The Whitby High School
Sycamore Drive, Whitby, Ellesmere Port, CH66 2NU
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Foundation school
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- Seahorse Educational Trust
- Headteacher
- Mrs Geraldine Fraser
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Constituency
- Ellesmere Port and Bromborough
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,625
- Pupils on roll
- 1,398
- URN
- 111429
- Local authority
- Cheshire West and Chester
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01513558445
About this school
The Whitby High School is a foundation secondary school in Ellesmere Port. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,398 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected The Whitby High School, and its latest judgement is set out 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
Overall judgement at the last full inspection
This inspection took place under the previous framework, which gave a single overall grade. Ofsted now publishes report cards instead, so newer inspections of other schools will look different. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Sixth form
- Good
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 262 | 273 | 274 |
| Attainment 8 score | 38.2 | 38.4 | 38.9 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.70 -0.88 to -0.53 | -0.58 -0.75 to -0.41 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 26% | 27.8% | 31% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 55% | 50.2% | 54% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 56% | 47.3% | 42.3% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.4 | 3.5 | 3.5 |
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 The Whitby 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 | Cheshire West and Chester average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 38.2 | 41.2 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 38.4 | 40.4 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 38.9 | 38.6 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 11.4% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 12.5% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 11.1% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,541 |
| 2023/24 | 1,579 |
| 2024/25 | 1,477 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How The Whitby High School compares
The Whitby High School ranked 15th of 20 secondary schools in Cheshire West and Chester for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 35% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 5% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 38.9 | 11.1% | 28.2% | 1,398 | — |
| Ellesmere Port Catholic High School, a Voluntary Academy | 36.9 | 11% | 37.8% | 950 | 0.5 miles |
| Ellesmere Port Church of England College | 39 | 10.3% | 47.4% | 777 | 1.0 miles |
| Upton-by-Chester High School | 48.8 | 6.5% | 17.2% | 1,728 | 3.8 miles |
| Blacon High School, A Specialist Sports College | 33.2 | 14.6% | 47.4% | 651 | 4.2 miles |
| South Wirral High School | — | — | — | 1,019 | 4.3 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)
- 28.19%
- English as an additional language
- 7.7%
- Overall absence
- 11.06%
- Persistent absence
- 30.49%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Ellesmere Port Catholic High School, a Voluntary Academy0.5 miles
Secondary · Ellesmere Port
-
Ellesmere Port Church of England College1.0 miles
Secondary · Ellesmere Port
-
Upton-by-Chester High School3.8 miles
Secondary · Chester
-
Blacon High School, A Specialist Sports College4.2 miles
Secondary · Chester
-
South Wirral High School4.3 miles
Secondary · Wirral
Other schools in Ellesmere Port
- Ellesmere Port Catholic High School, a Voluntary Academy Secondary
- Ellesmere Port Church of England College Secondary
- Brookside Primary School Primary
- Cambridge Road Community Primary and Nursery School Primary
- Childer Thornton Primary School Primary
- Ellesmere Port Christ Church CofE Primary School Primary
- Little Sutton C of E Primary School Primary
- Meadow Primary School Primary
- Our Lady Star of the Sea Catholic Primary School Primary
- Parklands Community Primary and Nursery School Primary
- Rivacre Valley Primary School Primary
- Rossmore School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does The Whitby High School teach?
- The Whitby High School teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Ellesmere Port.
- Who is the headteacher of The Whitby High School?
- The headteacher of The Whitby High School is Mrs Geraldine Fraser, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has The Whitby High School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected The Whitby 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 many pupils are at The Whitby High School?
- The Whitby High School has 1,398 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is The Whitby High School full?
- The Whitby High School has capacity for 1,625 pupils and 1,398 on roll (86%), so it has space against 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 The Whitby High School a faith school?
- No. The Whitby High School has no designated religious character.
- Is The Whitby High School a selective school?
- No. The Whitby High School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is The Whitby High School part of an academy trust?
- The Whitby High School is part of Seahorse Educational Trust. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have The Whitby High School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 38.2 in 2022/23 and 38.9 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does The Whitby High School compare with other schools in Cheshire West and Chester?
- The Whitby High School ranked 15th of 20 secondary schools in Cheshire West and Chester for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 35% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 5% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is The Whitby High School's absence rate?
- The Whitby High School's overall absence rate is 11.1% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are The Whitby High School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, The Whitby 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.