One of three schools shortlisted for Most Inspirational Secondary School in the North West's Educate Awards; the winner is named on 13 November.

The Birkenhead Park School is one of three schools shortlisted for Most Inspirational Secondary School at this year’s Educate Awards, the North West’s education awards. The winner will be announced at Liverpool Cathedral on Friday 13 November.

The other two schools in the category are Middlewich High School and Tarleton Academy, according to the 2026 shortlist published by the Educate Awards (checked 14 October).

The category is for secondary schools with exceptional achievements in the 2025-26 academic year. The school says judges were looking for “innovative practice, measurable impact, meaningful enrichment opportunities and a commitment to inclusion, belonging and whole-child development”.

What the school put forward

In its announcement, the school lists the work behind the entry:

  • BPS University, in which pupils in Years 7, 8 and 9 sign up for five academic challenges a year to complete on their own, and graduate in cap and gown after three years. The school’s page says more than 100 pupils took part in 2025.
  • Ignite Speeches, oracy, and careers education, which the awards organisers say starts in Year 7.
  • The Big Read, a daily reading programme running since 2018, in which Years 7 to 10 read with their form tutor in timetabled 30-minute sessions. The school says its pupils have read more than 1,500 classic novels for enjoyment since September 2023, and the programme was runner-up for an Educate Awards literacy prize in 2024.
  • More than 75 educational visits last year and more than 30 extracurricular clubs every week.

The Educate Awards’ own summary of the entry adds that in 2025 the school had “its strongest GCSE results to date”, that attendance “moved above the national average” and that persistent absence came down.

Attendance, and last year’s award

The school says attendance has been a particular focus, and that it had the most improved attendance in Wirral in the 2024-25 academic year.

That work has already won once at these awards. At the 2025 ceremony, Ms Tisdale, the BePART Trust’s Director of Attendance and Parental Engagement, was named Support Star of the Year for her work with pupils and families through the school’s attendance team.

The shortlisting also follows the school’s Ofsted report, in which inspectors said pupils’ experiences had “improved dramatically” and noted high expectations, strong relationships, respectful behaviour and pupils’ sense of belonging. We covered that report in September: persistent absence fell from 41.5% to 16.8% in two years (our report on the Ofsted findings).

The school describes itself as “a school transformed”, and credits the change to its leaders and staff working with The BePART Trust, through high expectations, a shared approach to teaching and specialist support in areas including attendance.

What the headteacher said

Mrs Dawes, headteacher, said:

“This is a wonderful recognition of the hard work, dedication and ambition of our whole school community. It is incredibly rewarding to see the difference our work is making, particularly when our students are engaged, growing in confidence and making the most of the opportunities available to them.

“We are proud of the huge progress our school has made and, most importantly, of the young people at the heart of everything we do. To be shortlisted for such a prestigious award is a fantastic achievement, and we are looking forward to attending the ceremony in November.”

Other Wirral names on the list

The Birkenhead Park School is not the only local entry. West Kirby Grammar School is shortlisted for Outstanding Arts in Secondary School, for a programme the organisers say involves more than half its students each year, including a production of Legally Blonde seen by more than 1,000 people (Educate Awards shortlist).

What it means for you

For families choosing a secondary school in Birkenhead, the shortlisting is an outside panel’s judgement on the same improvement the Ofsted report recorded. The full shortlist, with a short summary of every entry, is on the Educate Awards website. We will report the result after the ceremony on 13 November.