St John Bosco Arts College, Croxteth

Ofsted's report card from its 3 March 2026 inspection grades St John Bosco Arts College on 7 areas: 5 expected standard and 2 needs attention. Report cards replaced single-word judgements in November 2025, on a five-point scale from exceptional to urgent improvement.

Attendance and behaviour - Expected standard. "Pupils' attendance, including that of disadvantaged pupils, is typically close to national averages over time."

Inclusion - Expected standard. "Leaders put vulnerable pupils at the heart of their decisions."

Leadership and governance - Expected standard. "Leaders, including governors, understand the context of their school."

Personal development and wellbeing - Expected standard. "The personal development programme has been carefully designed."

Post 16 provision - Expected standard. "Leaders have designed a 16 to 19 study programme that meets students' needs."

Achievement - Needs attention. "Overall, published outcomes show that pupils do not achieve well at the end of key stage 4."

Curriculum and teaching - Needs attention. "On occasions, teaching is not sufficiently matched to support pupils in securing the knowledge they need."

Safeguarding standards were met.

Ofsted's next steps for the school: "Leaders should ensure that teachers routinely check pupils' understanding to identify and address gaps in their knowledge so that they can achieve more and at least be in line with national averages"; "Leaders should ensure that pupils receive appropriate and challenging activity choices matched to their prior learning so that they deepen their understanding"; "Leaders should continue their efforts to improve pupils' attendance, particularly for pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities so that their attendance continues to improve"; "Leaders should continue to monitor and evaluate the impact of their actions to ensure that their range of strategies is having the intended impact".

In its own words: "St John Bosco Arts College is a Catholic comprehensive school for girls aged 11 to 18, with a mixed-gender Sixth Form. We serve over 1,000 students in Croxteth, Liverpool."

From the headteacher's welcome: "The library aims to develop a reading culture across the college; supporting teaching and learning, literacy, information literacy and media literacy, and to encourage students’ reading for pleasure by - developing skills that enable students to take responsibility for their own learning Everyone is welcome before and after school."

Coming up: an open evening on Thursday 12 November 2026. Check the school's website before you go, as dates can change.

In 2026, pupils at St John Bosco Arts College averaged an Attainment 8 score of 40.1, the average grade across their best eight GCSEs. The average state school scored 42.8 in Liverpool and 47 across England.

26% passed English and maths at grade 5 or above, against 38% in Liverpool and 47% in England.

That is in line with 2025, when the score was 39.4.

Its most recent Progress 8 score, for 2024, was -0.47: 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 37.3, against 43.1 for other pupils at the school - a gap of 5.8 points.

Pupils sat GCSEs in 21 subjects; after English and maths, the most popular were Religious Studies, Combined Science and History.

For September 2026 entry, 206 families put St John Bosco Arts College as their first choice and 423 named it as one of their preferences, for 193 places offered. That is 1.1 first choices for every place. 37 families who put it first were not offered a place there.

The nearest other state secondary schools to St John Bosco Arts College are Dixons Croxteth Academy (0.3 miles, Attainment 8 35); Dixons Fazakerley Academy (1.4 miles, Requires improvement, Attainment 8 35.9); Holly Lodge Girls' College (1.6 miles, Good, Attainment 8 42.1); and Kirkby High School (1.7 miles, Good, Attainment 8 34.8).

St John Bosco Arts College's 2026 results were higher than 3 of these 4 schools.

83 parents answered Ofsted's Parent View survey about St John Bosco Arts College (as of April 2026): 69% would recommend the school, 60% say their child is happy there and 40% of those with a view say bullying is dealt with well.

The strongest agreement was that they would recommend the school (69%); the weakest, that the school deals with bullying well (among parents with a view) (40%).

Of the 169 pupils who finished Year 11 in 2023/24, 82% stayed in education or training for at least two terms, including 25% to a further education college, 2% to an apprenticeship and 2% into work.

Of the 92 students who left the sixth form in 2023/24, 55% went on to university or other higher education, 4% to apprenticeships and 20% into work. 1% went to one of the most selective third of universities.

49.4% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well above the average state school (25%), and 10.1% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.

The nearest railway station is Fazakerley Rail Station, about 1.6 miles away in a straight line.

11 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is St John Bosco (e), 70 metres away.

Measured by the 2025 English Indices of Deprivation, the neighbourhood St John Bosco Arts College stands in is among the 10% most deprived neighbourhoods in England. This describes where the school is, not where its pupils live.

In 2024/25, St John Bosco Arts College issued 109 suspensions, 10.4 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and 1 permanent exclusion.

The primary schools closest to St John Bosco Arts College are St Teresa of Lisieux Catholic Primary Academy (0.6 miles), Ranworth Square Primary School (0.6 miles), Our Lady and St Philomena's Catholic Primary School (0.6 miles) and Our Lady and St Swithin'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.