarth School teach?
- Kilgarth School teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a special school in Birkenhead.
- Who is the headteacher of Kilgarth School?
- The headteacher of Kilgarth School is Ms Jane Westlake, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Kilgarth School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Kilgarth 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 Kilgarth School?
- Kilgarth School has 63 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is Kilgarth School full?
- Kilgarth School has capacity for 55 pupils and 63 on roll (115%), 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 Kilgarth School a faith school?
- No. Kilgarth School has no designated religious character.
- What SEN provision does Kilgarth School have?
- The schools register lists Kilgarth School's special educational needs provision as: SEMH - Social, Emotional and Mental Health. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have Kilgarth School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 8.3 in 2022/23 and 7.8 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- What is Kilgarth School's absence rate?
- Kilgarth School's overall absence rate is 24.7% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Kilgarth School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Kilgarth 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 6 July 2026.