St John Plessington Catholic College
Old Chester Road, Bebington, Wirral, CH63 7LF
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Trust
- HOLY FAMILY CATHOLIC MULTI ACADEMY TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mr Peadar McLoughlin
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Diocese
- Diocese of Shrewsbury
- Sponsor
- Holy Family Catholic Multi Academy Trust
- SEN provision
- ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder
- Constituency
- Birkenhead
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,800
- Pupils on roll
- 1,556
- URN
- 139031
- Local authority
- Wirral
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01516455049
About this school
St John Plessington Catholic College is a Roman Catholic secondary academy in Wirral. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,556 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected St John Plessington Catholic College, 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
- Requires improvement
- 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 | 261 | 269 | 267 |
| Attainment 8 score | 39.0 | 38.7 | 37.2 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.57 -0.74 to -0.39 | -0.35 -0.53 to -0.18 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 27% | 26.8% | 28.5% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 51% | 48% | 49.8% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 66% | 66.5% | 26.6% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.3 | 3.4 | 3.1 |
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 St John Plessington Catholic College has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Wirral average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 39 | 39.4 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 38.7 | 37.3 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 37.2 | 37.4 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 13.1% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 11.9% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 10.9% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,615 |
| 2023/24 | 1,574 |
| 2024/25 | 1,544 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St John Plessington Catholic College compares
St John Plessington Catholic College ranked 16th of 19 secondary schools in Wirral for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 31% 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 | 37.2 | 10.9% | 39.6% | 1,556 | — |
| Co-op Academy Bebington | 37.3 | 9.9% | 51.7% | 1,044 | 0.5 miles |
| Wirral Grammar School for Girls | 69.3 | 5% | 9.2% | 1,224 | 0.8 miles |
| Wirral Grammar School for Boys | 65.4 | 4% | 9.5% | 1,123 | 0.8 miles |
| Prenton High School for Girls | 38.9 | 15% | 45.1% | 770 | 1.0 miles |
| King's Leadership Academy, Liverpool | 34.5 | 12.4% | 66.9% | 940 | 2.4 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)
- 39.57%
- English as an additional language
- 12%
- Overall absence
- 10.86%
- Persistent absence
- 30.18%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Co-op Academy Bebington0.5 miles
Secondary · Wirral
-
Wirral Grammar School for Girls0.8 miles
Secondary · Wirral
-
Wirral Grammar School for Boys0.8 miles
Secondary · Wirral
-
Prenton High School for Girls1.0 miles
Secondary · Birkenhead
-
King's Leadership Academy, Liverpool2.4 miles
Secondary · Liverpool
Other schools in Wirral
St John Plessington Catholic College ranks 10th of the 10 ranked secondary schools in Wirral.
- Calday Grange Grammar School Secondary
- Co-op Academy Bebington Secondary
- Hilbre High School Secondary
- Pensby High School Secondary
- South Wirral High School Secondary
- Upton Hall School FCJ Secondary
- West Kirby Grammar School Secondary
- Wirral Grammar School for Boys Secondary
- Wirral Grammar School for Girls Secondary
- Woodchurch High School Secondary
- Castleway Nursery School Nursery
- Ganneys Meadow Nursery School and Family Centre Nursery
Common questions
- What ages does St John Plessington Catholic College teach?
- St John Plessington Catholic College teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Wirral.
- Who is the headteacher of St John Plessington Catholic College?
- The headteacher of St John Plessington Catholic College is Mr Peadar McLoughlin, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has St John Plessington Catholic College been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St John Plessington Catholic College, 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 St John Plessington Catholic College?
- St John Plessington Catholic College has 1,556 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is St John Plessington Catholic College full?
- St John Plessington Catholic College has capacity for 1,800 pupils and 1,556 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 St John Plessington Catholic College a faith school?
- Yes. St John Plessington Catholic College is designated Roman Catholic, in the Diocese of Shrewsbury.
- Is St John Plessington Catholic College a selective school?
- No. St John Plessington Catholic College is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is St John Plessington Catholic College part of an academy trust?
- St John Plessington Catholic College is part of HOLY FAMILY CATHOLIC MULTI ACADEMY TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- What SEN provision does St John Plessington Catholic College have?
- The schools register lists St John Plessington Catholic College's special educational needs provision as: ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- How have St John Plessington Catholic College's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 39 in 2022/23 and 37.2 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does St John Plessington Catholic College compare with other schools in Wirral?
- St John Plessington Catholic College ranked 16th of 19 secondary schools in Wirral for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 31% 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 St John Plessington Catholic College's absence rate?
- St John Plessington Catholic College's overall absence rate is 10.9% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are St John Plessington Catholic College's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St John Plessington Catholic College'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.