Birkenhead High School Academy
Academy sponsor led · sixth form · 1,226 pupils
92% stayed in education · Attainment 8 50.5
Academy converter
West Kirby Grammar School
- Pupils on roll
- 1,181of 1,283 places
- Free school meals
- 8.4%
- Year 11 cohort 2025
- 183
- Ofsted
- Good, 2 November 2022Read the Ofsted report
Results below include those reported under the school’s previous registration: West Kirby Grammar School (URN 105099, until 1 August 2011).
What the data says
Of the 185 pupils who finished Year 11 at West Kirby Grammar School in 2023, 77% stayed on in West Kirby Grammar School’s own sixth form (Wirral average 38%), 2% went to a further education college and 1% started an apprenticeship.
Among the 159 students who left the sixth form in 2023, 64% went to university (Wirral 39%, England 37%), and 46% of level 3 students progressed to one of the most selective universities, against 19% nationally.
GCSE results in 2025 were well above the national picture: Attainment 8 of 71.3 against 46.1 across England and 45.3 in Wirral, with 96% of pupils getting grade 5 or above in both English and maths (England 45%) — as a selective grammar school, West Kirby Grammar School admits pupils by test at 11, which drives these figures.
Spanish is unusually popular at GCSE: 54% of the year group took it, against 19% of pupils across England.
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 Wirral and England.
School sixth formSixth form collegeFurther education collegeOther educationApprenticeshipEmploymentNo sustained destination
| Measure | West Kirby Grammar School | Wirral | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils in the cohort | 185 | 3,848 | 607,348 |
| Any sustained destination | 98% | 91% | 92% |
| Stayed in education | 96% | 85% | 86% |
| — school sixth form | 77% | 38% | 34% |
| — sixth form college | 16% | 19% | 13% |
| — further education college | 2% | 25% | 37% |
| — other education | 1% | 3% | 2% |
| Apprenticeship | 1% | 3% | 3% |
| Employment | 1% | 3% | 3% |
| No sustained destination | 2% | 7% | 6% |
| Destination unknown | 1% | 3% | 3% |
Where students went after sixth form
Destinations of students who finished 16–18 study in 2023, measured the following year.
University (higher education)Further educationOther educationApprenticeshipEmploymentNo sustained destination
| Measure | West Kirby Grammar School | Wirral | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Students in the cohort | 159 | 3,298 | 541,441 |
| Any sustained destination | 91% | 79% | 79% |
| University (higher education) | 64% | 39% | 37% |
| — most selective universities (top third), of level 3 students | 46% | 23% | 19% |
| Further education | 1% | 6% | 5% |
| Apprenticeship | 4% | 8% | 7% |
| Employment | 21% | 25% | 28% |
| No sustained destination | 8% | 16% | 16% |
GCSE results 2025
| Measure | West Kirby Grammar School | Wirral | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Attainment 8 (average points per pupil) | 71.3 | 45.3 | 46.1 |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 96% | 44% | 45% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 98% | 62% | 65% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate subjects | 78% | 39% | 41% |
| EBacc average point score | 6.80 | 3.96 | 4.09 |
| Disadvantaged pupils in the cohort | 7% | 33% | 28% |
| Attainment 8 — disadvantaged pupils | 52.2 | 32.3 | 34.9 |
| Attainment 8 — other pupils | 72.7 | 51.6 | 50.4 |
| Pupils with high prior attainment (Key Stage 2) | — | — | — |
| English as an additional language | 11% | 6% | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| English Language | 183 | 100% | 89% | 67% | 20% | 98% |
| Mathematics | 182 | 99% | 88% | 57% | 22% | 99% |
| English Literature | 178 | 97% | 86% | 67% | 21% | 99% |
| Biology | 119 | 65% | 23% | 77% | 45% | 100% |
| Chemistry | 118 | 64% | 23% | 80% | 47% | 100% |
| Physics | 116 | 63% | 23% | 73% | 46% | 99% |
| Spanish | 98 | 54% | 19% | 54% | 27% | 95% |
