England · Grammar school
West Kirby Grammar School
West Kirby · Girls only · ages 11 to 18
Official record: Get Information About Schools (URN 137243)
Overview
- Address
- Graham Road, West Kirby, Wirral, Merseyside, CH48 5DP
- Status
- Open
- Admits
- Girls only
- Age range
- 11 to 18
- Number of pupils
- 1,181
- Capacity
- 1,283
- Eligible for free school meals
- 8.4%
- Sixth form
- Yes
- School type
- Academy converter
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- Not yet available
- Local authority
- Wirral
Source: Get Information About Schools, last checked 31 October 2026 · Source: Desk research (cited public sources) (get-information-schools.service.gov.uk), last checked 31 October 2026
Admissions and the 11+
- Admissions policy
- Selective (grammar school)
- Selection in this area
- Fully selective area30% of Year 7 places offered in Wirral for September 2026 were at selective schools (DfE applications and offers). We class an area as fully selective at 25% or more. Confirm with the local authority's admissions guide.
- Entrance test
- Not yet available
- Qualifying score
- Not yet available
- Catchment area
- No catchment area. Among girls who meet the standard, after children in care, medical need, up to 18 places for girls on free school meals, sisters and children of staff, 60% of the remaining places go by distance from home and 40% by test score (highest first).
- Children from outside the catchment
- Yes: There is no catchment. 40% of the remaining places go purely on test score, wherever a girl lives. In 2025 all on-time applicants were offered places.
Past offers: lowest score and furthest distance
| Intake | Applicant group | Lowest score offered | Last distance offered | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sept 2025 | AllWirral Council says all on-time applicants were offered places in 2025. | – | – | wirral.gov.uk |
From published allocation data found in desk research (checked 1 November 2026); not yet confirmed with the school. Scores from different tests or years are not comparable, and a past cut-off does not guarantee a future place.
Applications and offers for Year 7
For September 2026 entry, 366 applicants named this school (163 as their first choice) for 172 places. 34 of 172 offers went to children living outside Wirral.
| Intake | Places offered | Applicants | First choice | First choices per place | Offers to children outside Wirral |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sept 2026 | 172 | 366 | 163 | 0.9 | 34 |
| Sept 2025 | 171 | 353 | 146 | 0.9 | 46 |
| Sept 2024 | 157 | 335 | 135 | 0.9 | 38 |
| Sept 2023 | 158 | 305 | 158 | 1.0 | 33 |
| Sept 2022 | 178 | 351 | 199 | 1.1 | 33 |
Show all 13 years
| Intake | Places offered | Applicants | First choice | First choices per place | Offers to children outside Wirral |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sept 2021 | 159 | 317 | 167 | 1.1 | 39 |
| Sept 2020 | 161 | 292 | 151 | 0.9 | 43 |
| Sept 2019 | 161 | 288 | 146 | 0.9 | 39 |
| Sept 2018 | 167 | 298 | 170 | 1.0 | 30 |
| Sept 2017 | 163 | 283 | 164 | 1.0 | 39 |
| Sept 2016 | 168 | 273 | 168 | 1.0 | 27 |
| Sept 2015 | 146 | 265 | 134 | 0.9 | 33 |
| Sept 2014 | 143 | 234 | 136 | 1.0 | 17 |
"Applicants" counts every family that listed the school as any preference, so it is higher than the number competing for each place. "Outside Wirral" means a home in another local authority; it is not the school's catchment area. For grammar schools, offers also depend on the entrance test result.
Source: Secondary and primary school applications and offers (Department for Education), last checked 31 October 2026
Source: Get Information About Schools, last checked 31 October 2026 · Source: Admissions research (cited public sources) (wirral.gov.uk), last checked 1 November 2026
Key dates for September 2027 entry
- Test registration (Wirral grammar schools)
- 1 May 2026 to 1 June 2026
- Test date
- 15 September 2026Consortium (Calday Grange, West Kirby, Wirral Boys and Girls) sit Wirral Admissions Test run by Quest on 15 Sep; closes noon 1 June (some sources say 31 May). Results mid-October (one source ~21 Oct, unconfirmed). St Anselm's own exam 18 Sep (registration 10 or 31 Jul); Upton Hall FCJ own exam, deadline 10 Jul. No Wirral Council page found.
- Results sent to families
- Not yet available
- Apply to your council (September 2027 entry)
- By 31 October 2026This date has passed: late applications go to your council and are usually considered after on-time ones.
- National offer day
- 1 March 2027Offers are sent on 1 March, or the next working day.
- Open days
- Not yet available
- School opened (current registration)
- 1 August 2011
Unverified: test dates come from desk research (medium confidence). Confirm them with the council or test organiser. Sources: leadingtuition.co.uk/11-plus/wirral-grammar-schools, leadingtuition.co.uk/blog/st-anselms-college-wirral-11-plus-guide-2026.
Statutory dates: School Admissions Code (Department for Education).
Guide to the Wirral grammar schools and its schools · How applying works
Source: Test dates research (cited public sources) (leadingtuition.co.uk), last checked 1 November 2026 · Source: Get Information About Schools, last checked 31 October 2026
Ofsted inspection
Inspected on 2 November 2022: overall Good. Read the report ↗
- Quality of education
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Sixth form provision
- Good
Inspection history (2)
Source: Ofsted inspection reports, last checked 31 October 2026
Exam results
GCSE results 2025/26 (provisional)
| Measure | This school | Selective schools in England | All state schools in England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Attainment 8Average grade across 8 GCSE-level subjects, doubled for English and maths (maximum 90). | 68.6 | 72.1 | 46.2 |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 90.9% | 93.7% | 46.3% |
| Grade 7 or above in English and maths | 47.7% | 57.7% | 14.2% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 99.4% | 98.3% | 64.8% |
| Progress 8Not published for most schools in recent years, because primary school tests were cancelled in 2020 and 2021. | – | – | – |
Attainment 8 over time: 68.3 (2023/24) → 71.3 (2024/25) → 68.6 (2025/26).
176 pupils took GCSEs. Results reflect a selective intake: compare grammar schools with each other rather than with all schools.
Source: Key stage 4 performance (GCSE results) (Department for Education), last checked 31 October 2026
How to get there
- Postcode
- CH48 5DP
- Map location
- 53.37802, -3.18509
- Open in OpenStreetMap
- Directions and surroundings ↗
- Telephone
- 01516323449
Source: Get Information About Schools, last checked 31 October 2026
Official links and documents
- School website
- wkgs.org
- Official register record
- Get Information About Schools (URN 137243) ↗
- Admissions policy document
- Not yet available
- Further reading
- Wikipedia ↗
Source: Get Information About Schools, last checked 31 October 2026