The Academy of St Nicholas
51 Horrocks Avenue, Garston, Liverpool, L19 5NY
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 11 to 19
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic/Church of England
- Trust
- THE LIVERPOOL JOINT CATHOLIC AND CHURCH OF ENGLAND ACADEMIES TRUST
- Head of School
- Mr Gary Lloyd
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Religious ethos
- None
- Diocese
- Archdiocese of Liverpool
- Sponsor
- The Dioceses of Liverpool Joint Catholic and Church of England Academy Trust
- Constituency
- Liverpool Garston
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,080
- Pupils on roll
- 841
- URN
- 136119
- Local authority
- Liverpool
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01512302570
About this school
The Academy of St Nicholas is a secondary academy in Liverpool. It teaches children aged 11 to 19 and has 841 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected The Academy of St Nicholas, and its latest judgement is set out 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
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 | 102 | 114 | 129 |
| Attainment 8 score | 30.6 | 27.8 | 29.4 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.84 -1.12 to -0.56 | -1.27 -1.54 to -1.00 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 18% | 16.7% | 20.2% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 30% | 28.9% | 38.8% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 28% | 40.4% | 14% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 2.4 | 2.4 | 2.4 |
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 The Academy of St Nicholas has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Liverpool average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 30.6 | 36.8 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 27.8 | 35.5 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 29.4 | 36 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 14.4% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 15% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 11.7% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 901 |
| 2023/24 | 968 |
| 2024/25 | 924 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How The Academy of St Nicholas compares
The Academy of St Nicholas ranked 28th of 29 secondary schools in Liverpool for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 21% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 4% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 29.4 | 11.7% | 57.4% | 841 | — |
| St Julie's Catholic High School | 46.9 | 8.3% | 27.6% | 1,018 | 1.6 miles |
| St Margaret's Church of England Academy | 49.6 | 7.2% | 22.2% | 1,000 | 1.9 miles |
| St Francis Xavier's Catholic Academy | 36.7 | 11.1% | 32.5% | 939 | 2.0 miles |
| Calderstones School | 46.1 | 7.9% | 21.9% | 1,592 | 2.0 miles |
| Halewood Academy | 41.6 | 9.3% | 48% | 1,131 | 2.1 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)
- 57.41%
- English as an additional language
- 34.3%
- Overall absence
- 11.71%
- Persistent absence
- 36.56%
Location
Nearby schools
-
St Julie's Catholic High School1.6 miles
Secondary · Liverpool
-
St Margaret's Church of England Academy1.9 miles
Secondary · Liverpool
-
St Francis Xavier's Catholic Academy2.0 miles
Secondary · Liverpool
-
Calderstones School2.0 miles
Secondary · Liverpool
-
Halewood Academy2.1 miles
Secondary · Knowsley
Other schools in Liverpool
The Academy of St Nicholas ranks 39th of the 40 ranked secondary schools in Liverpool.
- Alsop High School Secondary
- Archbishop Beck Catholic College Secondary
- Archbishop Blanch CofE High School Secondary
- Bellerive FCJ Catholic College Secondary
- Broughton Hall Catholic High School Secondary
- Calderstones School Secondary
- Cardinal Heenan Catholic High School Secondary
- Chesterfield High School Secondary
- Childwall Sports & Science Academy Secondary
- Deyes High School Secondary
- Dixons Broadgreen Academy Secondary
- Dixons Croxteth Academy Secondary
Common questions
- What ages does The Academy of St Nicholas teach?
- The Academy of St Nicholas teaches children aged 11 to 19. It is a secondary school in Liverpool.
- Who is the head of school of The Academy of St Nicholas?
- The head of school of The Academy of St Nicholas is Mr Gary Lloyd, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has The Academy of St Nicholas been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected The Academy of St Nicholas, 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 Academy of St Nicholas?
- The Academy of St Nicholas has 841 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 19.
- Is The Academy of St Nicholas full?
- The Academy of St Nicholas has capacity for 1,080 pupils and 841 on roll (78%), 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 Academy of St Nicholas a faith school?
- Yes. The Academy of St Nicholas is designated Roman Catholic/Church of England, in the Archdiocese of Liverpool.
- Is The Academy of St Nicholas a selective school?
- No. The Academy of St Nicholas is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is The Academy of St Nicholas part of an academy trust?
- The Academy of St Nicholas is part of THE LIVERPOOL JOINT CATHOLIC AND CHURCH OF ENGLAND ACADEMIES TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have The Academy of St Nicholas's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 30.6 in 2022/23 and 29.4 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 Academy of St Nicholas compare with other schools in Liverpool?
- The Academy of St Nicholas ranked 28th of 29 secondary schools in Liverpool for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 21% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 4% 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 Academy of St Nicholas's absence rate?
- The Academy of St Nicholas's overall absence rate is 11.7% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are The Academy of St Nicholas's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, The Academy of St Nicholas'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 1 July 2026.