New data published by the Department for Education has revealed the best performing secondary schools in Merseyside for GCSE results in 2026. The Blue Coat School had the best GCSE results of any state-funded secondary in the region this year, with pupils achieving an average Attainment 8 score of 7.86 in their Key Stage 4 results during the 2025/26 academic year. That is equivalent to an A or A* grade in the old system.
Top 10 schools by Attainment 8 scores
Wirral Grammar School for Girls was not far behind with an average of 7.09, also equivalent to an A or A*. West Kirby Grammar School was next with a score of 6.86 - a B or C - followed by Wirral Grammar School for Boys at 6.82.
- The Blue Coat School: A/A* (7.86)
- Wirral Grammar School for Girls: A/A* (7.09)
- West Kirby Grammar School: B/C (6.86)
- Wirral Grammar School for Boys: B/C (6.82)
- Upton Hall School FCJ: B/C (6.56)
- Calday Grange Grammar School: B/C (6.37)
- St Anselm's College: B/C (6.31)
- Archbishop Blanch CofE High School: B/C (5.75)
- King David High School: B/C (5.54)
- St Edward's College: B/C (5.33)
Proportion of pupils achieving five GCSEs
The Blue Coat School also topped the charts for the proportion of pupils who got at least five GCSEs, with all of its pupils achieving this last year. They are followed by Wirral Grammar School for Boys at 97.5% and Wirral Grammar School for Girls at 97.3%.
- The Blue Coat School: 100%
- Wirral Grammar School for Boys: 97.5%
- Wirral Grammar School for Girls: 97.3%
- West Kirby Grammar School: 96.6%
- Upton Hall School FCJ: 93.1%
- Calday Grange Grammar School: 93%
- St Anselm's College: 92.4%
- Archbishop Blanch CofE High School: 81.8%
- King David High School: 81.7%
- St Edward's College: 75.7%
Grade 5 or above in English and Maths
The Blue Coat School was also the top school when it came to the proportion of pupils getting at least a Grade 5 in both English and Maths, with almost all pupils (98.3%) achieving this. Wirral Grammar School for Girls had the next best record with 95.6% of pupils, followed by Wirral Grammar School for Boys with 94.3%, Calday Grange Grammar School with 93.0%, and West Kirby Grammar School with 90.9%.
- The Blue Coat School: 98.3%
- Wirral Grammar School for Girls: 95.6%
- Wirral Grammar School for Boys: 94.3%
- Calday Grange Grammar School: 93%
- West Kirby Grammar School: 90.9%
- Upton Hall School FCJ: 88.3%
- St Anselm's College: 88%
- King David High School: 68.7%
- Archbishop Blanch CofE High School: 68%
- Birkdale High School: 60%
Once again this year's league tables are missing one key performance indicator which can help families choose schools. Progress 8 scores tracked how well pupil performance improved between the ages of 11 and 16, but due to Covid lockdowns these figures could not be calculated for the 2024/25 and 2025/26 academic years.
