Cardinal Heenan Catholic High School

General Information

Address: Honeysgreen Lane, Liverpool, L12 9HZ
Phone: 01512351430
Website: Visit school website
Headteacher: Ms Karen Smyth
Age range: 11-18 years
Sixth form: Yes
Intake: Boys
Religious character: Roman Catholic
Number of pupils: 1338
School capacity: 1394
Pupils eligible for free school meals: 378
% eligible for free school meals: 32.8%
Nursery provision: No

Behaviour

Awaiting Data

About this Behaviour status

We've asked this school for real behaviour figures under Freedom of Information and haven't had a response yet.

Behaviour information for this school has not been added yet.

Attendance

Overall absence: 7.6%
Persistently absent pupils: 22.4%
Data year: 2024/25

About persistent absence

A pupil is counted as "persistently absent" if they miss 10% or more of their possible school sessions - roughly one day in every two weeks. Schools and Ofsted both pay close attention to this figure specifically, since it can highlight a pattern the overall absence rate alone might hide.

SEN

No dedicated Unit or Resourced Provision

SEN Unit and Resourced Provision

Most mainstream schools don't have a dedicated SEN Unit or Resourced Provision - it isn't a mark against a school that doesn't, just a different kind of setup than one that does.

SEN provision information for this school has not been added yet.

Pupils on SEN Support: 24.3%
Pupils with an EHC Plan: 6.4%
Data year: 2025/26

Most common needs - SEN Support

Social, emotional and mental health: 137 pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder: 114 pupils
Specific learning difficulty: 33 pupils
Speech, language and communications needs: 16 pupils
Physical disability: 8 pupils

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Autistic spectrum disorder: 36 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 29 pupils
Specific learning difficulty: 9 pupils
Speech, language and communications needs: 6 pupils
Physical disability: 3 pupils

These figures show the makeup of the school.

About these SEND figures

These figures give a sense of the makeup of the school - they aren't a judgement on the quality of support provided.

Parent score - no reviews yet –

Behaviour

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Openness

–

Teaching Quality

–

School Ethos

–

Ability to Deal with Problems

–

Headteacher Approval

–

Would recommend –

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Educational Attainment

Good 2021 report

About this Ofsted rating

Ofsted changed how it rates schools in the last couple of years, so ratings from different years aren't always on the same scale - that's why we show the year alongside every rating.

Educational attainment data for this school has not been added yet.

Attainment 8 score: 40.9
Data year: 2024/25

About the Attainment 8 score

Attainment 8 measures a pupil's average result across 8 GCSE-equivalent qualifications (English and maths count double). It shows how pupils performed, not how much progress they made getting there - a school with a higher score doesn't necessarily add more value, since pupils often arrive with different starting points. Progress 8 is the measure designed to account for that, but it currently can't be calculated for any school for the two most recent academic years, due to a nationwide gap in the data caused by COVID-19 disruption to Key Stage 2 testing.

Ranked #15 of 28 Attainment 8 schools of this type in the area

#13West Derby School42.0
#14Archbishop Beck Catholic College41.5
#15Cardinal Heenan Catholic High School40.9
#16St John Bosco Arts College39.4
#17The Studio School Liverpool39.4

Click to see the full ranking

Attainment 8 ranking

Illustrative MVP scores - not based on verified data yet.

#1The Blue Coat School79.5
#2King David High School54.3
#3The Belvedere Academy53.8
#4St Hilda's Church of England High School51.8
#5St Edward's College51.6
#6St Margaret's Church of England Academy49.6
#7Bellerive FCJ Catholic College47.3
#8Holly Lodge Girls' College47.2
#9St Julie's Catholic High School46.9
#10Liverpool Life Sciences UTC46.3
#11Calderstones School46.1
#12North Liverpool Academy45.6
#13West Derby School42.0
#14Archbishop Beck Catholic College41.5
#15Cardinal Heenan Catholic High School40.9
#16St John Bosco Arts College39.4
#17The Studio School Liverpool39.4
#18Broughton Hall Catholic High School39.2
#19St Francis Xavier's Catholic Academy36.7
#20Childwall Sports & Science Academy36.2
#21The Academy of St Francis of Assisi35.8
#22King's Leadership Academy, Liverpool34.5
#23Dixons Broadgreen Academy34.4
#24Dixons Fazakerley Academy33.4
#25Dixons Croxteth Academy31.6
#26Notre Dame Catholic Academy31.0
#27The Academy of St Nicholas29.4
#28Alsop High School28.2

Leaver Destinations

In education, employment, or training a year later: 85.0%
Went into further education: 75.0%
Data year: 2024/25

About leaver destinations

This shows where a school's Year 11 leavers were recorded the following year - in a "sustained" destination means in education, an apprenticeship, or employment for at least 6 months, not just enrolled briefly. It's a different picture from exam results alone, and can highlight schools that support pupils well beyond just their GCSE grades.

