Maharishi Free School

West Lancashire · L40 6JJ

General information All-through School · 4-16 years Who goes here 229 pupils, 19.7% FSM

Parent score Rate this school No reviews yet - be the first SEN 18.3% on SEN support Behaviour 10.7% absence rate Staff 9.2% turnover Financials £7,754 per pupil Environment Buildings and facilities

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Maharishi Free School

General Information

Address: Cobbs Brow Lane, Lathom, Ormskirk, L40 6JJ – View on map
Phone: 01695729912
Website: Visit school website
Headteacher: Mrs Lisa Edwards
Age range: 4-16 years
Demand for places (Reception, September 2026): 20 families put it first for 18 places – 11 for every 10 places. 85% of them were offered a place. 5 of the 18 places went to families living outside the council area. Children putting it first, for every 10 places: 2023 9 · 2024 10 · 2025 11 · 2026 11
Sixth form: No
Intake: Mixed
Religious character: None
Nursery provision: No

Who goes here

229 pupils out of 240 places At or near capacity

Pupils eligible for free school meals: 45
% eligible for free school meals: 19.7%
Pupil mix: 2 in 10 (similar to the West Lancashire average)
English as an additional language: 2% (England 22%)

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Teacher turnover: 9.2% a year (West Lancashire 15.1%, typical in England 15.5%) Low turnover
Where they went: about 0% moved to another school, 100% left state schools altogether (retirement, other careers, independent schools, abroad)
Data years: 2022/23 to 2024/25 (average of 3 years, DfE school workforce census)

Teachers who moved school or left state schools in the year after each November, as a share of all the school's teachers. Some turnover is healthy – retirements, promotions, moving house. "Low turnover" means it's among the quarter of similar schools in England where teachers are most likely to stay.

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.

Across Lancashire: suspensions by reason

Suspensions for sexual misconduct: 88 (1.2 per 1,000 pupils; England 1.7)
Permanent exclusions for sexual misconduct: 8
Suspensions for bullying: 163 (2.2 per 1,000 pupils; England 1.9)
Suspensions for abuse against sexual orientation or gender identity: 76 (1.0 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.8)
Data year: 2024/25 (DfE suspensions and exclusions statistics)

These are figures for all state secondary schools in Lancashire (the council area this school is in), not this school's own – the government doesn't publish them school by school. A suspension can have up to three reasons. Most sexual harassment between pupils never leads to a suspension, so these figures show only part of the picture.

Attendance

Overall absence: 10.7%
Persistently absent pupils: 33.6%
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.

Pupils on SEN Support: 18.3%
Pupils with an EHC Plan: 2.6%
Data year: 2025/26

Most common needs - SEN Support

SEN support but no specialist assessment of type of need: 24 pupils
Autistic spectrum disorder: 8 pupils
Social, emotional and mental health: 5 pupils
Moderate learning difficulty: 3 pupils
Specific learning difficulty: 2 pupils

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Autistic spectrum disorder: 6 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 –

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Behaviour

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Openness

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Teaching Quality

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School Ethos

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Ability to Deal with Problems

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Headteacher Approval

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SafeguardingSafeguarding (parent rating)How parents rate the school on keeping children safe - how safe their child feels, and how well concerns are listened to and acted on. It's parents' experience, not an inspection result; Ofsted checks safeguarding separately.

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Wraparound CareWraparound Care (parent rating)How parents rate the school's breakfast and after-school clubs - availability, cost and quality. Only asked for infant, junior and primary schools, where it matters most for working parents.

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Would recommend –

Educational Attainment

Good 2023 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.

SecondaryGCSE results, Year 11

Attainment 8 score: 54.1
Compared with the area: 8.5 points above the West Lancashire average (45.6)
Compared with schools with similar pupils: Well above (+5.9 points against an expected 48.2)
Grade 4+ in English and maths: 80% (West Lancashire 67%, England 65%) Improving
Data year: 2024/25

View the School Context Comparator – how this school's results compare with schools teaching similar pupils.

GCSE results over time

This schoolWest Lancashire averageEngland↗ Improving Up 6.7 points since 2022/23. In 2024/25 this school was 8.5 points above the West Lancashire average (45.6).

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.

2nd of 8 all-through schools in West Lancashire for Attainment 8

#1St Bede's Catholic High School55.0
#2Maharishi Free School54.1
#3Burscough Priory Academy48.8
#4Up Holland High School48.8

Click to see the full ranking

Attainment 8 ranking

Illustrative MVP scores - not based on verified data yet.

Rank School Score

#1St Bede's Catholic High School55.0
#2Maharishi Free School54.1
#3Burscough Priory Academy48.8
#4Up Holland High School48.8
#5Tarleton Academy46.3
#6Ormskirk School42.4
#7Lathom High School : A Technology College41.5
#8Our Lady Queen of Peace Catholic High School38.1

Leaver Destinations

In education, employment, or training a year later: 94.0%
Went into further education: 88.0%
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

English Language
English Literature
Maths (General)
Science Double Award
Art & Design
Geography
History
Spanish
Polish

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.

