A town in Wirral
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.
Birkenhead at a glance
How Birkenhead'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.
32 mainstream schools in Birkenhead, best first
Results well above the England average.
70 first choices, 60 offers made
Met the standard at 1183%
England 62%
Results well above the England average.
49 first choices, 53 offers made
Met the standard at 1170%
England 62%
Results close to the England average.
163 first choices, 116 offers made
Met the standard at 1161%
England 62%
6 mainstream schools in Birkenhead, 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.
155 first choices, 157 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1663.1
England 46.2
Results close to the England average.
163 first choices, 116 offers made
Met the standard at 1161%
England 62%
33 in Birkenhead, highest Ofsted grade first
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.
Wirral, CH49 0TN · Nursery
Nurseries don't sit tests, so there are no results to compare.
8 in Birkenhead, 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.
155 first choices, 157 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1663.1
England 46.2
Results close to the England average.
163 first choices, 116 offers made
Met the standard at 1161%
England 62%
10 in Birkenhead. Eduscope doesn't rank these.
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.
Wirral, CH49 5LE · Special · Secondary · Ages 11 to 19
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
Ch49 8he · Special · Primary · Ages 4 to 11
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
7 in Birkenhead. Eduscope doesn't rank these.
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.
Merseyside, CH42 1NW · Independent · Secondary · Ages 13 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.
Your home council handles your application, wherever the school is. Living nearby doesn't guarantee a place: each school's admission rules decide.
Pick a stage to see every Birkenhead school for that age, with filters for type, faith and Ofsted grade.
Ages 0 to 4
3 Outstanding, 24 Good, 1 need to improve.
33nurseries
Ages 4 to 11
81% Good or better. 49% met the standard at 11.
38schools
Ages 11 to 16
All 5 inspected are Good or better. 44% got grade 5 in English and maths.
19schools
All 6 inspected are Good or better. About 7 pupils per teacher.
10schools
Here's how Birkenhead'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.
Worked out by Eduscope from each school's published figures. Not an official statistic for this town.
BirkenheadEngland
Primaries rated Good or Outstanding
Latest Ofsted grade, 21 primaries with one.
81%
England 96%
Secondaries rated Good or Outstanding
5 of the 5 with a grade.
100%
England 93%
Met the expected standard at 11
Reading, writing and maths.
49%
England 62%
Grade 5 or above in English and maths
At GCSE.
44%
Pupils who miss a lot of school
Missed 1 in 10 days or more. Lower is better.
23%
England 18%
Primary pupils on free school meals
A sign of family income, not of school quality.
44%
Latest graded inspection for the 36 schools that have one.
86%
Good or Outstanding
Birkenhead in blue. There were no tests in 2020 and 2021 because of Covid.
Birkenhead has 87 schools and nurseries.
Pupil numbers are about the same as in 2018.
44% of primary pupils here get free school meals. Schools get extra money for each of them.
Pupils in Birkenhead's state schools each January.
Up 1% 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.
Birkenhead44%
Apply through your local council, even for academies and faith schools.
Follow any school and we'll email you when it gets a new Ofsted report or new results are out. Nothing else.
Birkenhead has 87 schools, including 38 primary schools, 19 secondary schools, 33 nurseries, 7 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 Birkenhead on Eduscope are Upton Hall School FCJ, St Anselm's College, Mersey Park 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 Birkenhead hold a Good or Outstanding Ofsted rating, which is below the England average of 94.8%. This includes 6 schools rated Outstanding and 25 rated Good.
Across primary schools in Birkenhead, 49% 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 Birkenhead is 15.1:1. 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 Birkenhead is 23.3%. A pupil is classed as persistently absent if they miss 10% or more of school sessions. Across England it is 18.1%.
There are 16,688 pupils enrolled across schools in Birkenhead, with 8,933 in primary and 7,585 in secondary. 42.4% of pupils are eligible for free school meals.
There are 7 independent schools in Birkenhead. 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 Birkenhead 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 87 schools in Birkenhead 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.
