West Kirby School and College
West Kirby School and College is a non-maintained special school in Wirral for boys and girls aged 5 to 19. It has 115 pupils and every place is taken. About 41 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far more than at most schools in England. Ofsted's last grade was outstanding, back in 2021.
Meols Drive, West Kirby, Wirral, CH48 5DH0151 632 3201wkrs.co.ukMr Richard Hicks headteacherAll details
What Ofsted found
A shorter visit on 9 December 2021 found nothing to change the school's grade. Read the report on Ofsted's website.
Outstanding overall. A shorter follow-up visit found nothing to change that. The last full inspection was before September 2019, which is as far back as Ofsted's public records go, so we can't show its date or the grades for each area.
This inspection is more than 4 years old. When Ofsted next visits, the school will get a report card instead of one grade.
Results
GCSE results, summer 2025
13 pupils sat their GCSEs. Here is how they did against every state secondary in England.
All GCSE measures, year by year
| Measure | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2019 | 2018 | Wirral | England |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of Year 11 | 13 | 13 | 12 | 13 | 21 | 10 | – | – |
| Average GCSE scoreAttainment 8 | 16.7 | 11.2 | 13.4 | 6.3 | 7.7 | 9.8 | 47.4 | 46.8 |
| Progress from age 11Progress 8 | – | -0.82 | -1.49 | – | -2.56 | -1.79 | – | – |
| Strong pass in English and mathsGrade 5+ in English and maths | 8% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 47% | 46% |
| Standard pass in English and mathsGrade 4+ in English and maths | 15% | 0% | 17% | 0% | 5% | 0% | 65% | 66% |
| Core subjects scoreEBacc average point score | 1.37 | 0.86 | 1.01 | 0.39 | 0.65 | 0.82 | 4.16 | 4.15 |
| Taking the core subjectsEBacc entry | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 41% | 41% |
Subjects
Results came out for 4 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: Mathematics (13% here, 53% across England).
The small number is how many pupils sat each subject. Subjects with fewer than six pupils aren't published.
Every subject against England, 2025
| Subject | Entries | Grades 9 to 7 | Grades 9 to 5 | Grades 9 to 4 | England 9 to 5 | Rank in England |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mathematics | 16 | 0% | 13% | 38% | 53% | – |
| Art and Design | 11 | 0% | 27% | 64% | 58% | – |
| English Language | 10 | 0% | 20% | 40% | 54% | – |
| Combined Science | 9 | 11% | 22% | 33% | 36% | – |
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 Wirral council's admissions booklet, send it to us.
Who goes here
Who the school teaches, from the latest school census.
Specialist SEND provision. A special school for pupils with autism, 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 Wirral with autism provision.
The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: Autistic spectrum disorder (79), emotional and mental health (28), Other difficulty or disability (5), language and communications needs (2), Specific learning difficulty (1).
How the mix of pupils has changed
| Census | 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils on roll | 115 | 110 | 105 | 97 | 96 | 83 |
| Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals | 39% | 30% | 25% | 21% | 25% | 23% |
| Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Pupils getting extra supportSEN support | – | 0% | 0% | 0% | 1% | 0% |
| Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans | – | 100% | 100% | 100% | 99% | 100% |
Attendance and behaviour
In 2024/25 pupils were in school 85.9% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 94.8%.
Attendance year by year
| Measure | 2024/25 | 2023/24 | 2022/23 | 2021/22 | 2020/21 | 2018/19 | England |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sessions missedOverall absence | 14.1% | 14.9% | 15.9% | 15.7% | 22.2% | 18.1% | 5.2% |
| Missed with permissionAuthorised absence | 8.4% | 8.9% | 11.3% | 11.0% | 20.2% | 13.3% | – |
| Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence | 5.7% | 6.1% | 4.7% | 4.7% | 2.0% | 4.7% | – |
| Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence | 36.5% | 40.5% | 51.2% | 49.3% | 62.0% | 53.1% | 12.8% |
| SuspensionsSuspension rate | 30.0 | 24.8 | 30.9 | 26.0 | 33.7 | – | – |
| Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – |
What pupils do next
After GCSEs
Where the 12 pupils who left in 2022/23 were a year later.
