Parklands High School in Speke will shut in August following consultations with parents, staff and students, Liverpool City Council said.
It was placed in special measures following an inspection by Ofsted in December.
Students will transfer to other schools and the council said it would look at alternative employment for staff.
Exam results are lower than other Liverpool schools with 32% of pupils getting five GCSEs including English and maths, compared to 58% across the rest of the city, the council said.
Parklands High School opened in 2002 as a replacement for Speke Comprehensive.
There are currently 198 pupils at the school, which has capacity for more than 900, and only 34 children applied for places in September.
Councillor Jane Corbett, cabinet member for education, said: "We are now at the stage where the numbers are so low that it is not able to offer a full curriculum and this is simply not in the best interests of the pupils."
Pupils will transfer to others schools in the area including ESLA (Enterprise South Liverpool Academy), St Julies and Gateacre.
Councillors will give final approval of the school's closure at a cabinet meeting on 21 March.

Margaret Loughrey, 50, from Bridge Street, Strabane, admitted a number of offences.
She was ordered to pay £559 for damaging the driver's glasses and £200 compensation to the driver.
Ms Loughrey's win was the largest ever jackpot win in Northern Ireland.
As well as assaulting the driver, Ms Loughrey also pleaded guilty to causing criminal to his glasses and SatNav during the incident in his taxi at Chestnut Park in Strabane on 14 May.
Ms Loughrey's solicitor said she had come to court with a clear record and had been drinking vodka with friends all night before the incident.
He described her behaviour as shameful and said it was unfortunate her reputation was now blemished.
The deputy district judge at Strabane Magistrates' Court said he believed it was a "one-off incident" caused by Ms Loughrey consuming a lot of alcohol.
"You have had more advantages than most people in the last number of years, but they have obviously brought some problems," he said.
"I accept you have made a major contribution to the local community, but you will be treated as anyone else will be treated coming before the court with a clear record."

Wokingham Borough Council served a High Court injunction on travellers for setting up "unauthorised" pitches and an access road on the private land.
The Gypsy Council said the authority had been quick to get an injunction but refused to provide enough gypsy sites.
The council said it "utterly refutes" the accusation of racism.
Housing applications in the area had been judged acceptable against the borough's planning policies, drawn up following a statutory process including consultation, it said.
Caravans arrived on the Berkshire site on 24 April with the permission of the landowner, who is part of the gypsy community.
But the council has taken legal action because developments that have since taken place do not have planning consent.
It obtained the injunction to prevent further caravans and development on the Berkshire site, after its deadline to exit the site by Monday 27 April was ignored.
"This is not a site allocated for development in the council's local plan," said director of environment, Helen Thwaites.
"It is located within the countryside where the council's policies seek to protect the rural character."
Residents near the site, in Blagrove Lane, have also expressed concern.
Ian Andrews, of Evendons Area Residents' Association, said there was unhappiness at "a total disregard for the planning process in a quiet rural location".
"Hedgerows have been ripped out during nesting season and more than 50 giant lorry loads of rubble have been dumped into what was the flood plain for several hundred homes," he said.
Residents had also expressed fear of a rise in crime, which Thames Valley Police said was "unfounded".
Joseph Jones, of the Gypsy Council, said: "Councils need to fulfil their target for gypsy community site provision.
"Local authorities would much rather refuse planning permission and take legal action than tackle what they perceive to be the thorny issue of gypsy site provision.
"The council can merrily grant planning permission for houses in the next field, but when a gypsy site application comes in from a gypsy family for a small number of pitches then there's hell to pay.
"That's racism."
A Liverpool school branded "among the lowest of all schools in England" by the education watchdog is to close.
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A County Tyrone woman who won £27m in the Euromillions draw in 2013 has been ordered to complete 150 hours of community service after pleading guilty to assaulting a taxi driver.
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A council has been accused of racism for refusing planning permission for a gypsy camp after approving a housing estate in a field next door.