Rainford High School

How places are decided at Rainford High School

Rainford High School: key facts

What did School Atlas judge Rainford High School's summary of 6 ofsted judgements to be?

School Atlas judged Rainford High School's summary of 6 ofsted judgements as Expected standard at its inspection in January 2026, on School Atlas's own scale.

How many pupils attend Rainford High School?

Rainford High School has 1,646 pupils on roll.

What ages does Rainford High School take?

Rainford High School admits pupils aged 11 to 18.

Where is Rainford High School located?

Rainford High School is located in St Helens, WA11 8NY, St. Helens.

How do I apply to Rainford High School?

Rainford High School is a state school. In England you apply through the council where you live, using its common application form, even if the school is in another council area. The national closing date for secondary places is 31 October.

How close do you need to live to get into Rainford High School?

On offer day for 2026-27 (Year 7), the furthest place offered at Rainford High School was 0.86 miles from the school. That is the distance the last place reached in one year, not a boundary and not a guarantee — it moves with the number of applicants.

How are Year 7 places decided at Rainford High School?

When Rainford High School has more applications than places for 2026-27, they are offered in a published order of priority: 1. Looked after and previously looked after children — Looked after children and children who were previously looked after but then became subject to adoption, a child arrangements order, or special guardianship order.' This includes children who appear to have been in state care outside of England and ceased to be in state care as a result of being adopted;; 2. Children from associated primary schools — Children from the following associated primary schools; Bleak Hill Primary, Chapel End Primary, Eccleston Mere Primary, Garswood Primary, Rainford Brook Lodge Primary, Rainford CE Primary, Rectory CE Primary, St Aidan's CE primary; 3. Siblings — Children who have a brother or sister at the school at the time of likely admission. The brother or sister must be on the school roll in Years 7 — 11. This includes full, half or stepbrothers and sisters, adopted and foster brothers and sisters or a child of the parent/carer's partner, and in every case, who is living at the same address and is part of the same family unit;, and 2 further criteria. 258 places were offered at this entry point for 2026-27. Tie-break: In the event of any over-subscription in the number of applications made under any of the categories above the Trust Board will offer places first to children whose family home is nearest the school. The measurement shall be done by the Local Authority in a straight line using a Geographical Information System (GIS) based on Local Land and Property Gazetteer (LLPG) data and the National Grid co-ordinates for the family home and the school. Where the tie break does not distinguish between applicants e.g children living in the same block of flats random allocation will be used. This will be done by drawing lots and supervised by someone independent of the school.

What is the largest ethnic background at Rainford High School?

According to the DfE School Census 2025-26, 94.3% of pupils at Rainford High School are recorded as White British. The full ethnic breakdown across all groups is available on the Pupils tab.

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