Rainford High School
Secondary · Academy converter · Ages 11–18 · St Helens, St. Helens
Last distance offered · Year 7 2026
0.862 miles
Published by St Helens Borough Council · offers on 2 March 2026
2021–2025 trend 🔒
Nearby schools' earlier years 🔒
Rainford High School is a secondary school in St Helens, St. Helens for ages 11–18 (academy converter). St. Helens and the school have published a last distance offered for this school for Year 7 2021 to 2026 entry.
Rainford High School catchment area: last distance offered
Parents often call this the catchment area: it's how far from the school the last child offered a place lived. It changes every year.
| Entry | Last distance offered |
|---|---|
| Year 7 2026 | 0.862 mi |
| Year 7 2025 | 🔒 With a pass |
| Year 7 2023 | 🔒 With a pass |
| Year 7 2021 | 🔒 With a pass |
What the pass includes · How to read it: one past year, not a catchment
What the figures show
- In 2026 the last child offered a Year 7 place lived 0.862 miles away, the 2nd shortest of 5 St. Helens secondary schools with a published last distance.
- For Year 7 in 2026 there were 312 first-choice applications for 258 offers; 256 offers went to first-choice families, and 56 first-choice families were not offered a place.
- In 2024/25, 56% of pupils got grade 5 or above in GCSE English and maths (England 45%), and the Attainment 8 score was 50.6 (England 46).
- The 2024/25 figure of 56% was the highest of 7 schools: this one and the 6 of the 8 nearest secondary schools in St. Helens that have results.
Worked out by Catchmently from the published figures on this page and those for other St. Helens schools. Distances are as published; how they were measured differs between admission authorities.
Key facts
- Address
- Higher Lane, Rainford, St Helens, WA11 8NY
- Type
- Academy converter
- Phase
- Secondary
- Ages
- 11–18
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Council
- St. Helens
- Pupils on roll
- 1,646 January 2026 school census
- Free school meals
- 15.7% of pupils eligible
- Pupils per teacher
- 17.1
Official record: Get Information about Schools · as at 15 September 2026
Ofsted
No Ofsted grade Inspected 13 January 2026
Strengths
- “Pupils enjoy coming to this welcoming community school.”
- “Pupils feel safe in school and appreciate the support that they receive from staff.”
- “They know exactly who to turn to if they need help.”
To improve
- “However, this is not consistent across some subjects and key stages.”
- “Leaders are working with staff to ensure that there is greater consistency in the delivery of the reading curriculum so that pupils routinely read for pleasure.”
- “Leaders are less clear about how well staff connect information about pupils’ attendance, reading ability and pupils’ engagement in lessons to ensure that barriers are swiftly removed.”
Safeguarding: met
Quoted from the Ofsted report published 18 March 2026 (read the report). Crown copyright, Open Government Licence v3.0.
Exam results
| Measure | School | England |
|---|---|---|
| GCSE English and maths, grade 5 or above (2024/25) | 56% | 45% |
| Attainment 8 score (2024/25) | 50.6 | 46 |
| A level average grade (2024/25) | C | B- |
Department for Education school performance data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Applications and offers
- 2026 Year 7 entry: 312 first-preference applications, 258 offers in total, 256 offers to first-preference applicants.
Department for Education, school-level applications and offers, figures on national offer day. Earlier years are in the pass.
Nearby secondary schools
Straight-line distance, in St. Helens.
- Cowley International College 3.2 mi No Ofsted grade Last distance published
- De La Salle School 3.7 mi No Ofsted grade Last distance published
- St Augustine of Canterbury Catholic Academy 4.6 mi Not judged Last distance published
- Outwood Academy Haydock 5.2 mi Not judged Last distance published
- St. Cuthbert's Catholic Academy 5.6 mi No Ofsted grade Last distance published
- The Sutton Academy 6.0 mi No Ofsted grade Last distance published
- Rainhill High School 6.8 mi Good Last distance published
- Hope Academy 7.2 mi Not judged Last distance published