Birkdale High School
Academy converter · 936 pupils
84% stayed in education · Attainment 8 51.9
Community special school
Presfield High School and Specialist College
- Pupils on roll
- 132of 88 places
- Free school meals
- 34.4%
- Year 11 cohort 2025
- 20
- Ofsted
- School remains Good, 27 September 2023Read the Ofsted report
What the data says
Of the 17 pupils who finished Year 11 at Presfield High School and Specialist College in 2023, 0% stayed on in Presfield High School and Specialist College’s own sixth form (Sefton average 25%), 12% went to a further education college and none started an apprenticeship.
Almost nobody goes straight into an apprenticeship or a job: none took an apprenticeship and none went into work, against 3% and 3% across England.
Presfield High School and Specialist College is a special school: its GCSE figures (Attainment 8 of 16.1, 15% with grade 5 or above in English and maths) are published by DfE for completeness and are not comparable with mainstream schools.
Where pupils went after Year 11
Destinations of the 2023 Year 11 leavers, measured the following year: the share in a sustained place for at least two terms. Compared with all state-funded schools in Sefton and England.
School sixth formSixth form collegeFurther education collegeOther educationApprenticeshipEmploymentNo sustained destination
| Measure | This school | Sefton | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils in the cohort | 17 | 3,063 | 607,348 |
| Any sustained destination | 88% | 89% | 92% |
| Stayed in education | 88% | 83% | 86% |
| — school sixth form | 0% | 25% | 34% |
| — sixth form college | 0% | 2% | 13% |
| — further education college | 12% | 53% | 37% |
| — other education | 76% | 3% | 2% |
| Apprenticeship | 0% | 3% | 3% |
| Employment | 0% | 3% | 3% |
| No sustained destination | 6% | 8% | 6% |
| Destination unknown | 6% | 4% | 3% |
Where students went after sixth form
Destinations of students who finished 16–18 study in 2023, measured the following year.
No published destinations for sixth-form leavers yet.
GCSE results 2025
| Measure | This school | Sefton | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Attainment 8 (average points per pupil) | 16.1 | 42.9 | 46.1 |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 15% | 40% | 45% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 35% | 60% | 65% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate subjects | 0% | 38% | 41% |
| EBacc average point score | 0.36 | 3.70 | 4.09 |
| Disadvantaged pupils in the cohort | 35% | 30% | 28% |
| Attainment 8 — disadvantaged pupils | 23.0 | 31.3 | 34.9 |
| Attainment 8 — other pupils | 12.4 | 47.8 | 50.4 |
| Pupils with high prior attainment (Key Stage 2) | — | — | — |
| English as an additional language | 5% | 7% | 19% |
Progress 8 is not available for 2025 and 2026: these cohorts had no Key Stage 2 tests in 2020 and 2021, so there is no baseline. Attainment 8 shows results without taking pupils’ starting points into account.
Subjects taken at GCSE
Entries in 2025 as a share of the Year 11 cohort, and the share of entries graded 7–9 and 4–9, compared with all entries in England.
| Subject | Entries | Share of cohort | England | Grades 7–9 | England | Grades 4–9 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mathematics | 20 | 100% | 88% | 15% | 22% | 70% |
| Biology | 12 | 60% | 23% | 0% | 45% | 83% |
| English Language | 11 | 55% | 89% | 0% | 20% | 73% |
| Art and Design | 9 | 45% | 7% | 0% | 24% | 67% |
| Statistics | 9 | 45% | 5% | 22% | 20% | 89% |
| Religious Studies | 6 | 30% | 31% | 17% | 32% | 33% |
| Citizenship Studies | 6 | 30% | 3% | 0% | 19% | 67% |
| Business Studies | 3 | 15% | 18% | — | 20% | — |
| Physics | 1 | 5% | 23% | — | 46% | — |
| Dance | 1 | 5% | 1% | — | 27% | — |
Technical awards and other Key Stage 4 qualifications
| Subject | Entries | Share of cohort | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Computer Appreciation / Introduction | 16 | — | — |
| Sports Studies | 8 | — | — |
A levels and other level 3 courses
A level subjects
Entries as a share of A level students, compared with the share across England.
| Subject | Entries | Share of cohort | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| History | — | — | 13% |
Applied, technical and other level 3 courses
| Subject | Qualification | Entries | Share of cohort | England |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Multimedia | OCR Cambridge Technical Certificate at Level 3 | — | — | — |
Other secondary schools in Sefton
Chesterfield High School
Academy converter · sixth form · 1,692 pupils
79% stayed in education · Attainment 8 48.4
Christ The King Catholic High School and Sixth Form Centre
Voluntary aided school · sixth form · 822 pupils
89% stayed in education · Attainment 8 41.8
Deyes High School
Academy converter · sixth form · 1,336 pupils
87% stayed in education · Attainment 8 42.8
Formby High School
Academy converter · sixth form · 1,157 pupils
83% stayed in education · Attainment 8 54.3
Greenbank High School
Academy converter · 1,025 pupils
91% stayed in education · Attainment 8 50.6
Sources: Department for Education school and college performance tables 2024/2025 (Key Stage 4 and 16–18 results, subject entries, destination measures for 2023 leavers); Get Information About Schools register as at 19 September 2026; Ofsted management information as at 31 August 2026. Small numbers are suppressed by DfE and shown as “—”. How to read these figures.