Meols Cop High School, Southport
Meols Cop High School is a secondary school for pupils aged 11 to 16 in Southport, part of Southport Learning Trust. Its 2026 GCSE results were the 3rd-highest of the 5 schools in Southport with published results, and 2,183rd of 3,298 across England. It was full in 2025, at 101% of capacity.
- GCSE results
- Below England average
- Demand
- Oversubscribed
- Attendance
- In line with England
- Progress (2024)
- Below average
Year 7 applications for September 2027 close in 4 days
Deadline Saturday 31 October 2026. Apply to Sefton (the council where you live). Offers on 1 March.
Data last updated 27 Oct 2026
Meols Cop High School in detail
Results
In 2026, pupils at Meols Cop High School averaged an Attainment 8 score of 42.9, the average grade across their best eight GCSEs. The average state school scored 43.4 in Sefton and 47 across England.
40% passed English and maths at grade 5 or above, against 39% in Sefton and 47% in England.
That is down from 44.7 in 2025.
Its most recent Progress 8 score, for 2024, was -0.17: pupils made below average progress compared with pupils nationally who started secondary school at the same level. Progress 8 was not published for 2026.
Disadvantaged pupils averaged an Attainment 8 of 33.9, against 47.2 for other pupils at the school - a gap of 13.3 points.
Pupils sat GCSEs in 22 subjects; after English and maths, the most popular were Combined Science, History and Geography.
Getting a place at Meols Cop High School
For September 2026 entry, 206 families put Meols Cop High School as their first choice and 490 named it as one of their preferences, for 175 places offered. That is 1.2 first choices for every place. 31 families who put it first were not offered a place there.
Admissions history and your chances at Meols Cop High School
Compared with nearby schools
The nearest other state secondary schools to Meols Cop High School are Christ The King Catholic High School and Sixth Form Centre (1.4 miles, Good, Attainment 8 42.8); Stanley High School (2.1 miles, Good, Attainment 8 40.8); Greenbank High School (2.5 miles, Good, Attainment 8 49.9); and Birkdale High School (2.7 miles, Good, Attainment 8 51.7).
Meols Cop High School's 2026 results were higher than 2 of these 4 schools.
Christ The King Catholic High School and Sixth Form CentreStanley High SchoolGreenbank High SchoolBirkdale High School
The trust
Meols Cop High School is one of 9 schools run by Southport Learning Trust, an academy trust.
Across the trust's secondary schools, pupils averaged an Attainment 8 score of 45.4 in 2024/25.
Where pupils go next
Of the 170 pupils who finished Year 11 in 2023/24, 92% stayed in education or training for at least two terms, including 88% to a further education college, 1% to an apprenticeship and 1% into work.
Who goes there
11.8% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.
Meols Cop High School has a resourced provision for specific learning difficulties such as dyslexia and autism: 22 places, 21 pupils on roll.
Getting there
The nearest railway station is Meols Cop Rail Station, about 850 metres away (roughly a 11-minute walk).
8 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Haig Avenue (adjacent), 90 metres away.
Suspensions and exclusions
In 2024/25, Meols Cop High School issued 68 suspensions, 7.5 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and no permanent exclusions.
Primary schools nearby
The primary schools closest to Meols Cop High School are Kew Woods Primary School (0.6 miles), Norwood Primary School (0.7 miles), Holy Family Catholic Primary School (0.7 miles) and St Philip's Church of England Primary School (0.8 miles). Admission does not depend on which primary a child attends unless the school's policy names feeder schools.
Kew Woods Primary SchoolNorwood Primary SchoolHoly Family Catholic Primary SchoolSt Philip's Church of England Primary School
Sources: DfE school performance data (averages: state mainstream schools); DfE school-level applications and offers; council admissions booklets; DfE appeals statistics; DfE multi-academy trust performance data; DfE destination measures; DfE school census and special educational needs statistics; NaPTAN (Department for Transport); DfE exclusions statistics
Location
Our estimate from how close the nearest similar schools are and how oversubscribed the council's schools are. It is not a published boundary.
