A council (local authority) in the North West
In short: Most primary schools here are rated Good or better, fewer than across England. Results at 11 are close to England, and results at 16 were below England in 2026. Attendance is close to the England figure.
St Helens at a glance
How St Helens'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.
54 mainstream schools in St Helens, best first
Results well above the England average.
51 first choices, 34 offers made
Met the standard at 1177%
England 62%
Results well above the England average.
42 first choices, 28 offers made
Met the standard at 1183%
England 62%
Results well above the England average.
28 first choices, 28 offers made
Met the standard at 1177%
England 62%
9 mainstream schools in St Helens, best first
Results above the England average.
312 first choices, 258 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1650.2
England 46.2
Results above the England average.
269 first choices, 292 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1650.3
England 46.2
Results close to the England average.
298 first choices, 255 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1645.5
England 46.2
46 in St Helens, highest Ofsted grade first
St Helens, WA11 7PQ · Nursery
Nurseries don't sit tests, so there are no results to compare.
St. Helens, WA9 5QH · Nursery
Nurseries don't sit tests, so there are no results to compare.
St. Helens, WA10 2TZ · Nursery
Nurseries don't sit tests, so there are no results to compare.
6 in St Helens, by the school's Eduscope score
Results above the England average.
312 first choices, 258 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1650.2
England 46.2
Results above the England average.
269 first choices, 292 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1650.3
England 46.2
Results close to the England average.
298 first choices, 255 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1645.5
England 46.2
10 in St Helens. Eduscope doesn't rank these.
Merseyside, WA11 8HR · Independent · Secondary · Ages 11 to 17
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
St Helens, WA12 0JQ · Special · 16+ · Ages 16 to 25
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Wa9 4rt · Independent · All-through · Ages 5 to 18
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
6 in St Helens. Eduscope doesn't rank these.
Merseyside, WA11 8HR · Independent · Secondary · Ages 11 to 17
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
Wa9 4rt · Independent · All-through · Ages 5 to 18
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
Skelmersdale, WN4 0QD · Independent · Secondary · Ages 11 to 16
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.
St Helens is a metropolitan borough in the North West with 54 mainstream primary schools and 9 mainstream secondary schools. Towns with the most schools include St Helens, Newton-le-Willows and Haydock. The council still runs or maintains most state schools here: only 33% are academies or free schools. Faith schools are common, with 35 in the area, and they can put families of their faith first when they're full.
From St Helens council's website, checked 7 November 2026. Check the council's pages before you apply.
School admissions team: schooladmissions@sthelens.gov.uk · 01744 671035
If a date falls on a weekend or bank holiday, offers go out the next working day.
90.3%got their first-choice primary school in St Helens in 2026. England: 92.4%. Ranked 112 of 151 councils. 97.7% got one of their top three.3.3% were offered a primary school in another council. England: 3.6%.
93.3%got their first-choice secondary school in St Helens in 2026. England: 83.6%. Ranked 19 of 151 councils. 98.4% got one of their top three.11.6% 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.
2 of 26 primary appeals heard in St Helens succeeded in 2025. 17 of 56 secondary appeals heard in St Helens succeeded in 2025.
| Term | Starts | Half term | Ends |
|---|---|---|---|
| Autumn | 1 Sept | Breaks up 23 Oct, back 2 Nov | 18 Dec |
| Spring | 4 Jan | Breaks up 12 Feb, back 22 Feb | 25 Mar |
| Summer | 12 Apr | Breaks up 28 May, back 7 Jun | 21 Jul |
For schools that follow the council's dates. Academies, faith and foundation schools can set their own, and schools add training days. Source, checked 6 November 2026.
Pick a stage to see every St Helens school for that age, with filters for type, faith and Ofsted grade.
Ages 0 to 4
All 33 inspected are Good or better.
46nurseries
Ages 4 to 11
88% Good or better. 62% met the standard at 11.
61schools
Ages 11 to 16
2 Good, 1 need to improve. 41% got grade 5 in English and maths.
20schools
6 Good, 1 need to improve. About 6 pupils per teacher.
10schools
Here's how St Helens'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 St Helens average, 49.
Average primary score
42St Helens 49
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.
St HelensEngland
Primaries rated Good or Outstanding
Latest Ofsted grade, 32 primaries with one.
88%
England 96%
Secondaries rated Good or Outstanding
2 of the 3 with a grade.
67%
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.
41%
Pupils who miss a lot of school
Missed 1 in 10 days or more. Lower is better.
19%
England 18%
Close to England
Primary pupils on free school meals
A sign of family income, not of school quality.
26%
Latest graded inspection for the 43 schools that have one.
86%
Good or Outstanding
St Helens 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 | St Helens | England |
|---|---|---|
| Good or Outstanding (Ofsted) | 86% | 95% |
| Met the expected standard at 11 (KS2) | 62% | 62% |
| Attainment 8 | 43.6 | 46.2 |
| Persistent absence | 19% | 18% |
| Pupils per teacher | 17.8:1 | 17.9:1 |
| Spending per pupil | £7,998 | £8,120 |
| In education or work after 16 | 89% | 91% |
| Went on to higher education | 38% | 56% |
| Pupils with special educational needs | 25% | 21% |
| Pupils with English as an additional language | 7% | 22% |
| Pupils on free school meals | 28% | 27% |
DfE local authority code 342, ONS code E08000013.
St Helens has 122 schools and nurseries across 5 towns and villages, the biggest being St Helens, Newton-le-Willows, Haydock and Rainford.
Pupil numbers are about the same as in 2018.
26% of primary pupils here get free school meals. Schools get extra money for each of them.
Pupils in St Helens's state schools each January.
Up 0% 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.
St Helens26%
Follow any school and we'll email you when it gets a new Ofsted report or new results are out. Nothing else.
St Helens has 122 schools, including 61 primary schools, 20 secondary schools, 46 nurseries, 6 independent schools, 10 special schools. Some count in more than one group. You can browse each category using the filters on Eduscope.
The highest-ranked schools in St Helens on Eduscope are Eccleston Lane Ends Primary School, St Peter's CofE Primary School, St Julie's Catholic 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.
86% of inspected schools in St Helens hold a Good or Outstanding Ofsted rating, which is below the England average of 94.8%. This includes 3 schools rated Outstanding and 34 rated Good.
Across primary schools in St Helens, 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 St Helens is 17.8:1. 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 St Helens is 18.5%. A pupil is classed as persistently absent if they miss 10% or more of school sessions. Across England it is 18.1%.
There are 26,401 pupils enrolled across schools in St Helens, with 14,949 in primary and 11,402 in secondary. 28.3% of pupils are eligible for free school meals.
There are 6 independent schools in St Helens. 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 St Helens 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 122 schools in St Helens 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.
