Co-op Academy Bebington Review 2026: A comprehensive with real-world learning, including an on-site farm

For families who value practical, confidence-building opportunities alongside a full secondary curriculum, Co-op Academy Bebington has some unusually distinctive ingredients. The April 2023 inspection described a calm, purposeful atmosphere and highlighted the on-site farm as a structured way to build pupils’ social and emotional skills alongside day-to-day learning.

Leadership has also entered a new chapter. Mrs Jane Whisker was appointed to the headship from September 2025, following the retirement of the previous head, and is now the named headteacher on the academy’s governance information.

Academically, the picture is mixed in the most recently available comparative datasets: GCSE measures and A-level measures sit below England average on FindMySchool’s rankings, while the 2023 inspection narrative points to high expectations, an ambitious curriculum, and strong subject knowledge among staff.

The strongest impression from official evidence is a school working hard to make routines predictable and learning disruption-free. In the April 2023 inspection report, pupils describe feeling safe, listened to, and able to be themselves, with clear expectations around kindness and tolerance. Behaviour is framed as calm and purposeful, and older pupils reported significant improvement over time, which matters for families weighing whether a school feels settled and consistent.

A second defining feature is the academy’s emphasis on personal development that links to employability and confidence. The same inspection report highlights leadership programmes to build responsibility, plus a broad menu of experiences from cultural opportunities to targeted life skills such as intensive swimming. That practical thread is also visible in the academy’s own description of learning being supported by farm and construction facilities, which signals a deliberate attempt to make education feel relevant to different strengths and ambitions.

Context also matters. The school is part of the Co-op Academies Trust, and it has been operating under the Co-op Academy Bebington name since its academy conversion in April 2019, following earlier iterations as Bebington High School and Bebington High Sports College. For parents, this is most useful as a lens for understanding why the academy’s culture and systems may feel different from long-established maintained comprehensives, including stronger trust-wide frameworks for behaviour, safeguarding training, and curriculum development.

The academy’s recent comparative position is best read as a school still building consistency rather than one already delivering top-end outcomes across the board.

GCSE performance (FindMySchool ranking based on official data)

Co-op Academy Bebington is ranked 3,548th in England for GCSE outcomes and 9th in Wirral. This sits below England average, placing it within the bottom 40% of schools nationally on this measure. Alongside this, the school’s Attainment 8 score is 35.7 and Progress 8 is -0.34, indicating pupils make below-average progress from their starting points compared with similar pupils nationally. (These are the most recent values provided used for this review.)

EBacc profile

The dataset also indicates a very low percentage achieving grades 5 or above across the EBacc measure (3.1%) and an EBacc average point score of 2.93, which is below the England comparator of 4.08 included with the dataset.

The school’s own published headline outcomes for summer 2025 show a slightly different year snapshot, including Attainment 8 of 37.2, and 27.3% achieving a grade 5 or higher in English and mathematics. It also reports 92% staying in education or employment after key stage 4 for pupils who finished Year 11 in 2023. These figures are useful for understanding direction of travel, but they should be compared year-by-year rather than treated as directly interchangeable with the dataset values above.

A-level performance (FindMySchool ranking based on official data)

For A-level outcomes, the academy is ranked 2,537th in England and 9th in Wirral, again below England average on this measure. provided, 11.11% of A-level grades were B, and 11.11% were A* to B, compared with an England comparator of 47.2% A* to B. (A-level cohorts can be small, so parents should always ask the sixth form about cohort size and subject mix when interpreting outcomes.)

If you are comparing options across Wirral, it is worth using the FindMySchool local comparison tools to view GCSE and sixth form performance side-by-side with nearby alternatives, because relative fit can matter as much as absolute rank when travel time and curriculum preferences are included.

The academy’s curriculum intent is described strongly in the April 2023 inspection report, particularly around sequencing and ambition. Subject leaders are described as having identified the essential knowledge pupils should learn and the order in which it is taught, with teaching that helps pupils build towards more complex ideas. Teachers are also described as having strong subject knowledge and selecting tasks that apply learning in context.

Two implementation points are worth highlighting because they directly affect classroom experience.

First, assessment is positioned as an active tool rather than a back-office process. The inspection report describes teachers using assessment to spot gaps and address misconceptions so learning is retained over time. For parents, that typically translates into clearer feedback loops, more targeted intervention, and fewer pupils quietly falling behind until mock exam season.

Second, SEND practice is described as an area with both strength and a clear improvement edge. The report highlights effective identification and support systems, including a specially resourced provision, but also notes inconsistency in how some teachers use SEND information to adapt teaching in everyday lessons. For families of pupils with additional needs, this is a prompt to ask specific questions on a visit: how teachers are trained, how classroom adjustments are checked, and what day-to-day support looks like in the subjects your child finds hardest.

Where Students Go Next

The academy has a sixth form, so “next steps” needs to be considered at two points: post-16 routes and post-18 routes.

After Year 11

The school’s published destinations headline states that 92% of pupils who finished Year 11 in 2023 stayed in education or employment after key stage 4. That is a useful reassurance indicator for families who want to know that pupils do not drift after GCSEs, even if academic outcomes are still improving.