| Geography | 87 | 48% | 41% | 80% | 25% | 98% |
| History | 76 | 42% | 41% | 64% | 26% | 96% |
| Religious Studies | 63 | 34% | 31% | 62% | 32% | 97% |
| Combined Science | 62 | 34% | 65% | 48% | 9% | 98% |
| French | 38 | 21% | 18% | 53% | 29% | 95% |
| Drama | 35 | 19% | 7% | 74% | 27% | 100% |
| Business Studies | 30 | 16% | 18% | 67% | 20% | 100% |
| German | 30 | 16% | 5% | 50% | 33% | 97% |
| Physical Education | 26 | 14% | 11% | 65% | 24% | 100% |
| Design and Technology | 23 | 13% | 11% | 70% | 23% | 100% |
| Fine Art | 20 | 11% | 9% | 65% | 28% | 95% |
| Latin | 18 | 10% | 1% | 89% | 74% | 100% |
| Textiles | 14 | 8% | 2% | 29% | 27% | 100% |
| Computer Science | 13 | 7% | 13% | 54% | 30% | 100% |
| Music | 12 | 7% | 5% | 42% | 33% | 92% |
| Graphic Communication | 8 | 4% | 1% | 63% | 23% | 100% |
| Chinese | 3 | 2% | 1% | — | 75% | — |
| Russian | 1 | 1% | 0% | — | 87% | — |
| Persian | 1 | 1% | 0% | — | 77% | — |
A levels and other level 3 courses
| Measure | West Kirby Grammar School | Wirral | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Students at the end of 16–18 study | 284 | — | — |
| — of whom A level students | 141 | 1,844 | 261,341 |
| Average A level grade | B | B- | B- |
| Average points per A level entry | 39.32 | 35.37 | 35.00 |
| Average grade, best 3 A levels | B | B- | B- |
| AAB or better with two facilitating subjects | 23% | 16% | 18% |
| Average grade, applied general courses | — | — | — |
| Average grade, T levels | — | — | — |
A level subjects
Entries as a share of A level students, compared with the share across England.
| Subject | Entries | Share of cohort | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Psychology | 55 | 39% | 23% |
| Biology | 44 | 31% | 20% |
| Mathematics | 38 | 27% | 31% |
| Chemistry | 34 | 24% | 17% |
| Geography | 26 | 18% | 10% |
| Religious Studies | 23 | 16% | 4% |
| Politics | 21 | 15% | 6% |
| English Language | 17 | 12% | 4% |
| Physics | 15 | 11% | 12% |
| English Literature | 15 | 11% | 11% |
| History | 15 | 11% | 13% |
| Spanish | 14 | 10% | 2% |
| Business Studies | 14 | 10% | 13% |
| Film Studies | 13 | 9% | 2% |
| Economics | 10 | 7% | 13% |
| Further Mathematics | 8 | 6% | 5% |
| Fine Art | 8 | 6% | 3% |
| Product Design | 8 | 6% | 2% |
| Drama | 7 | 5% | 2% |
| German | 6 | 4% | 0% |
| Graphic Communication | 6 | 4% | 2% |
| Physical Education | — | — | 3% |
| Music | — | — | 0% |
| Latin | — | — | 0% |
| French | — | — | 1% |
| Sociology | — | — | 13% |
| D and T Textiles Technology | — | — | 0% |
| Computer Science | — | — | 5% |
| Textiles | — | — | 1% |
Applied, technical and other level 3 courses
| Subject | Qualification | Entries | Share of cohort | England |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Study Skills | Extended Project (Diploma) | 48 | 34% | — |
| Further Mathematics | GCE AS level (All) | 20 | 14% | — |
| Further Mathematics | GCE AS level (Not continued to A2) | 13 | 9% | — |
| Biology | GCE AS level (All) | — | — | — |
| Chemistry | GCE AS level (All) | — | — | — |
| Psychology | GCE AS level (Not continued to A2) | — | — | — |
| Psychology | GCE AS level (All) | — | — | — |
| Religious Studies | GCE AS level (All) | — | — | — |
| Biology | GCE AS level (Not continued to A2) | — | — | — |
| Chemistry | GCE AS level (Not continued to A2) | — | — | — |
Other secondary schools in Wirral
Birkenhead Park School
Academy sponsor led · 731 pupils
71% stayed in education · Attainment 8 39.9
Calday Grange Grammar School
Academy converter · sixth form · 1,493 pupils
95% stayed in education · Attainment 8 68.1
Co-op Academy Bebington
Academy sponsor led · sixth form · 1,044 pupils
89% stayed in education · Attainment 8 37.3
Hilbre High School
Academy converter · sixth form · 1,154 pupils
83% stayed in education · Attainment 8 39.0
Pensby High School
Foundation school · sixth form · 915 pupils
80% stayed in education · Attainment 8 44.8
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.