Key Information
DfE GIASOfsted Rating
Ofsted · 4 months agoReport card - no single overall grade (Ofsted's framework since November 2025)
Safeguarding standards: met
Meols Cop High School has had no graded Ofsted inspection since it took its current form in April 2023. Before that, as Meols Cop High School (URN 104956), it was rated Good in February 2023.
About
Meols Cop High School is a coeducational secondary school located in Southport, Merseyside, England. The school was opened in 1941 and originally consisted of two separate single sex secondary modern schools.
From Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
At a Glance
33.0%
Free School Meals
No
Boarding
No
Nursery
No
Sixth Form
Resourced provision: SpLD, Autism
SEN Provision
No
Special Measures
Secondary Performance (GCSE)
Academic year 2025/26GCSE Results
2025/26 academic year
Attainment 8 has improved from 41.1 to 42.9 (2024 to 2026), while gCSE English & Maths 5+ has improved from 35% to 40% (2024 to 2026).
Performance by Group
| Group | Progress 8 | Attainment 8 | Eng+Maths 5+ |
|---|---|---|---|
| All pupils | - | 42.9 | 40.1% |
| Disadvantaged(57) | - | 33.9 | 24.6% |
| Not known to be disadvantaged(120) | - | 47.2 | 47.5% |
| Boys(99) | - | 41.0 | 36.4% |
| Girls(78) | - | 45.3 | 44.9% |
Show more breakdowns (2)
| Known or believed to be other than English(17) | - | 47.6 | 35.3% |
| Non mobile(172) | - | 43.1 | 41.3% |
2025/26 academic year - DfE performance tables data
GCSE Subjects Offered
+ 2 more subjects
2025/26 academic year - entries by number of pupils
After GCSEs - Leaver Destinations
After GCSEs (Year 11) - 170 students
2023/24 data
Exclusions & Suspensions
0
Permanent exclusions
0.00%
Exclusion rate
68
Suspensions
7.51%
Suspension rate
42 pupils received one or more suspensions out of 906 pupils
2024/25 academic year
How Does This School Compare?
Ranked against 5 nearby secondary schools
Keep up with Meols Cop High School
Getting There
Train Stations
Bus Stops
Free school transport
Check free transport to Meols Cop High School from your postcode →
You apply to the council where you live. Meols Cop High School is in Sefton; for families living there:
- Sefton's school travel policy: Home to School Transport Policy ext
- How to apply: Apply for Travel Support
Safety and surroundings
Road collisions within 500 m (2021 to 2025)
- Collisions
- 18
- Fatal
- 0
- Serious
- 5
- Children hurt
- 7
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 18 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 5 serious and 13 slight.
7 children aged 0 to 15 were hurt: 4 on foot, 2 on a bicycle and 1 in a vehicle or otherwise.
8 of the collisions happened on a weekday between 08:00 and 09:30 or 14:45 and 16:30, holidays included.
The typical figure for schools in Sefton is 16 (the median across 116 schools, same distance and years).
Serious and slight counts use the Department for Transport's severity adjustment, which allows for changes in how police forces record injuries; they are estimates, rounded to whole numbers. Distances are in a straight line. Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19), Open Government Licence v3.0.
Commute and house prices
Your chances of a place at Meols Cop High School
Will you get a place at Meols Cop High School? Get the admissions report
Your home postcode, set against Meols Cop High School's admissions figures, in one report saved to your account.
What the report includes for Meols Cop High School:
- The straight-line distance from your home to Meols Cop High School.
- Sefton publishes last distance offered figures, but none for Meols Cop High School that we hold, so the report covers demand, alternatives and dates.
- Applications, first choices and offers at Meols Cop High School for 2024 to 2026 entry.
- How many families in Sefton got their first choice, and how often appeals there succeed.
