Rainford High School

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Rainford High School is a coed secondary school and sixth form in Rainford, Merseyside, England. It first opened in 1940 as Rainford Senior Council School with 127 students. It was a grammar school, then became Rainford County Secondary School in 1945. In the 1950s and 1960s it grew and moved to being a secondary modern, with pupils taking external exams including A-Levels. The school became a comprehensive on 7 September 1971 and was named Rainford High School.

In 1999/2000 the school gained Technology College and Beacon School status and was renamed Rainford High Technology College. Ofsted inspections over the years followed a mixed pattern: good in 2004, then satisfactory in 2008 and 2011. Leadership problems in 2012 led to changes in staff and governance. A new principal, Ian Young, started in 2012 and the school was judged to require improvement. The school was rebuilt under the Building Schools for the Future programme and opened on the new site in September 2013. A four-classroom modular extension was added in 2021. In 2017 Rainford High Technology College became an academy and joined the Everyone Matters Schools Trust. In 2021 Ofsted again judged the school to be good as an academy.

The school previously had four houses: Derby, Muncaster, Holland and Lathom. In 2022 the house system was reintroduced with five houses: Compassion, Integrity, Determination, Endeavour and Resilience. The first house Sports Day took place in July 2022, and in 2023 badges and lanyards were introduced for students and staff.

Rainford High Sixth Form sits on the same site. The first A-Levels were taken in 1962, and the first student went to university in 1966. The Sixth Form building was completed in 1982 and refurbished in 2011. It shares most facilities with the main school but has its own media suite and canteen.

There was a public dispute in 2022–23 about skirt length in the school uniform, which led to protests. The policy was updated in 2023 and it seems the rule about skirt length is not being enforced.

In November 2023 the school was broken into, causing significant damage. The school closed for a day, and a GoFundMe appeal was started. Two local youths were arrested, and in May 2024 they were charged and later pleaded guilty to burglary and criminal damage, receiving a 12-month referral order and small compensation payments to the school. The school has also received recognition and nominations in Educate Awards.