Comparison

LUSoM vs. Liverpool Maths School

North West overlap — the two schools most likely to be cross-shopped in that region. Full detail, sourcing and caveats are on each school's own page — this table is a starting point for comparison, not a replacement for reading both.

	LUSoM	Liverpool Maths School
Status	Open	Open
Location	Preston, Lancashire	Liverpool city centre
Sponsor	Lancaster University	University of Liverpool
Opened	2022	2020
Age range	16–19	16–19
Capacity	—	160
Current roll	—	123 students (July 2026)
Boarding	No boarding provision identified — day school.	Day school only — no boarding. Some families relocate to Liverpool independently rather than commute; most students travel daily.
Catchment	Based in Preston, on the Cardinal Newman College site; serves Lancashire and the surrounding North West.	No defined catchment area — the admissions policy explicitly states distance is not a factor. Students travel daily from Lancashire, Warrington, North Wales, Cheshire and Merseyside; some relocate from further afield.
GCSE requirements	—	Grade 8+ in Mathematics; Grade 7+ in Physics, or grade 7-7 in Combined Science; Grade 5+ in English Language or Literature (may be waived if English isn't the applicant's first language); at least 4 further GCSEs at grade 5+.
Admissions deadline	—	For September 2026 entry: early-deadline Sunday 7 December 2025 (unlocks a prep session); standard deadline early January 2026; aptitude test Saturday 17 January 2026; interviews in February; conditional offers by end of February; confirmed on GCSE results day in August. A second round runs March–August if places remain.
Latest results	—	2025: 58% A*-A
Ofsted	—	Outstanding — overall effectiveness and all five sub-judgements

Lancaster University School of Mathematics

Opened 2022 on the Cardinal Newman College site in Preston — the North West's second maths school.

University of Liverpool Maths School

No fixed catchment, no boarding — and the Sunday Times' 2026 State Sixth Form College of the Year.