PrimaryYear 6 SATs results

Year 6 SATs results

Met the expected standard in reading, writing & maths: 50% (England 62%)
Reached the higher standard: 0% (England 8%)
Compared with the area: 15 percentage points below the West Lancashire average (65%)
Compared with schools with similar pupils: Well below (3-year average 50% against an expected 66%)
3-year average (expected standard): 50%
Expected standard by subject: Reading 60% · Writing 60% · Maths 65% · Grammar, punctuation & spelling 60%
Average test scores: reading 103, maths 102
Based on: 20 Year 6 pupils, 2024/25

View the School Context Comparator – how this school's SATs results compare with schools teaching similar pupils.

SATs results over time

This schoolWest Lancashire averageEngland↗ Improving Up 10 percentage points since 2022/23. In 2024/25 this school was 15 percentage points below the West Lancashire average (65%).

Year 6 SATs: joint 39th of 52 junior and primary schools in the area

#37St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Scarisbrick53%
#38Hillside Community Primary School52%
=39Maharishi Free School50%
=39Ormskirk Lathom Park Church of England Primary School50%
=39Richard Durning's Endowed Primary School50%

Click to see the full ranking

Year 6 SATs ranking

Junior and primary schools in this area, ranked by the % of Year 6 pupils meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (official DfE results, 2024/25). Schools with the same result share a place (shown as =). In small schools one or two children can move a school several places, so treat close positions as roughly equal.

Rank School Score

#1Our Lady and All Saints Roman Catholic Primary School, Parbold100%
=2Crawford Village Primary School92%
=2Crow Orchard Primary School92%
=2Newburgh Church of England Primary School92%
#5Burscough Bridge Methodist School90%
#6Aughton Christ Church Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School87%
#7St Teresa's Catholic Primary School85%
#8Burscough Village Primary School83%
#9Tarleton Holy Trinity CofE Primary School81%
=10Halsall St Cuthbert's Church of England Primary School79%
=10Rufford CofE School79%
=12Ormskirk St Anne's Catholic Primary School78%
=12St James' Catholic Primary School, Skelmersdale78%
=14Brookfield Park Primary School76%
=14St Thomas the Martyr Voluntary Aided Church of England Primary School76%
=16Cobbs Brow School74%
=16Holland Moor Primary School74%
#18Delph Side Community Primary School73%
#19St John's Catholic Primary School, Skelmersdale72%
=20Aughton St Michael's Church of England Primary School71%
=20Parbold Douglas Church of England Academy71%
=22Tarleton Community Primary School69%
=22Woodland Community Primary School69%
=24Ormskirk Church of England Primary School67%
=24Tarleton Mere Brow Church of England Primary School67%
=26Aughton Town Green Primary School65%
=26Bishop Martin Church of England Primary School65%
=26St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Wrightington65%
=29Appley Bridge All Saints Church of England Primary Academy63%
=29Burscough Lordsgate Township Church of England Primary School63%
#31Scarisbrick St Mark's Church of England Primary School60%
#32Moorside Community Primary Academy School59%
#33St John's Catholic Primary School, Burscough58%
=34Banks St Stephen's CofE School55%
=34Trinity Church of England/Methodist School55%
#36St Richard's Catholic Primary School, Skelmersdale54%
#37St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Scarisbrick53%
#38Hillside Community Primary School52%
=39Maharishi Free School50%
=39Ormskirk Lathom Park Church of England Primary School50%
=39Richard Durning's Endowed Primary School50%
=39Westhead Lathom St James' Church of England Primary School50%
#43Burscough Bridge St John's Church of England Primary School45%
=44Banks Methodist School43%
=44Bickerstaffe CofE Primary School and Nursery43%
=46Ormskirk Asmall Primary School38%
=46St Edmund's Catholic Primary School38%
#48Hesketh-With-Becconsall All Saints CofE School35%
#49Little Digmoor Primary School32%
#50Holmeswood Methodist School29%
#51Ormskirk West End School18%
#52St Francis of Assisi Catholic Primary School7%

View full Ofsted inspection report

3rd of 5 all-through schools in West Lancashire for Ofsted rating

#1Burscough Priory AcademyGood
#2Lathom High School : A Technology CollegeGood
#3Maharishi Free SchoolGood
#4Tarleton AcademyGood
#5Up Holland 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.

Rank School Score

#1Burscough Priory AcademyGood
#2Lathom High School : A Technology CollegeGood
#3Maharishi Free SchoolGood
#4Tarleton AcademyGood
#5Up Holland High SchoolGood

Financials

Spending per pupil: £7,754 (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.

3rd of 8 all-through schools in West Lancashire for spending per pupil

#1Our Lady Queen of Peace Catholic High School£8,672
#2Lathom High School : A Technology College£8,206
#3Maharishi Free School£7,754
#4St Bede's Catholic High School£7,573
#5Up Holland High School£7,281

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.

Rank School Score

#1Our Lady Queen of Peace Catholic High School£8,672
#2Lathom High School : A Technology College£8,206
#3Maharishi Free School£7,754
#4St Bede's Catholic High School£7,573
#5Up Holland High School£7,281
#6Tarleton Academy£7,046
#7Ormskirk School£7,022
#8Burscough Priory Academy£6,378

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

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General Information

Who goes here

Staff

Teachers leaving each year

Behaviour

Across Lancashire: suspensions by reason

Attendance

SEN

Most common needs - SEN Support

Most common needs - EHC Plan

Educational Attainment

Attainment 8 ranking

Leaver Destinations ?

GCSE Subjects Offered ?

Year 6 SATs ranking

Ofsted Rating ranking

Financials

Spending Per Pupil ranking

Leaver Destinations

GCSE Subjects Offered