Wade Deacon High School

Wade Deacon High School at a glance

Located in Widnes, Halton, Wade Deacon High School is a secondary school, classified by the DfE as a converter academy. The school educates roughly 1,618 pupils aged 11 to 16. Ofsted judged the school to be 'Outstanding' at its most recent inspection. In the most recent GCSE results, pupils achieved an average Attainment 8 score of 54.0, above the national average of 46. That marks an improvement of 5.8 points in its Attainment 8 score on the previous year. On our composite score, which combines the DfE attainment measures above, this places it among the top 17% of secondary schools in England.

62% of pupils achieved a grade 5 or above in both English and maths, well above the national average of about 45%. 77% achieved a standard pass (grade 4+) in English and maths. Competition for places is real here - 87% of first-choice applicants were offered a Year 7 place for September 2026 (393 first choices for 343 places). The council's own allocation figures show the last child offered a place for 2026 lived 1.33 miles away in a straight line — that distance is not a fixed catchment and moves each year. After Year 11, 93% of its leavers went on to education, an apprenticeship or work that they stayed in for at least two terms. Overall pupil absence was 6.9%. There are about 17.5 pupils per teacher. When comparing schools, it is still worth visiting in person to see whether the atmosphere and approach suit your child. This overview is generated automatically from the latest published DfE performance tables and Ofsted data; figures are rounded, and you can check the originals via the official links above.