Rainhill High School
Warrington Road, Rainhill, Prescot, L35 6NY
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- STEPHENSON MULTI ACADEMY TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mrs Josie Thorogood
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Constituency
- St Helens South and Whiston
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,550
- Pupils on roll
- 1,535
- URN
- 144326
- Local authority
- St. Helens
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01744677205
About this school
Rainhill High School is a secondary academy in Prescot. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,535 pupils on roll.
You can read Ofsted's latest judgement for the school 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 | 294 | 303 | 291 |
| Attainment 8 score | 48.0 | 47.3 | 45.9 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.15 -0.31 to +0.01 | -0.12 -0.28 to +0.04 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 46% | 45.2% | 40.5% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 67% | 67.7% | 64.3% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 48% | 43.6% | 38.5% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.2 | 4.1 | 3.9 |
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 Rainhill 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 | St. Helens average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 48 | 36.8 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 47.3 | 38.1 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 45.9 | 30.8 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 7.6% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 7.1% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 6% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,830 |
| 2023/24 | 1,852 |
| 2024/25 | 1,810 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Rainhill High School compares
Rainhill High School ranked 2nd of 8 secondary schools in St. Helens for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 61% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 38% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 45.9 | 6% | 18.4% | 1,535 | — |
| Saint Edmund Arrowsmith Catholic Academy | 30.2 | 16.2% | 50.2% | 730 | 1.3 miles |
| The Sutton Academy | 43.1 | 10.2% | 40.4% | 1,441 | 1.4 miles |
| Wade Deacon High School | 54 | 6.4% | 27% | 1,658 | 2.6 miles |
| Saints Peter and Paul Catholic High School | 41.4 | 10.3% | 42.2% | 1,337 | 2.7 miles |
| Ormiston Chadwick Academy | 41.2 | 12.4% | 51.9% | 884 | 2.7 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)
- 18.4%
- English as an additional language
- 4.5%
- Overall absence
- 6%
- Persistent absence
- 16.28%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Saint Edmund Arrowsmith Catholic Academy1.3 miles
Secondary · Prescot
-
The Sutton Academy1.4 miles
Secondary · St Helens
-
Wade Deacon High School2.6 miles
Secondary · Widnes
-
Saints Peter and Paul Catholic High School2.7 miles
Secondary · Widnes
-
Ormiston Chadwick Academy2.7 miles
Secondary · Widnes
Other schools in Prescot
- Saint Edmund Arrowsmith Catholic Academy Secondary
- Rainhill Community Nursery Nursery
- Eccleston Lane Ends Primary School Primary
- Evelyn Community Primary School Primary
- Halsnead Primary School Primary
- Knowsley Village School Primary
- Oakdene Primary Academy Primary
- Our Lady's Catholic Primary School Primary
- Prescot Primary School Primary
- St Ann's Church of England Primary School Primary
- St Bartholomew's Catholic Primary School Primary
- St John Fisher Catholic Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does Rainhill High School teach?
- Rainhill High School teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Prescot.
- Who is the headteacher of Rainhill High School?
- The headteacher of Rainhill High School is Mrs Josie Thorogood, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Rainhill High School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Rainhill 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 big is Rainhill High School?
- Rainhill High School has 1,535 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is Rainhill High School full?
- Rainhill High School has capacity for 1,550 pupils and 1,535 on roll (99%), 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 Rainhill High School a faith school?
- No. Rainhill High School has no designated religious character.
- Is Rainhill High School a selective school?
- No. Rainhill High School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Who runs Rainhill High School?
- Rainhill High School is part of STEPHENSON MULTI ACADEMY TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Rainhill High School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 48 in 2022/23 and 45.9 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Rainhill High School rank locally?
- Rainhill High School ranked 2nd of 8 secondary schools in St. Helens for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 61% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 38% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Rainhill High School's absence rate?
- Rainhill High School's overall absence rate is 6% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Rainhill High School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Rainhill 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 10 July 2026.