- The nearest state schools to your home, with Ofsted rating, demand and last distance offered where published.
- Key dates for September 2027 entry and how to apply.
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Capacity & Demand
School Occupancy
101%
Over capacity
906 pupils
900 places
6 pupils over capacity in 2025
2025, DfE school capacity data
Area Demand Pressure - Southport
Based on MHCLG Live Table 122 (2024-25, last 5 years) for Southport
Across Sefton council
Places available
3,321
Applications
2,791
Got 1st preference
89.0%
Got preferred school
97.3%
All secondary applications across Sefton council (2026/27), not just this school.
This school: Oversubscribed
Inspection History
SEND & SEN Provision
SEN Overview
124
SEN Support
49
EHC Plans
18.9%
of Total Pupils
2026 academic year
Provision & Specialist Facilities
Meols Cop High School has a resourced provision for specific learning difficulties such as dyslexia and autism: 22 places, 21 pupils on roll.
Source: GIAS, Department for Education.
Pupils by Need Type
Pupil Demographics
Ethnicity
2026 academic year
Key Indicators
916
Total Pupils
490
Boys
426
Girls
2026 academic year
Workforce
62
Teachers
14.8:1
Pupil-teacher ratio
£49,952
Mean salary
2026 data
School Funding
£7,139
Per pupil
£6898k
Total funding
£267k
Pupil premium
2025-26 financial year allocations
Pupil Absence2024/25
8.2%
Overall absence
23.1%
Persistent absence
943
Enrolments
Absence trend
Source: DfE pupil absence statistics. Persistent absence = pupils missing 10%+ sessions.
Feeder Primary Schools
Primary schools that likely feed into this school, based on proximity
Questions parents ask about Meols Cop High School
What are GCSE results like at Meols Cop High School?
In the 2026 results, pupils at Meols Cop High School achieved an Attainment 8 score of 42.9. 40% passed GCSE English and maths at grade 5 or above.
What is Meols Cop High School's Ofsted rating?
Meols Cop High School has had no graded Ofsted inspection since it took its current form in April 2023. Before that, as Meols Cop High School (URN 104956), it was rated Good in February 2023.
What is the catchment area for Meols Cop High School?
No fixed boundary. When Meols Cop High School is oversubscribed, Sefton allocates places by its published criteria, usually ending with home-to-school distance.
Is it hard to get a place at Meols Cop High School?
Meols Cop High School was full in 2025, at 101% of its capacity, so places are allocated on the oversubscription criteria.
How big are the classes at Meols Cop High School?
Classes at Meols Cop High School average 23 pupils (2025/26).
How many pupils go to Meols Cop High School?
Meols Cop High School has around 916 pupils on roll. 33% are eligible for free school meals.
Does Meols Cop High School have specialist SEN provision?
Meols Cop High School has a resourced provision for specific learning difficulties such as dyslexia and autism: 22 places, 21 pupils on roll.
What is attendance like at Meols Cop High School?
8.2% of sessions were missed at Meols Cop High School in 2024/25. 23.1% of pupils were persistently absent (missing 10% or more of sessions).
How do I apply to Meols Cop High School?
Apply through Sefton's coordinated admissions process, naming Meols Cop High School on your application. Applications for Year 7 places starting in September 2027 close on Saturday 31 October 2026, and offers are made on Monday 1 March 2027.
How many road collisions happen near Meols Cop High School?
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 18 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 5 serious and 13 slight. 7 children aged 0 to 15 were hurt: 4 on foot, 2 on a bicycle and 1 in a vehicle or otherwise. 8 of the collisions happened on a weekday between 08:00 and 09:30 or 14:45 and 16:30, holidays included. The typical figure for schools in Sefton is 16 (the median across 116 schools, same distance and years).
Where is Meols Cop High School?
Meols Cop High School is at Meols Cop Road, Southport, Merseyside, PR8 6JS.
Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19)