Best Performing Secondary Schools Lead Merseyside Rankings
The Blue Coat School recorded Merseyside’s highest average GCSE attainment score among state-funded secondary schools, with 7.86 in the 2025/26 academic year…
Families comparing GCSE results in Merseyside have a new set of school rankings to consider. The Blue Coat School recorded the region’s highest average attainment score among state-funded secondary schools in the 2025/26 academic year, according to data published by the Department for Education.
The results also place The Blue Coat School first for the share of pupils achieving at least five GCSEs and for those earning Grade 5 or above in both English and maths. But the tables do not include Progress 8 scores, a measure of pupils’ progress between ages 11 and 16.
Best performing secondary schools by average GCSE score
The Blue Coat School’s average attainment score was 7.86, which the Liverpool Echo said is equivalent to an A or A* under the old grading system. Wirral Grammar School for Girls ranked second at 7.09, also equivalent to an A or A*.
West Kirby Grammar School followed with 6.86, while Wirral Grammar School for Boys scored 6.82. The remaining schools in the top 10 were Upton Hall School FCJ at 6.56, Calday Grange Grammar School at 6.37, St Anselm’s College at 6.31, Archbishop Blanch CofE High School at 5.75, King David High School at 5.54 and St Edward’s College at 5.33. The Liverpool Echo described scores from 6.86 down as equivalent to a B or C.
The ranking gives families a comparison of recorded exam attainment, but it does not capture every factor in choosing a school. The missing progress measure leaves one part of that comparison unanswered.
GCSE thresholds show a similar lead
The Blue Coat School also topped the measure for pupils achieving at least five GCSEs: 100% of its pupils reached that threshold last year, the Liverpool Echo reported. Wirral Grammar School for Boys followed at 97.5%, with Wirral Grammar School for Girls at 97.3% and West Kirby Grammar School at 96.6%.
Upton Hall School FCJ recorded 93.1%, Calday Grange Grammar School 93%, and St Anselm’s College 92.4%. Archbishop Blanch CofE High School stood at 81.8%, King David High School at 81.7%, and St Edward’s College at 75.7%.
For English and maths, The Blue Coat School again ranked first: 98.3% of pupils achieved at least Grade 5 in both subjects. Wirral Grammar School for Girls recorded 95.6%, Wirral Grammar School for Boys 94.3%, Calday Grange Grammar School 93% and West Kirby Grammar School 90.9%.
Upton Hall School FCJ posted 88.3% on that measure, followed by St Anselm’s College at 88%, King David High School at 68.7%, Archbishop Blanch CofE High School at 68% and Birkdale High School at 60%.
That is the gap to watch. The Liverpool Echo said Progress 8 scores could not be calculated for the 2024/25 and 2025/26 academic years because of Covid lockdowns. The measure tracks how pupils’ performance changes between ages 11 and 16, so its absence means the published rankings do not show that dimension of school performance.
The Liverpool Echo said its interactive tool lets users search for a school or local authority area to view school performance details. In the published figures, The Blue Coat School’s score was 7.86.
Source: liverpoolecho.co.uk
