Maharishi Free School
Cobbs Brow Lane, Lathom, Ormskirk, L40 6JJ
- Phase
- All-through
- School type
- Free schools
- Ages
- 4 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- MAHARISHI SCHOOL TRUST LTD
- Headteacher
- Mrs Lisa Edwards
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Constituency
- West Lancashire
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 240
- Pupils on roll
- 229
- URN
- 137498
- Local authority
- Lancashire
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01695729912
About this school
Maharishi Free School is an all-through academy in Ormskirk. It teaches children aged 4 to 16 and has 229 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Maharishi Free School, 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
Ofsted did not give an overall grade. Between September 2024 and September 2025 inspections graded each area of a school's work without a single overall judgement, ahead of the move to report cards. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Early years
- Good
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 20 | 20 | 20 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 40% | 60% | 50% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Expected standard in reading | 65% | 75% | 60% |
| Expected standard in maths | 55% | 70% | 65% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 50% | 75% | 60% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 102.0 | 106.0 | 103.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 100.0 | 104.0 | 102.0 |
| Reading progress | -2.40 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -3.00 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -4.20 | - | - |
Progress measures ended nationally after the 2022/23 school year, when the key stage 1 assessments they were based on were stopped. Blank progress figures in later years are not missing school data.
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 17 | 16 | 20 |
| Attainment 8 score | 47.4 | 46.6 | 54.1 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.22 -0.47 to +0.91 | +0.28 -0.41 to +0.98 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 35% | 50% | 55% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 65% | 75% | 80% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 94% | 81.3% | 90% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.7 | 4.6 | 5.4 |
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 Maharishi Free 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 | 40% | 58.3% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 60% | 58.3% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 50% | 58.8% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | Lancashire average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 47.4 | 38.1 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 46.6 | 37.6 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 54.1 | 37 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 8.5% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 9.8% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 10.7% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 225 |
| 2023/24 | 230 |
| 2024/25 | 224 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Maharishi Free School compares
Maharishi Free School ranked 13th of 81 secondary schools in Lancashire for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 85% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 6% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 54.1 | 10.7% | 15.6% | 229 | — |
| St James' Catholic Primary School, Skelmersdale | — | 6.7% | 18% | 229 | 0.6 miles |
| Cobbs Brow School | — | 5.8% | 26.4% | 308 | 0.7 miles |
| Lathom High School : A Technology College | 41.5 | 10.5% | 46.9% | 806 | 0.7 miles |
| Dalton St Michael's Church of England Primary School | — | 6.3% | 27.7% | 61 | 0.8 miles |
| Woodland Community Primary School | — | 8.2% | 49.4% | 335 | 1.1 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.
Inspection history
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 15.63%
- English as an additional language
- 1.8%
- Overall absence
- 10.74%
- Persistent absence
- 33.62%
Location
Nearby schools
-
St James' Catholic Primary School, Skelmersdale0.6 miles
Primary · Skelmersdale
-
Cobbs Brow School0.7 miles
Primary · Skelmersdale
-
Lathom High School : A Technology College0.7 miles
Secondary · Skelmersdale
-
Dalton St Michael's Church of England Primary School0.8 miles
Primary · Wigan
-
Woodland Community Primary School1.1 miles
Primary · Skelmersdale
Other schools in Ormskirk
Maharishi Free School ranks 16th of the 22 ranked primary schools in Ormskirk.
- Moorgate Nursery School Nursery
- Aughton Christ Church Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School Primary
- Aughton St Michael's Church of England Primary School Primary
- Aughton Town Green Primary School Primary
- Bickerstaffe CofE Primary School and Nursery Primary
- Burscough Bridge Methodist School Primary
- Burscough Bridge St John's Church of England Primary School Primary
- Burscough Lordsgate Township Church of England Primary School Primary
- Burscough Village Primary School Primary
- Downholland-Haskayne Voluntary Aided Church of England Primary School Primary
- Halsall St Cuthbert's Church of England Primary School Primary
- Holmeswood Methodist School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Maharishi Free School teach?
- Maharishi Free School teaches children aged 4 to 16. It is an all-through school in Ormskirk.
- Who is the headteacher of Maharishi Free School?
- The headteacher of Maharishi Free School is Mrs Lisa Edwards, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Maharishi Free School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Maharishi Free 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 Maharishi Free School?
- Maharishi Free School has 229 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 16.
- Is Maharishi Free School full?
- Maharishi Free School has capacity for 240 pupils and 229 on roll (95%), so it is close to full. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is Maharishi Free School a faith school?
- No. Maharishi Free School has no designated religious character.
- Is Maharishi Free School a selective school?
- No. Maharishi Free School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Does Maharishi Free School have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records Maharishi Free School as having no nursery classes.
- Is Maharishi Free School part of an academy trust?
- Maharishi Free School is part of MAHARISHI SCHOOL TRUST LTD. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Maharishi Free School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 40% in 2022/23 and 50% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Maharishi Free School compare with other schools in Lancashire?
- Maharishi Free School ranked 13th of 81 secondary schools in Lancashire for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 85% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 6% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Maharishi Free School's absence rate?
- Maharishi Free School's overall absence rate is 10.7% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Maharishi Free School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Maharishi Free 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 1 July 2026.