School Chooser

Clifford Holroyde Sen College

Special · ages 11-16BoysCouncil75 pupilsLiverpool
School Chooser ScoreNot scoredWe don't score this type of school.
Strong pass in English and maths0%England 46%
Attendance72.7%England 94.8%
Pupils from low-income families89%Far more than most schools
PlacesFull75 pupils, 75 places
Pupils per teacher9.4School workforce census
Pupils on roll75Census January 2026

Clifford Holroyde Sen College is a council special school in Liverpool for boys aged 11 to 16. It has 75 pupils and every place is taken. About 89 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far more than at most schools in England.

Thingwall Lane, Knotty Ash, Liverpool, L14 7NX0151 228 9500clifford-holroyde.co.ukMr Wayne Alexander headteacherAll details

Ofsted

Ofsted hasn't published an inspection for this school yet.

Results

GCSE results, summer 2025

11 pupils sat their GCSEs. Here is how they did against every state secondary in England.

Average GCSE score5.7
England 46.8
Official name: Attainment 8
Strong pass in English and maths0%
England 46%
Official name: Grade 5+ in English and maths
Standard pass in English and maths0%
England 66%
Official name: Grade 4+ in English and maths
Progress from age 11-1.59In each subject, pupils here finished well over a grade behind children across England who started secondary school at the same level. (From 2023/24, the latest year there is. The government didn't work it out for the 2025 year group.)Official name: Progress 8
Trend
Average GCSE score
2018 to 2025
2018: 2.12.120182019: 1.21.220192022: 3.23.220222023: 6.26.220232024: 7.47.420242025: 5.75.72025
Since 2018: +3.6
All GCSE measures, year by year
Measure202520242023202220192018LiverpoolEngland
Pupils at the end of Year 11111311132216
Average GCSE scoreAttainment 85.77.46.23.21.22.143.146.8
Progress from age 11Progress 8-1.59-1.56-2.37-2.75-2.11
Strong pass in English and mathsGrade 5+ in English and maths0%0%0%0%0%0%39%46%
Standard pass in English and mathsGrade 4+ in English and maths0%0%0%0%0%0%59%66%
Core subjects scoreEBacc average point score0.460.540.410.320.080.153.744.15
Taking the core subjectsEBacc entry0%0%0%0%0%0%38%41%
Average GCSE score: low-income pupilsAttainment 8, disadvantaged5.7
Average GCSE score: pupils who started behindAttainment 8, low prior attainers6.15.81.70.32.4

Subjects

Results came out for 5 GCSE subjects in 2025. Each figure is the share of pupils who got a grade 5 or better, next to the average for state secondaries in England.

Subjects that did worse than the England average: English Language (0% here, 54% across England), Mathematics (0% here, 53% across England), Combined Science (0% here, 36% across England).

What is taught here

The small number is how many pupils sat each subject. Subjects with fewer than six pupils aren't published.

Every subject against England, 2025
0%England 54%
0%England 36%
Mathematics16 entries
0%England 53%
0%England 58%
0%England 52%
SubjectEntriesGrades 9 to 7Grades 9 to 5Grades 9 to 4England 9 to 5Rank in England
English Language230%0%0%54%
Combined Science170%0%0%36%
Mathematics160%0%13%53%
English Literature110%0%0%58%
Food Preparation & Nutrition100%0%0%52%

In combined science each pupil gets two grades and we count the lower one. Rankings only include state secondaries where 20 or more pupils sat the subject.

Getting a place

Admissions policy not published.

Each council publishes its own figures on how many families applied and how far away the last child to get a place lived. We are adding councils one at a time. If you have a link to Liverpool council's admissions booklet, send it to us.

Who goes here

Who the school teaches, from the latest school census.

Pupils on roll75Census January 2026
Places75100% full
Pupils from low-income families89%89% have had free school meals at some point in the last six years
Pupils learning English0%First language is not English
Pupils getting extra support0%0 pupils with SEN support
Pupils with an EHC plan100%75 pupils with a plan
Pupils with extra funding (pupil premium)89%£72,600 extra funding in 2026/27; England 24%
Boys and girls75 / 0
White British pupils87%

Specialist SEND provision. A special school for pupils with social, emotional and mental health.

To get a place in the unit or resourced provision, a child normally needs an education, health and care plan (EHCP) that names the school. Other schools in Liverpool with social, emotional and mental health provision.

The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: emotional and mental health (68), Autistic spectrum disorder (3), Specific learning difficulty (2), Moderate learning difficulty (1), Other difficulty or disability (1).

How the mix of pupils has changed
Census202620252024202320222021
Pupils on roll757064666868
Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals89%77%80%83%87%87%
Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language0%0%0%0%0%0%
Pupils getting extra supportSEN support0%0%0%0%0%
Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans100%100%100%100%100%

Attendance and behaviour

In 2024/25 pupils were in school 72.7% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 94.8%.

