SCHOOL PROFILE

Pensby High School

Secondary Foundation school URN 105101
Open
Pupils 8,834,192 Latest school census
Capacity 900 Published school capacity
Capacity used 101.7% Pupils as a share of capacity
Age range 11 – 18 Statutory age range
OFSTED

Latest ungraded inspection

23 March 2023
Latest published outcome School remains Good
SCHOOL DETAILS

About this school

School type Foundation school
Phase Secondary
Gender Mixed
Religious character Does not apply
Local authority Wirral
Trust Not applicable
Census date 15 January 2026
PUPIL PROFILE

School community

Latest published pupil characteristics for 2025/26.

2025/26
Total pupils 915 915 full-time · 0 part-time
Female pupils 380 41.5% of pupils
Male pupils 535 58.5% of pupils

Free school meals

Pupils eligible for free school meals.

25.0%
0.2 pts above England
School 25.0%
Wirral 32.1%
North West 28.5%
England 24.8%

English as an additional language

Pupils whose first language is not English.

3.0%
17.3 pts below England
School 3.0%
Wirral 7.3%
North West 18.1%
England 20.3%

Young carers

Pupils recorded as young carers.

0.1%
0.9 pts below England
School 0.1%
Wirral 0.2%
North West 0.8%
England 1.0%

Ethnicity

Largest recorded pupil groups.

White British
92.6%
847
Any other Mixed background
1.4%
13
Any other White background
1.3%
12
Any other Asian background
1.2%
11
Any other ethnic group
1.0%
9
White and Asian
0.7%
6
Council, regional and national comparisons are pupil-weighted using published school census counts.
ADDITIONAL NEEDS

Special educational needs

Pupils receiving SEN support or with an education, health and care plan.

2025/26
Pupils with SEN 20.0% 183 of 915 pupils
0.8 pts below England England: 20.8%
School 20.0%
Wirral 25.9%
North West 22.1%
England 20.8%
SEN support 16.6% 152 pupils
England 14.8% 1.8 pts above
EHC plans 3.4% 31 pupils
England 6.0% 2.6 pts below
PRIMARY NEEDS

Most common identified needs

Pupils
Social, emotional & mental health 84
Specific learning difficulty 56
Autistic spectrum disorder 19
Speech, language & communication 9
Moderate learning difficulty 8
Physical disability 4

SEN comparisons are pupil-weighted using published 2025/26 Department for Education school-level data. Primary needs combine pupils receiving SEN support and pupils with EHC plans.

ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE

Key stage 4 outcomes

Published Department for Education results for 2024/25.

2024/25
ATTAINMENT 8

Average attainment score

44.8 5.6 pts above England
School 44.8
Wirral 37.4
North West 37.7
England 39.2
English & maths grade 5+ 42.7% England 36.0% 6.7 pts above England
English & maths grade 4+ 72.5% England 51.4% 21.1 pts above England
EBacc entry 14.0% England 30.6% 16.6 pts below England
EBacc average point score 3.67 England 3.41
Progress 8 Not available for 2024/25

Latest published: 0.28 · 2023/24

Comparisons are averages of published school-level results for open schools. They are not pupil-weighted official local authority attainment rates.

ATTENDANCE & ABSENCE

Attendance profile

Published Department for Education absence data for 2024/25. Lower absence rates are generally better.

2024/25
ABSENCE RATE

Overall absence

7.71%

Percentage of possible sessions missed.

1.50 pts higher than England
School 7.71%
Wirral 7.24%
North West 6.25%
England 6.22%
ABSENCE RATE

Persistent absence

20.78%

Pupils missing 10% or more of sessions.

4.97 pts higher than England
School 20.78%
Wirral 19.16%
North West 15.89%
England 15.82%
ABSENCE RATE

Severe absence

3.18%

Pupils missing 50% or more of sessions.

1.38 pts higher than England
School 3.18%
Wirral 2.02%
North West 1.75%
England 1.80%
Council, regional and national comparisons are averages of published school-level percentages rather than pupil-weighted official absence rates.
HOW DOES IT COMPARE?

School context

Comparison with open secondary schools.

CAPACITY

Capacity utilisation

101.7% 9.3 pts above England
Pensby High School
101.7%
Wirral
90.8%
North West
91.8%
England
92.3%
Benchmarks use open schools in the same phase. Capacity utilisation is calculated from published pupil and capacity figures.
Sources: Department for Education · Get Information about Schools · Ofsted monthly management information