A council (local authority) in the North West
In short: Most primary schools here are rated Good or better, about the same as across England. Results at 11 are close to England, and results at 16 were below England in 2026. Missing school is a bigger problem than across England.
Halton at a glance
How Halton's schools compare with England, area by area.
Primary and secondary schools are ranked by Eduscope score, which weighs up results, inspections, attendance and more. Nurseries, special and independent schools aren't ranked. A high score isn't everything: always visit.
49 mainstream schools in Halton, best first
Results well above the England average.
67 first choices, 59 offers made
Met the standard at 1184%
England 62%
Results well above the England average.
24 first choices, 27 offers made
Met the standard at 1194%
England 62%
Results well above the England average.
43 first choices, 30 offers made
Met the standard at 1177%
England 62%
7 mainstream schools in Halton, best first
Results above the England average.
393 first choices, 343 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1649.2
England 46.2
Results below the England average.
158 first choices, 148 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1643.2
England 46.2
Results below the England average.
216 first choices, 223 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1641.0
England 46.2
42 in Halton, highest Ofsted grade first
Runcorn, WA7 4JJ · Nursery
Nurseries don't sit tests, so there are no results to compare.
Runcorn, WA7 2NL · Nursery
Nurseries don't sit tests, so there are no results to compare.
Widnes, WA8 5UR · Nursery
Nurseries don't sit tests, so there are no results to compare.
3 in Halton, by the school's Eduscope score
Results well below the England average.
93 first choices, 96 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1637.0
England 46.2
Widnes, WA8 7HG · Special · Secondary · Ages 11 to 19
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
Runcorn, WA7 4YX · Academy · Secondary · Ages 11 to 19
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
8 in Halton. Eduscope doesn't rank these.
Widnes, WA8 7HG · Special · Secondary · Ages 11 to 19
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
Widnes, WA8 3JA · Academy · Primary · Ages 2 to 11
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
Widnes, WA8 6DH · Independent · All-through · Ages 4 to 19
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
3 in Halton. Eduscope doesn't rank these.
Widnes, WA8 6DH · Independent · All-through · Ages 4 to 19
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
Wa7 4td · Independent · Secondary · Ages 14 to 19
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
Runcorn, WA7 4UN · Independent · Secondary · Ages 11 to 18
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
Each dot is a school or nursery, coloured by its latest Ofsted grade. Point at a dot to see its name, or use the list.
Apply through the council where you live, even for a school in another council's area. Independent schools take applications directly.
Halton is a unitary authority in the North West with 49 mainstream primary schools and 7 mainstream secondary schools. Towns with the most schools include Runcorn and Widnes. Most families get the secondary school they want: 96.2% got their first choice, against 83.6% across England. Pupil numbers have fallen 4% since 2018.
School admissions team: schooladmissions@halton.gov.uk
If a date falls on a weekend or bank holiday, offers go out the next working day.
93.4%got their first-choice primary school in Halton in 2026. England: 92.4%. Ranked 71 of 151 councils. 98.7% got one of their top three.6.3% were offered a primary school in another council. England: 3.6%.
96.2%got their first-choice secondary school in Halton in 2026. England: 83.6%. Ranked 5 of 151 councils. 99.2% got one of their top three.4.0% were offered a secondary school in another council. England: 8.0%.
Source: DfE applications and offers, 2026. A low rate shows high demand, not poor schools.
6 of 14 primary appeals heard in Halton succeeded in 2025. 17 of 27 secondary appeals heard in Halton succeeded in 2025.
Pick a stage to see every Halton school for that age, with filters for type, faith and Ofsted grade.
Ages 0 to 4
All 38 inspected are Good or better.
42nurseries
Ages 4 to 11
92% Good or better. 62% met the standard at 11.
53schools
Ages 11 to 16
All 4 inspected are Good or better. 35% got grade 5 in English and maths.
16schools
All 6 inspected are Good or better. About 7 pupils per teacher.
8schools
Here's how Halton's schools break down by type, faith and more.
