St James' Catholic Primary School Orrell

St James' Catholic Primary School Orrell is a larger-than-average Catholic primary school in Wigan. Inspectors found it performing strongly overall, with safeguarding standards met. Pupils attend exceptionally well, behave politely and respectfully, and learn in a calm, purposeful environment. Early years provision and personal development are particular strengths, while the curriculum, inclusion, leadership and governance are all secure and ambitious. Pupils achieve above national averages in reading, writing and mathematics by the end of Year 6, and disadvantaged pupils generally perform well, though a gap remains in mathematics. The main areas for development are assessment and curriculum checking: teachers do not always assess securely enough to spot gaps in pupils' knowledge, and leaders' checks on curriculum delivery need sharpening so that all pupils achieve as highly as they can.

Strengths

• Pupils' attendance is consistently above the national average, with very low persistent absence.
• Behaviour is excellent; pupils are polite, self-motivated, respectful and cooperative.
• Early years provision is highly effective, with children thriving and well prepared for Year 1.
• The personal development and wellbeing programme is highly effective and prepares pupils well for life beyond school.
• Pupils benefit from a wide range of sporting, after-school, leadership and enrichment opportunities.
• Pupils achieve above national averages in reading, writing and mathematics by Year 6.
• Phonics teaching is strong, reflected in higher-than-average Year 1 phonics outcomes.
• Inclusion is effective; pupils with SEND are identified and supported well, including through nurture and staff training.
• Leadership and governance are ambitious, research-informed and supportive, with strong engagement with parents and local schools.
• Safeguarding is effective, with an open culture and pupils who feel safe and know how to keep themselves safe.
• Pupils develop a mature understanding of Catholic and British values, diversity and healthy relationships.

Areas for Improvement

• Assessment strategies are not used consistently enough to identify and address gaps in pupils' learning.
• Some pupils do not attain as well as they should in some curriculum areas because knowledge gaps are not identified well enough.
• Leaders' checks on curriculum delivery need refining so that teachers are better equipped to help all pupils achieve highly.
• Disadvantaged pupils' attainment in mathematics shows a negative gap compared with national non-disadvantaged peers.

Admissions: local authority offers data from the Department for Education. A school is oversubscribed when at least 5% of the families who put it first were not offered a place, and undersubscribed when everyone who put it first got in but 10% or more of its places were unfilled in the Department's school capacity survey (the latest survey is used for entry years it does not cover). Places: Department for Education, School capacity, from local authorities' annual survey as at 1 May. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024–25); the survey was not run in 2020. Places include sixth form places. Forecasts are the local authority's own for the school's planning area, an area it uses to plan places that is not the school's catchment area. The forecast starts from a head count in 2025; the dashed line is the Department's estimate of places in that area, including those the authority has firm plans for. Planned places are cumulative, and only those with firm plans are counted.

In 2024–25 pupils at St James' Catholic Primary School Orrell attended 96.6% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 4.9% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 13.0%).

Sessions missed

Pupils persistently absent

Source: Department for Education, Pupil absence in schools in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Persistent absence means missing 10% or more of sessions; severe absence means 50% or more. No figures were published for 2019/20.

In 2024–25, 0.3% of pupils at St James' Catholic Primary School Orrell were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). No pupils were permanently excluded.

Pupils suspended at least once

Source: Department for Education, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). A pupil can be suspended more than once, so suspensions per 100 pupils can be higher than the share of pupils suspended. Very small numbers are hidden by the DfE. Exclusion figures dropped in 2020 and 2021 because of school closures.

In 2025–26 St James' Catholic Primary School Orrell had 21.8 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 5.6% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 15.7%).

Pupils per teacher

Teachers who left the school within a year

Source: Department for Education, School workforce in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Pupils per teacher counts full-time-equivalent pupils and teachers. Turnover is the share of a year's teachers (full-time equivalent) who were not at the school the following year, whether they moved to another school or left state-funded teaching. Turnover and sickness figures run one year behind the ratios. Sick leave is the share of teachers who took at least one day in the year, so it swings widely at small schools, where a few teachers can make it 0% or 100%. The national figures are for all state schools of the same type.

In 2025–26, 12.1% of pupils at St James' Catholic Primary School Orrell were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 0.9% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 4.1%).

Pupils by main type of need

Source: Department for Education, Special educational needs in England (the 2025–26 school census). SEN support is extra help in school without an EHC plan. National figures are for all state-funded primary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2025–26 St James' Catholic Primary School Orrell received £6,410 and spent £6,730 for each of its 347 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £186,000 (£536 per pupil).

Income per pupil

Spending per pupil

Source: Department for Education, Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool. Each year is the one the financial year ends in (2024 is 2023–24).

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Wigan · Wigan local authority: places and applications

What is St James' Catholic Primary School Orrell's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for St James' Catholic Primary School Orrell is Expected standard, from an inspection in September 2026.

When was St James' Catholic Primary School Orrell last inspected by Ofsted?

St James' Catholic Primary School Orrell was last inspected in September 2026.

How many pupils does St James' Catholic Primary School Orrell have?

St James' Catholic Primary School Orrell has 347 pupils on roll.

What age range does St James' Catholic Primary School Orrell cover?

St James' Catholic Primary School Orrell for pupils aged 4 to 11.

What are St James' Catholic Primary School Orrell's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 80% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is St James' Catholic Primary School Orrell?

St James' Catholic Primary School Orrell is at St James Road, Orrell, Wigan, Lancashire, WN5 7AA.