UK Schools
Birkdale High School
Birkdale High School is a boys' secondary academy in Southport, Sefton Metropolitan Borough Council, teaching 936 pupils aged 11 to 16. Ofsted graded achievement as Expected standard at its most recent inspection in April 2026. In 2024–2025, GCSE Attainment 8 was 51.9 (England 46.1). The 2025–2026 school year runs from 1 September 2025 to 1 June 2026.
Ofsted inspection
The latest published Ofsted judgement for Birkdale High School.
Scale: Exceptional Strong standard Expected standard Needs attention Urgent improvement
Term dates & holidays 2025–2026
Autumn, spring and summer terms, half-terms, INSET days and bank holidays for Birkdale High School.
- 1 Autumn Term Starts
- 24 End of Half Term
- 27–31 Autumn Half Term Holiday
- 3 Term Resumes
- 28 Professional Development Day (pupils not in school)
- 19 End of Autumn Term
- 22–31 Christmas Holidays
- 1–2 Christmas Holidays
- 5 Spring Term Starts
- 13 End of Half Term
- 16–20 Spring Half Term Holiday
- 23 Term Resumes
- 27 End of Spring Term
- 30–31 Easter Holidays
- 1–10 Easter Holidays
- 13 Summer Term Starts
- 4 Early May Bank Holiday
- 22 End of Half Term
- 25–29 Summer Half Term Holiday
- 1 Term Resumes
- 13–15 Professional Development Days (pupils not in school)
- 16–20 Exceptional School Closure (The Open Golf)
Key dates (2025–2026)
- Autumn Term Starts September 1, 2025 Term
- End of Half Term October 24, 2025 Holiday
- Autumn Half Term Holiday October 27 - October 31, 2025 Holiday
- Term Resumes November 3, 2025 Term
- Professional Development Day (pupils not in school) November 28, 2025 Event
- End of Autumn Term December 19, 2025 Term
- Christmas Holidays December 22, 2025 - January 2, 2026 Holiday
- Spring Term Starts January 5, 2026 Term
- End of Half Term February 13, 2026 Holiday
- Spring Half Term Holiday February 16 - February 20, 2026 Holiday
- Term Resumes February 23, 2026 Term
- End of Spring Term March 27, 2026 Term
- Easter Holidays March 30 - April 10, 2026 Holiday
- Summer Term Starts April 13, 2026 Term
- Early May Bank Holiday May 4, 2026 Holiday
- End of Half Term May 22, 2026 Holiday
- Summer Half Term Holiday May 25 - May 29, 2026 Holiday
- Term Resumes June 1, 2026 Term
- Professional Development Days (pupils not in school) July 13 - July 15, 2026 Event
- Exceptional School Closure (The Open Golf) July 16 - July 20, 2026 Event
Exam results & performance
The measures that carry the most signal. Open a section to compare Birkdale High School with Sefton Metropolitan Borough Council and England.
Key stage 4 (GCSE) 51.9 Attainment 8 score
Year 11 results across eight qualifications, including English and maths.
This school Sefton Metropolitan Borough Council England
Attendance 21.7% Persistently absent pupils
Absence across the whole school year.
This school Sefton Metropolitan Borough Council England
What pupils do after GCSEs 91% In education, apprenticeship or work
Still in education, an apprenticeship or work a year after key stage 4.
This school Sefton Metropolitan Borough Council England
About this data source & caveats
Progress 8 is not published for 2024–2025. This year group missed their key stage 2 tests in 2020, so there is no baseline to measure progress from.
Attendance comparisons are pupil-weighted averages we calculate from every school’s published absence figure — the DfE absence file has no local authority or England rows of its own.
We show the headline measures only. Threshold and curriculum-policy figures — grade 4+ in English and maths, EBacc entry and points, the per-subject key stage 2 breakdown, academic and applied splits at 16 to 18 — reflect admissions and curriculum choices more than school quality, so they are left to GOV.UK. Progress measures matter most because they compare pupils with others who started at the same level; attainment on its own largely tracks a school’s intake.
Figures are the Department for Education’s official published results for Birkdale High School. Results are suppressed where too few pupils were entered. England figures are the average for state-funded schools. “Top x%” is this school’s position among all schools in England with a published figure for that measure — the DfE does not publish league table rankings.
Source: Compare school and college performance, Department for Education. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Location & catchment area
Indicative only. This is a nearest-school (Voronoi) estimate — the area closer to Birkdale High School than to any other secondary school. Real admissions depend on the school’s own policy (straight-line distance, siblings, faith, feeder schools and available places) and change each year. Always confirm with the school and local authority admissions team.