Hope High School
Carfield, Clay Brow, Skelmersdale, WN8 9DP
- Phase
- Special schools
- School type
- Community special school
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Headteacher
- Mrs Helen Dunbavin
- SEN provision
- SEMH - Social, Emotional and Mental Health
- Constituency
- West Lancashire
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 90
- Pupils on roll
- 108
- URN
- 119898
- Local authority
- Lancashire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01695721066
About this school
Hope High School is a community special school in Skelmersdale. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 108 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 4 June 2025, 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 | 13 | 13 | 20 |
| Attainment 8 score | 8.4 | 10.1 | 13.1 |
| Progress 8 score | -1.63 -2.55 to -0.70 | -0.89 -1.69 to -0.09 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 0% | 0% | 5% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 0% | 7.7% | 5% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 0.8 | 0.9 | 1.2 |
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 Hope 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 | Lancashire average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 8.4 | 38.1 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 10.1 | 37.6 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 13.1 | 37 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 16.7% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 17.3% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 19% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 84 |
| 2023/24 | 97 |
| 2024/25 | 113 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 67.26%
- English as an additional language
- 0.9%
- Overall absence
- 19.01%
- Persistent absence
- 42.98%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Elm Tree Community Primary School1.1 miles
Special schools · Skelmersdale
-
Moss View School1.6 miles
Special schools · Skelmersdale
-
Kingsbury Primary Special School2.4 miles
Special schools · Skelmersdale
-
West Lancashire Community High School2.5 miles
Special schools · Skelmersdale
-
A.R.T.S. Education2.6 miles
Special schools · Merseyside
Other schools in Skelmersdale
- Elm Tree Community Primary School Special schools
- Kingsbury Primary Special School Special schools
- Learn 4 Life School Special schools
- Moss View School Special schools
- West Lancashire Community High School Special schools
- Bishop Martin Church of England Primary School Primary
- Brookfield Park Primary School Primary
- Cobbs Brow School Primary
- Crawford Village Primary School Primary
- Crow Orchard Primary School Primary
- Delph Side Community Primary School Primary
- Hillside Community Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does Hope High School teach?
- Hope High School teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a special school in Skelmersdale.
- Who is the headteacher of Hope High School?
- The headteacher of Hope High School is Mrs Helen Dunbavin, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Hope High School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Hope 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 Hope High School?
- Hope High School has 108 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is Hope High School full?
- Hope High School has capacity for 90 pupils and 108 on roll (120%), 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 Hope High School a faith school?
- No. Hope High School has no designated religious character.
- What SEN provision does Hope High School have?
- The schools register lists Hope High 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 Hope High School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 8.4 in 2022/23 and 13.1 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- What is Hope High School's absence rate?
- Hope High School's overall absence rate is 19% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Hope High School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Hope 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 7 July 2026.