Attendance72.7%
England 94.8%
Official name: 100 minus overall absence
Pupils missing a lot of school75.0%
England 12.8%
Official name: Persistent absence
Suspensions per 100 pupils157.12024/25, no permanent exclusions
Missed without permission11.6%of school time, 2024/25
Attendance year by year
Measure2024/252023/242022/232021/222020/212018/19England
Sessions missedOverall absence27.3%25.8%22.6%28.7%44.7%37.1%5.2%
Missed with permissionAuthorised absence15.7%14.0%12.1%15.4%31.1%22.1%
Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence11.6%11.9%10.5%13.3%13.6%15.0%
Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence75.0%71.4%65.7%73.5%98.5%87.5%12.8%
SuspensionsSuspension rate157.1137.562.1152.998.5
Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions00000

What pupils do next

After GCSEs

Where the 11 pupils who left in 2022/23 were a year later.

Still in education, work or training36%and stayed there for at least six months
Earlier years
Destination2022/23 leavers2021/22 leavers2020/21 leavers2019/20 leavers
Still in education, work or training36%39%42%63%
Education36%31%38%38%
Apprenticeship0%0%4%0%
Work0%8%0%25%
Not in education, work or training45%31%21%38%

Staff and money

From the government's count of school staff in November 2025 and the school's published accounts.

Teachers8.0full-time equivalent, 8 people
Pupils per teacher9.4Pupils for every full-time teacher
Fully qualified teachers88%hold qualified teacher status
Teaching assistants8.8full-time equivalent
Average teacher pay£52,432
Teachers who left in the year0%2024/25, for any reason including retirement
Vacancies0
Sick days per teacher2.82024/25

Money

From the council school accounts, year to March 2025. The per-pupil figures are compared with other special schools in England that report their accounts the same way.

Spend per pupil£27,633England £32,258. Total £1.9m
Income per pupil£26,639England £32,367. Total £1.9m
Spent on teachers per pupil£8,829England £11,930
Money in reserve3%Not much put by: £56k, £795 per pupil. England 7%
Money in against money out-£70kit spent more than it took in this year
Where the money goes£27,633spent per pupil

Reserves are the money left over at the end of the year, kept back for emergencies and big projects. Being in the red year after year is a warning sign. Very large reserves can mean money sitting in the bank instead of being spent on today's pupils. Academy figures are rounded to the nearest £1,000 and include a share of any money the trust holds centrally.

The area around the school

Crimes within 500 m18912 months to June 2026, mostly violence and sexual offences
Local crime rate101 per 1,000 people11% higher than the England average
Typical house price£176,500Liverpool
Nearest bus stop180 mThingwall Lane, 16 stops within 500 m

Crime figures come from police.uk. The police record each crime at the nearest of a fixed set of map points rather than the exact spot, so “within 500 m” is only rough. House prices are from HM Land Registry sales nearby over the last two years.

Nearby schools

The closest schools, nearest first. Hover over a row to see it on the map.

Well aboveAboveIn lineBelowWell belowNot scored
SchoolTypeDistancePupilsOfstedScore
Knotty Ash Primary SchoolAcademy380 m252Good 202257Compare
St Margaret Mary's Catholic Junior SchoolRoman Catholic710 m457Good 202484Compare
St Margaret Mary's Catholic Infant SchoolRoman Catholic800 m375Not inspectedCompare
Malvern Primary SchoolCouncil840 m486No overall grade 202596Compare
East Prescot Road Nursery SchoolLocal authority nursery school890 m96Not inspectedCompare
Dixons Broadgreen AcademyAcademy950 m1,159No overall grade 202418Compare
Cardinal Heenan Catholic High SchoolRoman Catholic0.7 miles1,338Report card 202628Compare
NexGen AcademyIndependent0.7 miles45Not inspectedCompare

Questions parents ask

Is Clifford Holroyde Sen College a good school?

We don't have enough published data to score Clifford Holroyde Sen College yet.

How good are Clifford Holroyde Sen College's GCSE results?

In summer 2025, 0% of pupils got a grade 5 or better in both English and maths. Across England it was 46%. Its Attainment 8 score, which is the average grade across a pupil's best eight subjects times ten, was 5.7, against 46.8 for England. In each subject, pupils here finished well over a grade behind children across England who started secondary school at the same level.

How many pupils does Clifford Holroyde Sen College have?

75 pupils aged 11 to 16 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 75 places, so it is 100% full. It is a boys' school.

What is attendance like at Clifford Holroyde Sen College?

Pupils were in school 72.7% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 75% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.

Does Clifford Holroyde Sen College have specialist SEND provision?

Yes. It is a special school for social, emotional and mental health. To get a place there, a child normally needs an education, health and care plan (EHCP) that names the school.

These answers come straight from the figures on this page and update when new data comes out.

Contact and details

Address
Thingwall Lane, Knotty Ash, Liverpool, L14 7NX
Telephone
0151 228 9500
Website
www.clifford-holroyde.co.uk
Headteacher
Mr Wayne Alexander
Type of school
Council special school (Community special school, special schools)
Phase
Special school, ages 11-16
Gender
Boys
Local authority
Liverpool
Ward
Knotty Ash & Dovecot Park
Constituency
Liverpool West Derby
Setting
Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
URN
104742 · LAESTAB 3417042 · UKPRN 10015102

Recent changes

  • New KS4 results for 2024/25

Where these figures come from