St Francis Xavier's Catholic Academy
Woolton Hill Road, Woolton, Liverpool, L25 6EG
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Boys
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Trust
- ST JOSEPH CATHOLIC MULTI ACADEMY TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mr David Hayes
- Sponsor
- St Joseph Catholic Multi Academy Trust
- Constituency
- Liverpool Garston
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,302
- Pupils on roll
- 939
- URN
- 150713
- Local authority
- Liverpool
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01512881000
About this school
St Francis Xavier's Catholic Academy is a Roman Catholic boys' secondary academy in Liverpool. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 939 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
- Requires improvement
- Leadership and management
- Requires improvement
- Sixth form
- Requires improvement
- Safeguarding
- Effective
This inspection took place when the school was registered as St Francis Xavier's College (URN 138463).
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2024/25 |
|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 177 |
| Attainment 8 score | 36.7 |
| Progress 8 score | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 31.6% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 55.4% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 44.6% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.4 |
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 St Francis Xavier's Catholic Academy has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | — | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 11.6% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 11.1% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
How St Francis Xavier's Catholic Academy compares
St Francis Xavier's Catholic Academy ranked 20th of 29 secondary schools in Liverpool for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 30% 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 | 36.7 | 11.1% | 32.5% | 939 | — |
| Calderstones School | 46.1 | 7.9% | 21.9% | 1,592 | 0.8 miles |
| St Julie's Catholic High School | 46.9 | 8.3% | 27.6% | 1,018 | 0.9 miles |
| Gateacre School | — | 14.2% | 46.9% | 1,196 | 1.0 miles |
| King David High School | 54.3 | 7.4% | 12.5% | 744 | 1.2 miles |
| Childwall Sports & Science Academy | 36.2 | 9.5% | 49.7% | 1,049 | 1.4 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)
- 32.47%
- English as an additional language
- 9.9%
- Overall absence
- 11.08%
- Persistent absence
- 31.66%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Calderstones School0.8 miles
Secondary · Liverpool
-
St Julie's Catholic High School0.9 miles
Secondary · Liverpool
-
Gateacre School1.0 miles
Secondary · Liverpool
-
King David High School1.2 miles
Secondary · Liverpool
-
Childwall Sports & Science Academy1.4 miles
Secondary · Liverpool
Other schools in Liverpool
St Francis Xavier's Catholic Academy ranks 29th 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 St Francis Xavier's Catholic Academy teach?
- St Francis Xavier's Catholic Academy teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Liverpool.
- Who is the headteacher of St Francis Xavier's Catholic Academy?
- The headteacher of St Francis Xavier's Catholic Academy is Mr David Hayes, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was St Francis Xavier's Catholic Academy last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St Francis Xavier's Catholic Academy, 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 St Francis Xavier's Catholic Academy?
- St Francis Xavier's Catholic Academy has 939 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is St Francis Xavier's Catholic Academy full?
- St Francis Xavier's Catholic Academy has capacity for 1,302 pupils and 939 on roll (72%), 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 Francis Xavier's Catholic Academy a faith school?
- Yes. St Francis Xavier's Catholic Academy is designated Roman Catholic.
- Who runs St Francis Xavier's Catholic Academy?
- St Francis Xavier's Catholic Academy is part of ST JOSEPH CATHOLIC MULTI ACADEMY TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How does St Francis Xavier's Catholic Academy rank locally?
- St Francis Xavier's Catholic Academy ranked 20th of 29 secondary schools in Liverpool for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 30% 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 St Francis Xavier's Catholic Academy's absence rate?
- St Francis Xavier's Catholic Academy's overall absence rate is 11.1% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are St Francis Xavier's Catholic Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St Francis Xavier's Catholic Academy'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.