A town in St Helens
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. Missing school is a bigger problem than across England.
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.
30 mainstream schools in St Helens, best first
Results well above the England average.
28 first choices, 28 offers made
Met the standard at 1177%
England 62%
Results above the England average.
92 first choices, 90 offers made
Met the standard at 1165%
England 62%
Results well above the England average.
38 first choices, 29 offers made
Met the standard at 1177%
England 62%
4 mainstream schools in St Helens, best first
Results close to the England average.
298 first choices, 255 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1645.5
England 46.2
St. Helens, WA11 9BB · Academy · Secondary · Ages 11 to 16
Results close to the England average.
84 first choices, 96 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1645.1
England 46.2
Results below the England average.
234 first choices, 228 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1643.2
England 46.2
29 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.
3 in St Helens, by the school's Eduscope score
Results close to the England average.
298 first choices, 255 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1645.5
England 46.2
Results below the England average.
213 first choices, 243 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1640.3
England 46.2
St Helens, WA9 1BU · Special · Secondary · Ages 14 to 19
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
3 in St Helens. Eduscope doesn't rank these.
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.
St Helens, WA9 1BU · Special · Secondary · Ages 14 to 19
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
St Helens, WA10 1UD · Independent · Secondary · Ages 13 to 18
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
2 in St Helens. Eduscope doesn't rank these.
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.
St Helens, WA10 1UD · Independent · Secondary · Ages 13 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.
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 St Helens school for that age, with filters for type, faith and Ofsted grade.
Ages 0 to 4
All 23 inspected are Good or better.
29nurseries
Ages 4 to 11
89% Good or better. 61% met the standard at 11.
32schools
Ages 11 to 16
0 Good, 1 need to improve. 39% got grade 5 in English and maths.
8schools
1 Good, 1 need to improve. About 6 pupils per teacher.
3schools
Here's how St Helens'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.
St HelensEngland
Primaries rated Good or Outstanding
Latest Ofsted grade, 18 primaries with one.
89%
England 96%
Secondaries rated Good or Outstanding
0 of the 1 with a grade.
0%
England 93%
Met the expected standard at 11
Reading, writing and maths.
61%
England 62%
Close to England
Grade 5 or above in English and maths
At GCSE.
39%
Pupils who miss a lot of school
Missed 1 in 10 days or more. Lower is better.
19%
England 18%
Primary pupils on free school meals
A sign of family income, not of school quality.
31%
Latest graded inspection for the 22 schools that have one.
82%
Good or Outstanding
St Helens in blue. There were no tests in 2020 and 2021 because of Covid.
St Helens has 68 schools and nurseries.
Pupil numbers are about the same as in 2018.
31% 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 Helens31%
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.
St Helens has 68 schools, including 32 primary schools, 8 secondary schools, 29 nurseries, 2 independent schools, 3 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 St Julie's Catholic Primary School, Bleak Hill Primary School, St Mary & St Thomas CofE 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.
82% of inspected schools in St Helens hold a Good or Outstanding Ofsted rating, which is below the England average of 94.8%. This includes 2 schools rated Outstanding and 16 rated Good.
Across primary schools in St Helens, 61% 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 18.1:1. 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 St Helens is 19.4%. A pupil is classed as persistently absent if they miss 10% or more of school sessions. Across England it is 18.1%.
There are 13,662 pupils enrolled across schools in St Helens, with 8,744 in primary and 4,918 in secondary. 32.9% of pupils are eligible for free school meals.
There are 2 independent schools in St Helens, 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 68 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.
