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.
A Liverpool school branded "among the lowest of all schools in England" by the education watchdog is to close.