St John Plessington Catholic College

About St John Plessington Catholic College

St John Plessington Catholic College’s headline Progress 8 score of -0.35 sits notably below the Wirral local authority average of -0.12 for secondary schools, placing it 14th out of 22 similar schools in the borough. This means that, on average, pupils here achieve nearly a third of a grade less per subject than students across the rest of Wirral, and the school ranks in the bottom 30% nationally on this measure. The picture is particularly stark in maths, where the Progress 8 score drops to -0.58, and in the EBacc subjects, where it falls to -0.57. However, the open element of the Progress 8 score — which covers non-EBacc qualifications — is much closer to the national average at -0.02, suggesting that pupils perform better in vocational or creative subjects than in the core academic ones. The school’s Attainment 8 score of 38.7 and its basics measure — just 48% of pupils achieving a grade 5 or above in English and maths — also trail the national average, though the school does serve a significantly disadvantaged cohort, with 39% of pupils eligible for free school meals.

In its most recent Ofsted inspection in November 2022, the school was rated Good overall, but the report highlighted a specific weakness: behaviour and attitudes were graded as Requires Improvement. This is a notable shift from the school’s previous Outstanding rating in 2013, and it suggests that while the quality of education, leadership, and sixth-form provision are all solidly Good, the day-to-day conduct of pupils is an area the school is actively working on. At A-level, the picture is more encouraging: the school’s value-added score of 0.1 is in line with the national average, and its progress banding is rated Average. The average grade per entry is a C-, and the best three A-levels average out at a C grade, which is respectable for a school with a large and diverse intake. The sixth form is a genuine strength, with 98 students in the cohort and a points-per-entry score of 28.02.

The school is heavily oversubscribed: for 268 places in Year 7, it received 540 applications, a ratio of just over two applicants per place, and 256 of those were first-preference offers. This suggests strong local demand, likely driven by its Catholic character and extensive facilities, which include a swimming pool, theatre, gymnasium, and sixth-form centre. The school offers a wide range of sports and clubs, from cricket and martial arts to Model UN and Young Enterprise, and its SEND provisions are comprehensive, covering everything from dyslexia to autistic spectrum disorder and physical disability. For families who value a large, inclusive, faith-based secondary with a strong sixth form and broad extracurricular offer, St John Plessington is a popular choice — but those focused on academic outcomes should weigh the below-average Progress 8 scores against the school’s high level of disadvantage and the behaviour concerns flagged by Ofsted.

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