Kirkby High School
Bracknell Avenue, Kirkby, Liverpool, L32 9PP
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- THE ROWAN LEARNING TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mrs Anna Dobson
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Religious ethos
- None
- Sponsor
- The Rowan Learning Trust
- Constituency
- Knowsley
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,000
- Pupils on roll
- 1,042
- URN
- 140001
- Local authority
- Knowsley
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01514778710
About this school
Kirkby High School is a secondary academy in Liverpool. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 1,042 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Kirkby High School, 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
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 158 | 197 | 185 |
| Attainment 8 score | 32.0 | 29.2 | 31.4 |
| Progress 8 score | -1.19 -1.41 to -0.96 | -1.63 -1.84 to -1.43 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 16% | 22.8% | 20% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 39% | 33% | 37.3% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 15% | 11.7% | 10.8% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 2.7 | 2.5 | 2.6 |
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 Kirkby 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 | Knowsley average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 32 | 27.5 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 29.2 | 27.5 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 31.4 | 28.1 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 13.4% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 13.4% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 12.9% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 949 |
| 2023/24 | 1,028 |
| 2024/25 | 1,027 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Kirkby High School compares
Kirkby High School ranked 5th of 6 secondary schools in Knowsley for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 23% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 3% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 31.4 | 12.9% | 61.2% | 1,042 | — |
| All Saints Catholic High School | 40.6 | 8.2% | 50.5% | 1,129 | 0.9 miles |
| Dixons Fazakerley Academy | 33.4 | 16.3% | 51.3% | 737 | 1.5 miles |
| St John Bosco Arts College | 39.4 | 9.7% | 49.3% | 1,086 | 1.7 miles |
| Dixons Croxteth Academy | 31.6 | 14% | 58% | 436 | 1.9 miles |
| Archbishop Beck Catholic College | 41.5 | 9.2% | 37.9% | 1,142 | 2.6 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)
- 61.15%
- English as an additional language
- 7.3%
- Overall absence
- 12.93%
- Persistent absence
- 39.18%
Location
Nearby schools
-
All Saints Catholic High School0.9 miles
Secondary · Knowsley
-
Dixons Fazakerley Academy1.5 miles
Secondary · Liverpool
-
St John Bosco Arts College1.7 miles
Secondary · Croxteth
-
Dixons Croxteth Academy1.9 miles
Secondary · Liverpool
-
Archbishop Beck Catholic College2.6 miles
Secondary · Liverpool
Other schools in Liverpool
Kirkby High School ranks 37th 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 Kirkby High School teach?
- Kirkby High School teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in Liverpool.
- Who is the headteacher of Kirkby High School?
- The headteacher of Kirkby High School is Mrs Anna Dobson, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Kirkby High School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Kirkby 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 many pupils are at Kirkby High School?
- Kirkby High School has 1,042 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is Kirkby High School full?
- Kirkby High School has capacity for 1,000 pupils and 1,042 on roll (104%), 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 Kirkby High School a faith school?
- No. Kirkby High School has no designated religious character.
- Is Kirkby High School a selective school?
- No. Kirkby High School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is Kirkby High School part of an academy trust?
- Kirkby High School is part of THE ROWAN LEARNING TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Kirkby High School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 32 in 2022/23 and 31.4 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Kirkby High School compare with other schools in Knowsley?
- Kirkby High School ranked 5th of 6 secondary schools in Knowsley for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 23% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 3% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Kirkby High School's absence rate?
- Kirkby High School's overall absence rate is 12.9% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Kirkby High School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Kirkby 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 1 July 2026.