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 below England, and results at 16 were close to England in 2026. Missing school is a bigger problem than across England.
Wirral at a glance
How Wirral'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.
90 mainstream schools in Wirral, best first
Results well above the England average.
33 first choices, 27 offers made
Met the standard at 11100%
England 62%
Results well above the England average.
58 first choices, 60 offers made
Met the standard at 1184%
England 62%
Results well above the England average.
67 first choices, 61 offers made
Met the standard at 1183%
England 62%
19 mainstream schools in Wirral, best first
Results well above the England average.
166 first choices, 156 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1665.6
England 46.2
Results well above the England average.
199 first choices, 178 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1670.9
England 46.2
Results well above the England average.
190 first choices, 167 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1668.2
England 46.2
91 in Wirral, highest Ofsted grade first
Wirral, CH62 6BQ · Nursery
Nurseries don't sit tests, so there are no results to compare.
Birkenhead, CH41 4BZ · Nursery
Nurseries don't sit tests, so there are no results to compare.
Wirral, CH49 8HB · State · Nursery · Ages 2 to 5
No published results yet.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
23 in Wirral, by the school's Eduscope score
Results well above the England average.
166 first choices, 156 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1665.6
England 46.2
Results well above the England average.
199 first choices, 178 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1670.9
England 46.2
Results well above the England average.
190 first choices, 167 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1668.2
England 46.2
16 in Wirral. Eduscope doesn't rank these.
Leasowe, CH46 1RA · Special · Secondary · Ages 11 to 19
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
Wallasey, CH45 0LH · Special · Primary · Ages 2 to 11
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
Birkenhead, CH41 8BA · Special · Secondary · Ages 11 to 16 · Boys
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
9 in Wirral. Eduscope doesn't rank these.
Wallasey, CH44 5TH · Independent · Secondary · Ages 11 to 16
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
Birkenhead, CH41 1FF · Independent · Secondary · Ages 11 to 16
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
Ch41 4ea · Independent · Secondary · Ages 11 to 16
Independent school. 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.
Wirral is a metropolitan borough in the North West with 90 mainstream primary schools and 19 mainstream secondary schools. Towns with the most schools include Birkenhead, Wallasey and Bebington. It has 6 grammar schools, which choose pupils by a test. Most families get the secondary school they want: 95.3% got their first choice, against 83.6% across England.
From Wirral council's website, checked 7 November 2026. Check the council's pages before you apply.
School admissions team: primaryplaces@wirral.gov.uk · 0151 606 2000
If a date falls on a weekend or bank holiday, offers go out the next working day.
95.3%got their first-choice primary school in Wirral in 2026. England: 92.4%. Ranked 29 of 151 councils. 98.9% got one of their top three.0.3% were offered a primary school in another council. England: 3.6%.
95.3%got their first-choice secondary school in Wirral in 2026. England: 83.6%. Ranked 8 of 151 councils. 99.1% got one of their top three.3.8% 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.
4 of 30 primary appeals heard in Wirral succeeded in 2025. 96 of 414 secondary appeals heard in Wirral succeeded in 2025.
| Term | Starts | Half term | Ends |
|---|---|---|---|
| Autumn | 1 Sept | 26 Oct to 30 Oct | 18 Dec |
| Spring | 4 Jan | 15 Feb to 19 Feb | 25 Mar |
| Summer | 12 Apr | 31 May to 4 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 Wirral school for that age, with filters for type, faith and Ofsted grade.
Ages 0 to 4
10 Outstanding, 66 Good, 1 need to improve.
91nurseries
Ages 4 to 11
90% Good or better. 56% met the standard at 11.
101schools
Ages 11 to 16
2 Outstanding, 12 Good, 1 need to improve. 45% got grade 5 in English and maths.
35schools
All 10 inspected are Good or better. About 7 pupils per teacher.
16schools
Here's how Wirral'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 Wirral average, 39.
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.
WirralEngland
Primaries rated Good or Outstanding
Latest Ofsted grade, 59 primaries with one.
90%
England 96%
Secondaries rated Good or Outstanding
14 of the 15 with a grade.
93%
England 93%
Close to England
Met the expected standard at 11
Reading, writing and maths.
56%
England 62%
Grade 5 or above in English and maths
At GCSE.
45%
Pupils who miss a lot of school
Missed 1 in 10 days or more. Lower is better.
20%
England 18%
Primary pupils on free school meals
A sign of family income, not of school quality.
32%
Latest graded inspection for the 89 schools that have one.
91%
Good or Outstanding
Wirral 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 | Wirral | England |
|---|---|---|
| Good or Outstanding (Ofsted) | 91% | 95% |
| Met the expected standard at 11 (KS2) | 56% | 62% |
| Attainment 8 | 45.6 | 46.2 |
| Persistent absence | 20% | 18% |
| Pupils per teacher | 16.4:1 | 17.9:1 |
| Spending per pupil | £8,574 | £8,120 |
| In education or work after 16 | 90% | 91% |
| Went on to higher education | 54% | 56% |
| Pupils with special educational needs | 26% | 21% |
| Pupils with English as an additional language | 7% | 22% |
| Pupils on free school meals | 33% | 27% |
DfE local authority code 344, ONS code E08000015.
Wirral has 223 schools and nurseries across 6 towns and villages, the biggest being Birkenhead, Wallasey, Bebington and Heswall.
Pupil numbers are about the same as in 2018.
32% of primary pupils here get free school meals. Schools get extra money for each of them.
Pupils in Wirral'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.
Wirral32%
Follow any school and we'll email you when it gets a new Ofsted report or new results are out. Nothing else.
Wirral has 223 schools, including 101 primary schools, 35 secondary schools, 91 nurseries, 9 independent schools, 16 special schools. Some count in more than one group. You can browse each category using the filters on Eduscope.
The highest-ranked schools in Wirral on Eduscope are Thornton Hough Primary School, West Kirby St Bridget's CofE Primary School, Upton Hall School FCJ. 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 Wirral hold a Good or Outstanding Ofsted rating, which is below the England average of 94.8%. This includes 13 schools rated Outstanding and 68 rated Good.
Across primary schools in Wirral, 56% 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 Wirral is 16.4:1. 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 Wirral is 20.4%. A pupil is classed as persistently absent if they miss 10% or more of school sessions. Across England it is 18.1%.
There are 49,450 pupils enrolled across schools in Wirral, with 26,101 in primary and 23,065 in secondary. 32.8% of pupils are eligible for free school meals.
There are 9 independent schools in Wirral. 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 Wirral 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 223 schools in Wirral 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.
