Rainford High School
Higher Lane, Rainford, St Helens, WA11 8NY
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- EVERYONE MATTERS SCHOOLS TRUST
- Principal
- Mr Ian Young
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sponsor
- Everyone Matters Schools Trust
- Constituency
- St Helens North
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,650
- Pupils on roll
- 1,646
- URN
- 144327
- Local authority
- St. Helens
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01744885914
About this school
Rainford High School is a secondary academy in St Helens. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,646 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
Ofsted no longer gives schools a single overall grade. Each area of the school's work is graded on a five-point scale, and safeguarding is judged separately.
- Inclusion
- Expected standard
- Curriculum and teaching
- Expected standard
- Achievement
- Expected standard
- Attendance and behaviour
- Expected standard
- Personal development and wellbeing
- Expected standard
- Leadership and governance
- Expected standard
- Post-16 provision
- Expected standard
- Safeguarding
- Met
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 288 | 289 | 283 |
| Attainment 8 score | 50.4 | 47.8 | 50.6 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.03 -0.14 to +0.19 | +0.03 -0.14 to +0.19 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 53% | 47.8% | 56.2% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 77% | 72% | 78.1% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 43% | 41.9% | 47.7% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.4 | 4.2 | 4.4 |
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 Rainford 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 | 50.4 | 36.8 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 47.8 | 38.1 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 50.6 | 30.8 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 6.2% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 6.9% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 6.5% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,652 |
| 2023/24 | 1,716 |
| 2024/25 | 1,675 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Rainford High School compares
Rainford High School ranked 1st of 8 secondary schools in St. Helens for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 77% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 30% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 50.6 | 6.5% | 15.7% | 1,646 | — |
| Up Holland High School | 48.8 | 8.3% | 23.9% | 874 | 3.0 miles |
| Cowley International College | 39.3 | 12.6% | 41.9% | 1,514 | 3.2 miles |
| Lathom High School : A Technology College | 41.5 | 10.5% | 46.9% | 806 | 3.7 miles |
| De La Salle School | — | 9.3% | 24.8% | 1,180 | 3.7 miles |
| St Peter's Catholic High School | 51.1 | 5.7% | 11.3% | 1,026 | 4.1 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)
- 15.66%
- English as an additional language
- 2%
- Overall absence
- 6.5%
- Persistent absence
- 16.64%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Up Holland High School3.0 miles
Secondary · Wigan
-
Cowley International College3.2 miles
Secondary · St Helens
-
Lathom High School : A Technology College3.7 miles
Secondary · Skelmersdale
-
De La Salle School3.7 miles
Secondary · St. Helens
-
St Peter's Catholic High School4.1 miles
Secondary · Wigan
Other schools in St Helens
- Cowley International College Secondary
- St Cuthbert's Catholic High School Secondary
- The Sutton Academy Secondary
- Ashurst Primary School Primary
- Bleak Hill Primary School Primary
- Broad Oak Community Primary School Primary
- Carr Mill Primary School Primary
- Corpus Christi Catholic Primary School Primary
- Eaves Primary School Primary
- Eccleston Mere Primary School Primary
- Grange Valley Primary School Primary
- Holy Cross Catholic Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does Rainford High School teach?
- Rainford High School teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in St Helens.
- Who is the principal of Rainford High School?
- The principal of Rainford High School is Mr Ian Young, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Rainford High School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Rainford 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 Rainford High School?
- Rainford High School has 1,646 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is Rainford High School full?
- Rainford High School has capacity for 1,650 pupils and 1,646 on roll (100%), 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 Rainford High School a faith school?
- No. Rainford High School has no designated religious character.
- Is Rainford High School a selective school?
- No. Rainford High School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Who runs Rainford High School?
- Rainford High School is part of EVERYONE MATTERS SCHOOLS TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Rainford High School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 50.4 in 2022/23 and 50.6 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Rainford High School rank locally?
- Rainford High School ranked 1st of 8 secondary schools in St. Helens for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 77% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 30% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Rainford High School's absence rate?
- Rainford High School's overall absence rate is 6.5% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Rainford High School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Rainford 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.