The Blue Coat School
Church Road, Wavertree, Liverpool, L15 9EE
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- THE LIVERPOOL BLUE COAT SCHOOL
- Headteacher
- Mr Kevin Sexton
- Admissions policy
- Selective
- Constituency
- Liverpool Wavertree
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,300
- Pupils on roll
- 1,232
- URN
- 137916
- Local authority
- Liverpool
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01517331407
About this school
The Blue Coat School is a secondary academy in Liverpool. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,232 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected The Blue Coat 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
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
- Outstanding
- 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 | 182 | 179 | 176 |
| Attainment 8 score | 79.3 | 80.1 | 79.5 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.97 +0.76 to +1.18 | +0.77 +0.55 to +0.98 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 99% | 98.9% | 97.7% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 100% | 99.4% | 98.9% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 98% | 99.4% | 96% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 7.8 | 7.9 | 7.8 |
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 Blue Coat 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 | Liverpool average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 79.3 | 36.8 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 80.1 | 35.5 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 79.5 | 36 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 3.3% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 3.3% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 3.3% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,246 |
| 2023/24 | 1,252 |
| 2024/25 | 1,248 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How The Blue Coat School compares
The Blue Coat School ranked 1st of 29 secondary schools in Liverpool for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 99% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 97% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 79.5 | 3.3% | 17.7% | 1,232 | — |
| King David High School | 54.3 | 7.4% | 12.5% | 744 | 0.7 miles |
| Childwall Sports & Science Academy | 36.2 | 9.5% | 49.7% | 1,049 | 0.8 miles |
| King's Leadership Academy Wavertree | — | — | — | 179 | 0.9 miles |
| Calderstones School | 46.1 | 7.9% | 21.9% | 1,592 | 0.9 miles |
| St Hilda's Church of England High School | 51.8 | 6.9% | 18.8% | 1,298 | 1.0 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)
- 17.69%
- English as an additional language
- 20.2%
- Overall absence
- 3.28%
- Persistent absence
- 3.44%
Location
Nearby schools
-
King David High School0.7 miles
Secondary · Liverpool
-
Childwall Sports & Science Academy0.8 miles
Secondary · Liverpool
-
King's Leadership Academy Wavertree0.9 miles
Secondary · Liverpool
-
Calderstones School0.9 miles
Secondary · Liverpool
-
St Hilda's Church of England High School1.0 miles
Secondary · Liverpool
Other schools in Liverpool
The Blue Coat School ranks 1st 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 Blue Coat School teach?
- The Blue Coat School teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Liverpool.
- Who is the headteacher of The Blue Coat School?
- The headteacher of The Blue Coat School is Mr Kevin Sexton, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has The Blue Coat School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected The Blue Coat 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 Blue Coat School?
- The Blue Coat School has 1,232 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is The Blue Coat School full?
- The Blue Coat School has capacity for 1,300 pupils and 1,232 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 The Blue Coat School a faith school?
- No. The Blue Coat School has no designated religious character.
- Is The Blue Coat School a selective school?
- Yes. The Blue Coat School is recorded as Selective in the schools register, so entry involves selection.
- Is The Blue Coat School part of an academy trust?
- The Blue Coat School is part of THE LIVERPOOL BLUE COAT SCHOOL. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have The Blue Coat School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 79.3 in 2022/23 and 79.5 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 Blue Coat School compare with other schools in Liverpool?
- The Blue Coat School ranked 1st of 29 secondary schools in Liverpool for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 99% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 97% 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 Blue Coat School's absence rate?
- The Blue Coat School's overall absence rate is 3.3% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are The Blue Coat School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, The Blue Coat 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.