The Academy of St Francis of Assisi
Gardners Drive, Kensington, Liverpool, L6 7UR
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Church of England/Roman Catholic
- Trust
- THE LIVERPOOL JOINT CATHOLIC AND CHURCH OF ENGLAND ACADEMIES TRUST
- Headteacher
- Ms Teresa Bleasdale
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Religious ethos
- None
- Sponsor
- The Dioceses of Liverpool Joint Catholic and Church of England Academy Trust
- Constituency
- Liverpool Wavertree
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 900
- Pupils on roll
- 873
- URN
- 144493
- Local authority
- Liverpool
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01512607600
About this school
The Academy of St Francis of Assisi is a secondary academy in Liverpool. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 873 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
- Requires improvement
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Requires improvement
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Requires improvement
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 170 | 178 | 164 |
| Attainment 8 score | 31.6 | 33.0 | 35.8 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.74 -0.98 to -0.51 | -0.76 -1.00 to -0.53 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 21% | 18.5% | 23.2% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 38% | 37.1% | 45.1% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 25% | 31.5% | 17.1% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 2.6 | 2.8 | 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 The Academy of St Francis of Assisi 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 | 31.6 | 36.8 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 33 | 35.5 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 35.8 | 36 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 15.1% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 12.5% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 11% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 890 |
| 2023/24 | 887 |
| 2024/25 | 892 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How The Academy of St Francis of Assisi compares
The Academy of St Francis of Assisi ranked 22nd of 29 secondary schools in Liverpool for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 28% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 5% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 35.8 | 11% | 62.7% | 873 | — |
| West Derby School | 42 | 9% | 41.7% | 1,011 | 1.0 miles |
| North Liverpool Academy | 45.6 | 6.7% | 57.6% | 1,269 | 1.1 miles |
| King's Leadership Academy Wavertree | — | — | — | 179 | 1.1 miles |
| Archbishop Blanch CofE High School | — | — | — | 1,179 | 1.3 miles |
| Holly Lodge Girls' College | 47.2 | 10.9% | 54.1% | 1,016 | 1.3 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)
- 62.67%
- English as an additional language
- 50.2%
- Overall absence
- 11.04%
- Persistent absence
- 29.08%
Location
Nearby schools
-
West Derby School1.0 miles
Secondary · Liverpool
-
North Liverpool Academy1.1 miles
Secondary · Liverpool
-
King's Leadership Academy Wavertree1.1 miles
Secondary · Liverpool
-
Archbishop Blanch CofE High School1.3 miles
Secondary · Liverpool
-
Holly Lodge Girls' College1.3 miles
Secondary · Liverpool
Other schools in Liverpool
The Academy of St Francis of Assisi ranks 31st 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 year groups does The Academy of St Francis of Assisi teach?
- The Academy of St Francis of Assisi teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in Liverpool.
- Who is the headteacher of The Academy of St Francis of Assisi?
- The headteacher of The Academy of St Francis of Assisi is Ms Teresa Bleasdale, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was The Academy of St Francis of Assisi last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected The Academy of St Francis of Assisi, 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 The Academy of St Francis of Assisi?
- The Academy of St Francis of Assisi has 873 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is The Academy of St Francis of Assisi full?
- The Academy of St Francis of Assisi has capacity for 900 pupils and 873 on roll (97%), 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 Academy of St Francis of Assisi a faith school?
- Yes. The Academy of St Francis of Assisi is designated Church of England/Roman Catholic.
- Is The Academy of St Francis of Assisi a selective school?
- No. The Academy of St Francis of Assisi is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Who runs The Academy of St Francis of Assisi?
- The Academy of St Francis of Assisi is part of THE LIVERPOOL JOINT CATHOLIC AND CHURCH OF ENGLAND ACADEMIES TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have The Academy of St Francis of Assisi's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 31.6 in 2022/23 and 35.8 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 Academy of St Francis of Assisi rank locally?
- The Academy of St Francis of Assisi ranked 22nd of 29 secondary schools in Liverpool for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 28% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 5% 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 Academy of St Francis of Assisi's absence rate?
- The Academy of St Francis of Assisi's overall absence rate is 11% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are The Academy of St Francis of Assisi's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, The Academy of St Francis of Assisi'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.