After sixth form

For the 2023/24 leavers cohort (cohort size 52 provided), 27% progressed to university, 6% to further education, 4% to apprenticeships, and 25% to employment. These figures will not sum to 100% and should be read as a directional view of routes taken, especially where small cohorts can swing percentages.

The inspection narrative adds important colour: careers education is described as comprehensive, with work experience across key stage 4 and key stage 5 and guidance intended to support high aspirations and positive destinations.

Co-op Academy Bebington is its own admissions authority but participates in Wirral’s coordinated admissions process for Year 7 entry. The school’s September 2025 admissions booklet is explicit that the local authority coordinates the procedure and that the academy has an admission number of 205 for Year 7. It also notes that in recent years the academy has been oversubscribed.

For September 2026 entry (Year 7), Wirral’s on-time deadline is 31 October 2025, with online applications opening from 1 September 2025 for Wirral residents. Late applications are treated as late by the local authority.

Oversubscription criteria and distance

After looked-after and previously looked-after children, medical priority, and siblings, priority is based on proximity to the school. The admissions booklet states that distance is measured via a mapping system using the shortest road route to the school gate nearest the child’s home, with footpaths used only where considered a safe walking route.

Because distance is central when a school is oversubscribed, parents should use the FindMySchool Map Search to check practical home-to-gate distance and to sanity-check what “near” means in real terms for your street.

Sixth form entry

The admissions booklet states that for Level 3 courses, students typically need at least five GCSE grades at 4/5 or above, with higher requirements (grade 6) referenced for subjects including mathematics, modern foreign languages, and science. It also notes Level 2 routes with lower GCSE thresholds. The sixth form publishes its own timeline, including a January open evening and a January application deadline for the 2026 cycle.

Safeguarding is a core threshold issue for any family decision, and the April 2023 inspection report states that safeguarding arrangements are effective, describing a culture of vigilance, regular staff training, and prompt action on concerns.

Beyond safeguarding, the wellbeing story here is largely about belonging and structure. The inspection narrative describes pupils being confident they can speak to staff and be listened to, with bullying and discriminatory behaviour positioned as unacceptable. For parents, this is the practical question to ask: how quickly concerns are triaged, what the escalation ladder looks like, and how communication works when a pupil is struggling socially or emotionally.

One clear improvement priority flagged in the inspection report is attendance for a minority of pupils, particularly some disadvantaged pupils, because irregular attendance reduces access to the curriculum and limits progress. Families whose child has had patchy attendance in primary school should ask directly what early support is put in place, how attendance is monitored, and what happens before sanctions become the dominant lever.

This is where Co-op Academy Bebington becomes more distinctive than many local comprehensives, because several activities clearly connect to identity and facilities.

The farm as a structured programme

The April 2023 inspection report highlights the on-site farm being used to develop pupils’ social and emotional skills while caring for animals. That is not a token enrichment feature, it is presented as a purposeful intervention tool, which may particularly suit pupils who build confidence through responsibility and routine.

Clubs with a practical and inclusive flavour

The academy publishes a detailed extracurricular list that includes Farm Club (running multiple days per week after school), Eco Club, cookery, drama, homework clubs, board games, and Duke of Edinburgh for Years 9 to 13. For older pupils, “Mechanic Sessions” are listed on Saturdays in the workshop, which aligns with the academy’s wider emphasis on employability and technical confidence.

Careers-linked development

The inspection report also highlights careers guidance and work experience as embedded through key stage 4 and key stage 5, and the academy’s sixth form messaging reinforces enrichment through volunteering, placements, and work experience. For families with a teenager who is motivated by clear end goals rather than purely academic competition, this combination can be a meaningful differentiator.

The published school day shows different timings on different days. Registration starts at 8.35am, and lessons run through five periods, with the final period ending at 3.10pm. The school states the total weekly time equates to 32.5 hours.

There is no nursery provision, and wraparound care is not typically a feature at secondary level. For families with younger siblings, the key practicalities tend to be transport and after-school supervision. Merseytravel lists dedicated school bus routes serving the academy, which can be useful for planning travel logistics across the Wirral.

• Below-average headline outcomes in recent comparative measures. The GCSE and A-level rankings provided for this review sit below England average. Families should probe what has changed since the 2023 inspection and ask for the school’s own subject-level improvements and current cohort picture.

• SEND consistency is a stated improvement point. The inspection report highlights strong systems but uneven classroom adaptation by some staff. If your child relies on consistent adjustments, ask how the academy checks that plans translate into everyday teaching.

• Attendance is a live priority for some pupils. A minority, including some disadvantaged pupils, were identified as not attending regularly enough. Parents should ask what early help looks like, particularly around mornings, anxiety-related absence, and reintegration after time out.

• Admissions can depend on distance in oversubscription years. The admissions booklet states the academy has been oversubscribed in recent years and uses proximity as the tie-break after key priorities. If you are on the edge of the likely intake area, it is sensible to shortlist realistic alternatives as well.

Co-op Academy Bebington reads as a school with a clear practical streak: a calm, structured culture backed by a Good inspection outcome, plus distinctive facilities such as the farm and workshop-linked activities that support confidence and employability. Academic outcomes in recent comparative datasets are below England average, so the best fit is likely to be families who value breadth, routines, pastoral security, and real-world pathways, and who will actively engage with the school on progress and attendance rather than expecting high outcomes to be automatic.