The blue bar is the average Eduscope score of the primary schools in each town. The black line is the Halton average, 42.
Some areas, like parts of a bigger town, are easiest to find by postcode.
Inspections, exam results and attendance, next to the figure for England where we have it.
HaltonEngland
Primaries rated Good or Outstanding
Latest Ofsted grade, 36 primaries with one.
92%
England 96%
Close to England
Secondaries rated Good or Outstanding
4 of the 4 with a grade.
100%
England 93%
Met the expected standard at 11
Reading, writing and maths.
62%
England 62%
Close to England
Grade 5 or above in English and maths
At GCSE.
35%
Pupils who miss a lot of school
Missed 1 in 10 days or more. Lower is better.
22%
England 18%
Primary pupils on free school meals
A sign of family income, not of school quality.
39%
Latest graded inspection for the 49 schools that have one.
94%
Good or Outstanding
Halton in blue. There were no tests in 2020 and 2021 because of Covid.
The latest published year for each measure. Sources and years are on our data sources page.
| Measure | Halton | England |
|---|---|---|
| Good or Outstanding (Ofsted) | 94% | 95% |
| Met the expected standard at 11 (KS2) | 62% | 62% |
| Attainment 8 | 39.7 | 46.2 |
| Persistent absence | 22% | 18% |
| Pupils per teacher | 16.7:1 | 17.9:1 |
| Spending per pupil | £8,960 | £8,120 |
| In education or work after 16 | 91% | 91% |
| Went on to higher education | 32% | 56% |
| Pupils with special educational needs | 26% | 21% |
| Pupils with English as an additional language | 6% | 22% |
| Pupils on free school meals | 39% | 27% |
DfE local authority code 876, ONS code E06000006.
Halton has 108 schools and nurseries across 2 towns and villages, the biggest being Runcorn and Widnes.
There are 4% fewer pupils than in 2018.
39% of primary pupils here get free school meals. Schools get extra money for each of them.
Pupils in Halton's state schools each January.
Down 4% since 2018.
Out of every 10 primary pupils, how many get free school meals. It's a sign of family income, not of school quality.
Halton39%
Follow any school and we'll email you when it gets a new Ofsted report or new results are out. Nothing else.
Halton has 108 schools, including 53 primary schools, 16 secondary schools, 42 nurseries, 3 independent schools, 8 special schools. Some count in more than one group. You can browse each category using the filters on Eduscope.
The highest-ranked schools in Halton on Eduscope are Lunts Heath Primary School, Moorfield Primary School, Wade Deacon High School. We rank each state school against schools of the same phase across England on its Ofsted inspection, results and attendance. Independent, special and nursery schools aren't ranked.
94% of inspected schools in Halton hold a Good or Outstanding Ofsted rating, which is below the England average of 94.8%. This includes 5 schools rated Outstanding and 41 rated Good.
Across primary schools in Halton, 62% of pupils meet the expected standard in reading, writing, and maths at Key Stage 2. This is based on the latest published results from the Department for Education.
The average pupil-teacher ratio across schools in Halton is 16.7:1. While not a direct measure of class size, this indicates the level of teaching resource available per pupil. Across England it is 17.9:1.
The persistent absence rate across schools in Halton is 21.7%. A pupil is classed as persistently absent if they miss 10% or more of school sessions. Across England it is 18.1%.
There are 18,314 pupils enrolled across schools in Halton, with 9,693 in primary and 8,430 in secondary. 39.0% of pupils are eligible for free school meals.
There are 3 independent schools in Halton, all special schools for children with special educational needs, where councils usually pay the fees. You can compare them on Eduscope, including inspection reports where available.
Start by considering your child's age, your location, and whether you prefer a state or independent school. Use Eduscope to compare 108 schools in Halton by Ofsted ratings, exam results, and distance. Filter by school type, gender, religious character, and admissions policy to narrow your options.
Sources: DfE school performance tables, DfE school census and workforce, DfE pupil absence, Ofsted. Photos are stand-ins.