Earlier years
| Destination | 2022/23 leavers | 2021/22 leavers | 2020/21 leavers | 2019/20 leavers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Still in education, work or training | 92% | 100% | 77% | 92% |
| Education | 92% | 100% | 77% | 83% |
| Apprenticeship | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Work | 0% | 0% | 0% | 8% |
| Not in education, work or training | 0% | 0% | 15% | 0% |
The area around the school
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.
| School | Type | Distance | Pupils | Ofsted | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| West Kirby Primary School | Council | 260 m | 297 | Good 2023 | 89 | Compare |
| West Kirby Grammar School | Academy (grammar) | 270 m | 1,181 | Good 2022 | 90 | Compare |
| West Kirby St Bridget's CofE Primary School | Academy | 0.6 miles | 420 | No overall grade 2024 | – | Compare |
| Avalon School | Independent | 0.9 miles | 104 | Not inspected | – | Compare |
| Black Horse Hill Infant School | Council | 0.9 miles | 102 | Good 2024 | 41 | Compare |
| Black Horse Hill Junior School | Academy | 0.9 miles | 169 | Good 2022 | 11 | Compare |
| Hilbre High School | Academy | 1.0 miles | 1,154 | Report card 2026 | 9 | Compare |
| Calday Grange Grammar School | Academy (grammar) | 1.1 miles | 1,493 | Not inspected | 93 | Compare |
Questions parents ask
Is West Kirby School and College a good school?
West Kirby School and College doesn't have a score yet. Ofsted rated it outstanding at its last inspection in December 2021.
What is West Kirby School and College's Ofsted rating?
Ofsted rated West Kirby School and College outstanding at its last full inspection on 9 December 2021. That was more than four years ago. When Ofsted next visits, the school will get a report card instead of a single grade.
How good are West Kirby School and College's GCSE results?
In summer 2025, 8% 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 16.7, against 46.8 for England. In each subject, pupils here finished most of a grade behind children across England who started secondary school at the same level.
How many pupils does West Kirby School and College have?
115 pupils aged 5 to 19 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 115 places, so it is 100% full.
What is attendance like at West Kirby School and College?
Pupils were in school 85.9% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 36% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.
Does West Kirby School and College have specialist SEND provision?
Yes. It is a special school for autism, 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.
Does West Kirby School and College have a sixth form?
Yes.
These answers come straight from the figures on this page and update when new data comes out.
Contact and details
- Address
- Meols Drive, West Kirby, Wirral, CH48 5DH
- Telephone
- 0151 632 3201
- Website
- www.wkrs.co.uk
- Headteacher
- Mr Richard Hicks
- Type of school
- Non-maintained special school (Non-maintained special school, special schools)
- Phase
- Special school, ages 5-19, with sixth form
- Gender
- Mixed
- Local authority
- Wirral
- Ward
- Hoylake and Meols
- Constituency
- Wirral West
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- URN
- 105137 · LAESTAB 3447015 · UKPRN 10015673
Recent changes
- New KS4 results for 2024/25
Where these figures come from
- School details: Department for Education, Get Information About Schools, refreshed daily (this page rebuilt 13 September 2026).
- Inspections: Ofsted management information, monthly; latest publication in our data 27 August 2026.
- GCSE results: DfE key stage 4 performance tables, 2024/25 final.
- Attendance: DfE pupil absence in schools in England, 2024/25 full year.
- Pupil characteristics: DfE school census, January 2026.
- Pupil premium: DfE allocations and conditions of grant, 2026 to 2027.
- Neighbourhood: police.uk street-level crime, HM Land Registry price paid data, NaPTAN bus stops, English Indices of Deprivation 2025.
- All under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Full list and update calendar.