The Whitby High School, Ellesmere Port

Ofsted's report card from its 23 June 2026 inspection grades The Whitby High School on 7 areas: 3 expected standard and 4 needs attention. Report cards replaced single-word judgements in November 2025, on a five-point scale from exceptional to urgent improvement.

Leadership and governance - Expected standard. "Leadership at all levels, including governance, has been strengthened."

Personal development and wellbeing - Expected standard. "Leaders have redesigned the curriculum for personal, social, health and economic education."

Post-16 provision - Expected standard. "Leaders have successfully strengthened the sixth-form provision."

Achievement - Needs attention. "Due to low expectations of some pupils, variability in the quality of teaching and historic weaknesses in the curriculum, pupils do not achieve as well as they should."

Attendance and behaviour - Needs attention. "Leaders have recently begun to tackle poor attendance with gusto."

Curriculum and teaching - Needs attention. "Leaders have taken effective action to improve the curriculum."

Inclusion - Needs attention. "Historically, the needs of too many pupils, including those with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), have not been met well enough."

Safeguarding standards were met.

Ofsted's next steps for the school: "Leaders should continue to embed strategies to reduce any barriers to pupils' learning and wellbeing, so that their needs are met"; "Leaders should ensure that the strategies for improving attendance are fully embedded and have the intended impact in raising attendance and reducing persistent absenteeism"; "Leaders should ensure that teachers use assessment effectively to check pupils' understanding and to adapt learning as necessary"; "Leaders should embed their strategies to help pupils to secure foundational knowledge, particularly in writing, so that any gaps in this important learning are addressed swiftly"; "Leaders should continue to embed the recently revised curriculum for personal, social, health and economic education so that, over time, pupils develop secure and detailed knowledge of this important learning".

From the headteacher's welcome: "This is a place where people want to be. A place where we prepare young people for the future and help them to achieve success. We care for all in our school and want every young person to enjoy their time with us. We believe in this community, and we model the core values in all that we do."

Clubs and activities named on the school's website include football, netball, rugby, tennis, basketball and Duke of Edinburgh.

In 2026, pupils at The Whitby High School averaged an Attainment 8 score of 39, the average grade across their best eight GCSEs. The average state school scored 45.3 in Cheshire West and Chester and 47 across England.

32% passed English and maths at grade 5 or above, against 42% in Cheshire West and Chester and 47% in England.

That is in line with 2025, when the score was 38.9.

Its most recent Progress 8 score, for 2024, was -0.58: pupils made well 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 28.6, against 43.1 for other pupils at the school - a gap of 14.5 points.

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

For September 2026 entry, 185 families put The Whitby High School as their first choice and 368 named it as one of their preferences, for 196 places offered. It had fewer first-choice applications than places. Every family who put it first was offered a place there for 2026 entry.

The nearest other state secondary schools to The Whitby High School are Ellesmere Port Catholic High School, a Voluntary Academy (0.5 miles, Attainment 8 36.2); Ellesmere Port Church of England College (1 mile, Good, Attainment 8 36.9); Upton-by-Chester High School (3.8 miles, Good, Attainment 8 54.6); and Blacon High School, A Specialist Sports College (4.2 miles, Requires improvement, Attainment 8 30.3).

The Whitby High School's 2026 results were higher than 3 of these 4 schools.

The Whitby High School is run by its own single-school academy trust.

Of the 273 pupils who finished Year 11 in 2023/24, 73% stayed in education or training for at least two terms, including 42% to a further education college, 8% to an apprenticeship and 9% into work.

Of the 76 students who left the sixth form in 2023/24, 45% went on to university or other higher education, 7% to apprenticeships and 40% into work. 6% went to one of the most selective third of universities.

8.2% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.

In 2026, 98 pupils (7%) received SEN support and 50 (3.6%) 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 social, emotional and mental health needs.

The nearest railway station is Capenhurst Rail Station, about 1.2 miles away in a straight line.

11 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is The Woodlands (opposite), 80 metres away.

Measured by the 2025 English Indices of Deprivation, the neighbourhood The Whitby High School stands in is among the 20% least deprived neighbourhoods in England. This describes where the school is, not where its pupils live.

In August 2026, police recorded 167 crimes within a mile of the school, most often violence and sexual offences, anti-social behaviour and vehicle crime. That is well above the typical figure around schools in Cheshire West and Chester (71), as is usual near a town centre.

In 2024/25, The Whitby High School issued 388 suspensions, 26.3 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and 5 permanent exclusions.

The primary schools closest to The Whitby High School are Woodlands Primary School (0.2 miles), Ellesmere Port Christ Church CofE Primary School (0.4 miles), Whitby Heath Primary School (0.5 miles) and Our Lady Star of the Sea Catholic Primary School (0.5 miles). Admission does not depend on which primary a child attends unless the school's policy names feeder schools.