St Hilda's Church of England High School, Liverpool

Ofsted's report card from its 20 January 2026 inspection grades St Hilda's Church of England High School on 7 areas: 1 strong standard and 6 expected standard. Report cards replaced single-word judgements in November 2025, on a five-point scale from exceptional to urgent improvement.

Attendance and behaviour - Strong standard. "Leaders have fostered a culture where attendance is promoted consistently well across all phases of school."

Achievement - Expected standard. "Pupils' attainment in national tests is generally improving and most pupils progress well from their starting points."

Curriculum and teaching - Expected standard. "In recent times, leaders have reviewed weaknesses in the curriculum and have taken appropriate steps to address them."

Inclusion - Expected standard. "The school has strengthened its support for the growing number of pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND)."

Leadership and governance - Expected standard. "Leaders and governors have a largely accurate understanding of the school's context and areas for improvement."

Personal development and wellbeing - Expected standard. "Leaders ensure that pupils benefit from a broad and well‑designed programme for personal development."

Post 16 provision - Expected standard. "Leaders have an increasingly accurate understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the 16 to 19 study programme."

Safeguarding standards were met.

Ofsted's next steps for the school: "Leaders should ensure that the choice of learning activities and work to improve pupils' extended writing are embedded securely across school so that pupils consistently develop their skills and knowledge across subjects"; "Leaders should use the evidence that they gather about pupils' learning, including in the off-site post-16 provision, to help them to make astute decisions about how the curriculum and teaching need to adapt and improve"; "Leaders should continue to embed the careers programme to ensure that students are very well prepared for later life and proceed to highly appropriate education, employment or training"; "Leaders should sharpen how they monitor and oversee which pupils benefit from the wider curriculum offer so that they can better tailor the programme to promote personal development, ensuring that pupils, including disadvantaged pupils, benefit and participate fully"; "Leaders and governors should ensure that they have a consistently sharp understanding of the quality of education, inclusion provision, attendance, and wider enrichment for pupils, including those using the off-site post-16 provision, so that they can be confident that any improvement work has the intended impact".

In its own words: "In accordance with the Church of England, St Hilda’s ethos for education is shaped by our Christian vision and one that encourages the spiritual, physical, intellectual, emotional, moral and social development of our students. As a school community, we embrace diversity and respect freedom of religion and belief, enabling all to flourish. Ephesians 2:18-20 says “God is building a home."

From the headteacher's welcome: "It is my privilege to welcome you to St Hilda’s. My name is Jo Code and, as headteacher, I am delighted to share what makes St Hilda’s so extraordinary. As the only co-educational 11-18 Church of England school in Liverpool, St Hilda’s is unique."

Clubs and activities named on the school's website include football, netball, basketball, drama, choir, coding, homework club and philosophy.

In 2026, pupils at St Hilda's Church of England High School averaged an Attainment 8 score of 44.6, the average grade across their best eight GCSEs. The average state school scored 42.8 in Liverpool and 47 across England.

44% passed English and maths at grade 5 or above, against 38% in Liverpool and 47% in England.

That is down from 51.8 in 2025.

Its most recent Progress 8 score, for 2024, was -0.3: 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 35.9, against 47.4 for other pupils at the school - a gap of 11.5 points.

Pupils sat GCSEs in 26 subjects; after English and maths, the most popular were Religious Studies, Combined Science and History.

For September 2026 entry, 269 families put St Hilda's Church of England High School as their first choice and 1197 named it as one of their preferences, for 152 places offered. That is 1.8 first choices for every place. 129 families who put it first were not offered a place there.

The nearest other state secondary schools to St Hilda's Church of England High School are Bellerive FCJ Catholic College (0.4 miles, Good, Attainment 8 47.8); Archbishop Blanch CofE High School (0.7 miles); The Belvedere Academy (0.8 miles, Outstanding, Attainment 8 52.4); and Liverpool College (0.8 miles, Outstanding, Attainment 8 50.6).

Each of them had higher 2026 results than St Hilda's Church of England High School.

153 parents answered Ofsted's Parent View survey about St Hilda's Church of England High School (as of April 2026): 91% would recommend the school, 90% say their child is happy there and 75% of those with a view say bullying is dealt with well.

The strongest agreement was that they would recommend the school (91%); the weakest, that the school deals with bullying well (among parents with a view) (75%).

Of the 181 pupils who finished Year 11 in 2023/24, 96% stayed in education or training for at least two terms, including 28% to a further education college, 1% to an apprenticeship and 1% into work.

Of the 105 students who left the sixth form in 2023/24, 66% went on to university or other higher education, 4% to apprenticeships and 11% into work. 13% went to one of the most selective third of universities.

14.1% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well below the average state school (25%), and 6.5% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.

The largest ethnic groups are White British (75%), Mixed (6%) and Black (6%).

In 2026, 202 pupils (15.6%) received SEN support and 99 (7.6%) had an education, health and care plan, against 16.2% and 4.6% at the average state school. The most common need among them is autism.

The nearest railway station is Edge Hill Rail Station, about 1 mile away in a straight line.

12 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Cheltenham Avenue (opposite), 120 metres away.

Measured by the 2025 English Indices of Deprivation, the neighbourhood St Hilda's Church of England High School stands in is among the 20% most deprived neighbourhoods in England. This describes where the school is, not where its pupils live.

In August 2026, police recorded 566 crimes within a mile of the school, most often violence and sexual offences, drug offences and public order offences. That is well above the typical figure around schools in Liverpool (342), as is usual near a town centre.

In 2024/25, St Hilda's Church of England High School issued 77 suspensions, 6.8 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and no permanent exclusions.

The primary schools closest to St Hilda's Church of England High School are St Clare's Catholic Primary School (0.5 miles), Greenbank Primary School (0.6 miles), Lawrence Community Primary School (0.6 miles) and St Hugh's Catholic Primary School (0.7 miles). Admission does not depend on which primary a child attends unless the school's policy names feeder schools.