SCHOOL PROFILE

St John Plessington Catholic College

Secondary Academy converter URN 139031
Open
Pupils 8,834,192 Latest school census
Capacity 1,800 Published school capacity
Capacity used 86.4% Pupils as a share of capacity
Age range 11 – 18 Statutory age range
OFSTED

Latest graded inspection

22 November 2022
Latest published outcome Good
OEIF
Quality of education Good
Behaviour & attitudes Requires improvement
Personal development Good
Leadership & management Good
SCHOOL DETAILS

About this school

School type Academy converter
Phase Secondary
Gender Mixed
Religious character Roman Catholic
Local authority Wirral
Trust HOLY FAMILY CATHOLIC MULTI ACADEMY TRUST
Census date 15 January 2026
PUPIL PROFILE

School community

Latest published pupil characteristics for 2025/26.

2025/26
Total pupils 1,556 1,556 full-time · 0 part-time
Female pupils 682 43.8% of pupils
Male pupils 874 56.2% of pupils

Free school meals

Pupils eligible for free school meals.

39.7%
14.9 pts above England
School 39.7%
Wirral 32.1%
North West 28.5%
England 24.8%

English as an additional language

Pupils whose first language is not English.

13.2%
7.1 pts below England
School 13.2%
Wirral 7.3%
North West 18.1%
England 20.3%

Young carers

Pupils recorded as young carers.

0.5%
0.5 pts below England
School 0.5%
Wirral 0.2%
North West 0.8%
England 1.0%

Ethnicity

Largest recorded pupil groups.

White British
79.6%
1,239
Indian
5.2%
81
Any other White background
3.2%
50
African
2.2%
35
Any other ethnic group
2.1%
33
Any other Asian background
1.7%
27
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 14.5% 226 of 1,556 pupils
6.3 pts below England England: 20.8%
School 14.5%
Wirral 25.9%
North West 22.1%
England 20.8%
SEN support 9.8% 153 pupils
England 14.8% 5.0 pts below
EHC plans 4.7% 73 pupils
England 6.0% 1.3 pts below
PRIMARY NEEDS

Most common identified needs

Pupils
Social, emotional & mental health 97
Speech, language & communication 47
Specific learning difficulty 30
Autistic spectrum disorder 22
No specialist assessment yet 22
Physical disability 5

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

37.2 2.0 pts below England
School 37.2
Wirral 37.4
North West 37.7
England 39.2
English & maths grade 5+ 28.5% England 36.0% 7.5 pts below England
English & maths grade 4+ 49.8% England 51.4% 1.6 pts below England
EBacc entry 26.6% England 30.6% 4.0 pts below England
EBacc average point score 3.11 England 3.41
Progress 8 Not available for 2024/25

Latest published: -0.35 · 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

10.86%

Percentage of possible sessions missed.

4.64 pts higher than England
School 10.86%
Wirral 7.24%
North West 6.25%
England 6.22%
ABSENCE RATE

Persistent absence

30.18%

Pupils missing 10% or more of sessions.

14.37 pts higher than England
School 30.18%
Wirral 19.16%
North West 15.89%
England 15.82%
ABSENCE RATE

Severe absence

5.38%

Pupils missing 50% or more of sessions.

3.58 pts higher than England
School 5.38%
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

86.4% 5.9 pts below England
St John Plessington Catholic College
86.4%
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