GCSE Subjects Offered

Maths (General)
English Language
English Literature
Science Double Award
Religious Studies
Art & Design
Geography
Business Studies
History
Biology
Chemistry (General)
Physics (General)
Spanish
Computer Science
Speech & Drama
Music Studies (General)
Italian
Polish
Chinese
Sports Studies
French Language

About this subject list

This isn't the school's own description of its curriculum - it's real DfE exam entry data, showing which GCSE subjects this school's pupils were actually entered for in 2024/25. A subject not appearing here may still be taught but had no pupils entered that year, so treat this as a helpful guide rather than a complete guarantee - it's worth confirming directly with the school for the year your child would actually study.

View full Ofsted inspection report

Ranked #6 of 25 Ofsted Rating schools of this type in the area

#4Broughton Hall Catholic High SchoolGood
#5Calderstones SchoolGood
#6Cardinal Heenan Catholic High SchoolGood
#7Childwall Sports & Science AcademyGood
#8King David High SchoolGood

Click to see the full ranking

Ofsted Rating ranking

Based on real Ofsted ratings (via official DfE data) for schools on the same four-word grading scale.

#1Archbishop Blanch CofE High SchoolOutstanding
#2Archbishop Beck Catholic CollegeGood
#3Bellerive FCJ Catholic CollegeGood
#4Broughton Hall Catholic High SchoolGood
#5Calderstones SchoolGood
#6Cardinal Heenan Catholic High SchoolGood
#7Childwall Sports & Science AcademyGood
#8King David High SchoolGood
#9King's Leadership Academy, LiverpoolGood
#10North Liverpool AcademyGood
#11St Hilda's Church of England High SchoolGood
#12St John Bosco Arts CollegeGood
#13St Julie's Catholic High SchoolGood
#14St Margaret's Church of England AcademyGood
#15The Academy of St NicholasGood
#16The Blue Coat SchoolGood
#17The Studio School LiverpoolGood
#18West Derby SchoolGood
#19Alsop High SchoolRequires improvement
#20Dixons Fazakerley AcademyRequires improvement
#21Gateacre SchoolRequires improvement
#22Notre Dame Catholic AcademyRequires improvement
#23St Francis Xavier's Catholic AcademyRequires improvement
#24The Academy of St Francis of AssisiRequires improvement
#25Dixons Croxteth AcademyInadequate

Financials

Financial summary information for this school has not been added yet.

Spending per pupil: £9,267 (2024-25)

About this spending figure

A higher or lower position here isn't a sign of a better or worse school - schools have different needs and circumstances - but it can help reassure you that a school has sufficient funding behind your child's education.

Ranked #6 of 29 Spending Per Pupil schools of this type in the area

#4North Liverpool Academy£9,505
#5Notre Dame Catholic Academy£9,475
#6Cardinal Heenan Catholic High School£9,267
#7St John Bosco Arts College£9,260
#8Dixons Fazakerley Academy£9,259

Click to see the full ranking

Spending Per Pupil ranking

Based on official DfE financial return data (Consistent Financial Reporting / Academies Accounts Return) - not a ranking of school quality.

#1University of Liverpool Mathematics School£14,038
#2Dixons Croxteth Academy£9,714
#3King's Leadership Academy, Liverpool£9,693
#4North Liverpool Academy£9,505
#5Notre Dame Catholic Academy£9,475
#6Cardinal Heenan Catholic High School£9,267
#7St John Bosco Arts College£9,260
#8Dixons Fazakerley Academy£9,259
#9West Derby School£9,179
#10Archbishop Beck Catholic College£9,145
#11The Academy of St Nicholas£8,920
#12Holly Lodge Girls' College£8,666
#13The Studio School Liverpool£8,435
#14Liverpool Life Sciences UTC£8,366
#15St Francis Xavier's Catholic Academy£8,335
#16Broughton Hall Catholic High School£8,268
#17Calderstones School£8,166
#18St Hilda's Church of England High School£8,158
#19Dixons Broadgreen Academy£8,141
#20St Julie's Catholic High School£7,983
#21The Academy of St Francis of Assisi£7,886
#22Bellerive FCJ Catholic College£7,854
#23Childwall Sports & Science Academy£7,851
#24St Margaret's Church of England Academy£7,390
#25St Edward's College£7,239
#26The Belvedere Academy£7,102
#27Gateacre School£6,892
#28The Blue Coat School£6,885
#29LIPA Sixth Form College£6,694

View on the Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool (GOV.UK)

General Information

Behaviour

Attendance

SEN

Most common needs - SEN Support

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Educational Attainment

Attainment 8 ranking

Leaver Destinations ?

GCSE Subjects Offered ?

Ofsted Rating ranking

Financials

Spending Per Pupil ranking

Leaver Destinations

GCSE Subjects Offered