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 below England, and results at 16 were below England in 2026. Missing school is a bigger problem than across England.
Liverpool at a glance
How Liverpool'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.
114 mainstream schools in Liverpool, best first
Results well above the England average.
94 first choices, 120 offers made
Met the standard at 1183%
England 62%
Results well above the England average.
51 first choices, 43 offers made
Met the standard at 1179%
England 62%
Results well above the England average.
317 first choices, 164 offers made
Met the standard at 1170%
England 62%
31 mainstream schools in Liverpool, best first
Results well above the England average.
258 first choices, 185 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1657.5
England 46.2
Results well above the England average.
197 first choices, 178 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1678.6
England 46.2
Results well above the England average.
317 first choices, 164 offers made
Met the standard at 1170%
England 62%
137 in Liverpool, highest Ofsted grade first
Liverpool, L8 7QA · State · Nursery · Ages 2 to 5
No published results yet.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
Liverpool, L15 9EU · Nursery
Nurseries don't sit tests, so there are no results to compare.
Liverpool, L11 1DQ · Nursery
Nurseries don't sit tests, so there are no results to compare.
43 in Liverpool, by the school's Eduscope score
Results well above the England average.
258 first choices, 185 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1657.5
England 46.2
Results well above the England average.
197 first choices, 178 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1678.6
England 46.2
Results well above the England average.
317 first choices, 164 offers made
Met the standard at 1170%
England 62%
19 in Liverpool. Eduscope doesn't rank these.
Liverpool, L25 6EE · Special · All-through · Ages 3 to 19
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
Liverpool, L9 6AD · Special · All-through · Ages 5 to 19
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
Liverpool, L25 2RY · Special · Primary · Ages 5 to 11
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
14 in Liverpool. Eduscope doesn't rank these.
Liverpool, L27 2YA · Independent · All-through · Ages 5 to 17
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
Liverpool, L17 4LE · Independent · All-through · Ages 3 to 16
Independent school. Results close to the England average.
Attainment 8 at 1645.2
England 46.2
Merseyside, L9 7AB · Independent · All-through · Ages 3 to 19
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.
Liverpool is a metropolitan borough in the North West with 114 mainstream primary schools and 31 mainstream secondary schools. It has 1 grammar school, which chooses pupils by a test. Secondary places are in high demand: 68.1% got their first choice, against 83.6% across England. Pupil numbers have grown 10% since 2018.
From Liverpool council's website, checked 7 November 2026. Check the council's pages before you apply.
If a date falls on a weekend or bank holiday, offers go out the next working day.
88.6%got their first-choice primary school in Liverpool in 2026. England: 92.4%. Ranked 129 of 151 councils. 97.3% got one of their top three.3.9% were offered a primary school in another council. England: 3.6%.
68.1%got their first-choice secondary school in Liverpool in 2026. England: 83.6%. Ranked 138 of 151 councils. 86.1% got one of their top three.6.5% 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.
5 of 83 primary appeals heard in Liverpool succeeded in 2025. 58 of 614 secondary appeals heard in Liverpool succeeded in 2025.
Pick a stage to see every Liverpool school for that age, with filters for type, faith and Ofsted grade.
Ages 0 to 4
All 120 inspected are Good or better.
137nurseries
Ages 4 to 11
96% Good or better. 57% met the standard at 11.
134schools
Ages 11 to 16
2 Outstanding, 11 Good, 5 need to improve. 38% got grade 5 in English and maths.
58schools
8 Outstanding, 6 Good, 2 need to improve. About 8 pupils per teacher.
19schools
Here's how Liverpool's schools break down by type, faith and more.
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.
LiverpoolEngland
Primaries rated Good or Outstanding
Latest Ofsted grade, 72 primaries with one.
96%
England 96%
Close to England
Secondaries rated Good or Outstanding
13 of the 18 with a grade.
72%
England 93%
Met the expected standard at 11
Reading, writing and maths.
57%
England 62%
Grade 5 or above in English and maths
At GCSE.
38%
Pupils who miss a lot of school
Missed 1 in 10 days or more. Lower is better.
21%
England 18%
Primary pupils on free school meals
A sign of family income, not of school quality.
35%
Latest graded inspection for the 118 schools that have one.
91%
Good or Outstanding
Each square is 1% of schools.
Liverpool 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 | Liverpool | England |
|---|---|---|
| Good or Outstanding (Ofsted) | 91% | 95% |
| Met the expected standard at 11 (KS2) | 57% | 62% |
| Attainment 8 | 41.9 | 46.2 |
| Persistent absence | 21% | 18% |
| Pupils per teacher | 17.3:1 | 17.9:1 |
| Spending per pupil | £8,758 | £8,120 |
| In education or work after 16 | 88% | 91% |
| Went on to higher education | 59% | 56% |
| Pupils with special educational needs | 26% | 21% |
| Pupils with English as an additional language | 23% | 22% |
| Pupils on free school meals | 35% | 27% |
DfE local authority code 341, ONS code E08000012.
Liverpool has 318 schools and nurseries.
There are 10% more pupils than in 2018.
35% of primary pupils here get free school meals. Schools get extra money for each of them.
Pupils in Liverpool's state schools each January.
Up 10% since 2018. More children can mean popular schools fill up faster.
Out of every 10 primary pupils, how many get free school meals. It's a sign of family income, not of school quality.
Liverpool35%
Follow any school and we'll email you when it gets a new Ofsted report or new results are out. Nothing else.
Liverpool has 318 schools, including 134 primary schools, 58 secondary schools, 137 nurseries, 14 independent schools, 19 special schools. Some count in more than one group. You can browse each category using the filters on Eduscope.
The highest-ranked schools in Liverpool on Eduscope are Sudley Primary School, Archbishop Blanch CofE High School, Whitefield Primary 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.
91% of inspected schools in Liverpool hold a Good or Outstanding Ofsted rating, which is below the England average of 94.8%. This includes 21 schools rated Outstanding and 86 rated Good.
Across primary schools in Liverpool, 57% 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 Liverpool is 17.3:1. 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 Liverpool is 21.0%. A pupil is classed as persistently absent if they miss 10% or more of school sessions. Across England it is 18.1%.
There are 77,634 pupils enrolled across schools in Liverpool, with 41,484 in primary and 35,137 in secondary. 35.2% of pupils are eligible for free school meals.
There are 14 independent schools in Liverpool. Fees vary by school and age group, with day school fees typically ranging from £10,000 to £20,000 per year. You can compare all private schools in Liverpool on Eduscope, including ISI inspection ratings where available.
Start by considering your child's age, your location, and whether you prefer a state or independent school. Use Eduscope to compare 318 schools in Liverpool 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.
