Secondary schools in St. Helens

There are 10 secondary schools in St. Helens, teaching 9,891 pupils. Of the 8 with a score, 0 do better than similar schools elsewhere in England and 4 do worse.

Best in England Primary schools in St. Helens All schools in St. Helens Places within

Pupils from low-income families32%average across these schools

Doing better than similar schools0 of 8scored schools in the top two bands

New-style Ofsted report cards3inspected since November 2025

Good or outstanding (old grades)11 requires improvement or inadequate

Full or nearly full3 of 8schools with 98% or more of places taken

Average class size22.4one-teacher classes, January census

Well aboveAboveIn lineBelowWell belowNot scored

Getting a place in St. Helens

From St. Helens council's allocation figures for 2025 entry: 6 secondary schools, 2 of which filled on distance and 3 offered a place to everyone who applied. Every school's page has a postcode check.

Hardest to get into

The last place went to a child living this far away. The shorter the distance, the harder it is to get in.

Rainford High School 0.8 miles
Cowley International College 2.5 miles

Places to spare

Every applicant was offered a place.

Most first choices per place

Rainhill High School

1.0 per place

Cowley International College

1.0 per place

Hope Academy

0.9 per place

Outwood Academy Haydock

0.8 per place

Source: St. Helens council (allocation statistics). Councils we hold this for.

Secondary schools (10)

Ranked by score, highest first. The likely range shows how sure we can be. If two schools' ranges overlap, don't read it as one beating the other. Click a column heading to sort, or hover a row to find it on the map.

#	School	Pupils	Low income	Ofsted	Score	Likely range
1	Rainford High SchoolAcademy · ages 11-18 · St Helens	1,646	16%	Report card 2026	64	54 to 71
2	St Augustine of Canterbury Catholic AcademyAcademy · ages 11-16	549	50%	No overall grade 2024	49	37 to 61
3	Rainhill High SchoolAcademy · ages 11-18 · Prescot	1,535	17%	Good 2023	47	38 to 58
4	Outwood Academy HaydockAcademy · ages 11-16	791	39%	No overall grade 2024	35	26 to 46
5	The Sutton AcademyAcademy · ages 11-18 · St Helens	1,441	39%	Report card 2026	33	25 to 43
6	Hope AcademyAcademy · ages 11-16 · Newton-le-Willows	1,235	30%	No overall grade 2024	28	20 to 36
7	Cowley International CollegeCouncil · ages 11-18 · St Helens	1,514	38%	Report card 2026	5	3 to 7
8	De La Salle SchoolAcademy · ages 11-16	1,180	25%	Requires improvement 2023	3	1 to 7
	Marydale Lodge SchSecure units · ages 10-17 · Liverpool	–	–	Not inspected	–
	St. Cuthbert's Catholic AcademyAcademy · ages 11-16 · St Helens	–	–	Not inspected	–

Secondary schools by town in St. Helens

Newton-le-Willows1 schools Prescot1 schools St Helens4 schools St. Helens3 schools

Secondary schools in nearby areas

Lancashire83 schools Manchester32 schools Liverpool33 schools Cheshire West and Chester20 schools Cumberland19 schools Cheshire East23 schools Westmorland and Furness20 schools Bolton20 schools Wigan19 schools Wirral20 schools Salford17 schools Stockport14 schools

About this list

Schools are listed by their School Chooser Score, highest first. Schools without a score (independent schools and those with too little published data) come after, in alphabetical order. The score compares each school with schools that have a similar mix of pupils, not just with each other, so a school with a lower score in a wealthier area may still have better exam results. How the score works.