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St Wilfrids Catholic Primary School

Primary Ages 3-11 187 pupils Wigan
Ofsted: Expected standard
All schools in Wigan

St Wilfrids Catholic Primary School is a voluntary aided school in Wigan for pupils aged 3 to 11. It has a Roman Catholic religious character. It has 187 pupils on roll. The latest Ofsted rating for St Wilfrids Catholic Primary School is Expected standard, from an inspection in April 2026. In 2025, 63% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Ofsted inspection: April 2026. KS2 results: 2025.

Type Primary / Voluntary aided school
Age Range 3-11
Religion Roman Catholic
Address Golborne Road
Ashton-in-Makerfield
Wigan
Lancashire
WN4 8SJ
Phone 01942707101
Reference Number 106509

General Makeup

Number of pupils 187
Boy/Girl ratio Boys: 53.48%
Girls: 46.52%
Percentage of students eligible for free school meals 18.5%
Percentage of students where English is not their first language 16.6%

Class Sizes

Average size of one teacher classes 22.6
Average size of Key Stage 1 classes taught by one teacher 19
Average size of Key Stage 2 classes taught by one teacher 28.5

Year Groups

Year Boys Girls Total
1 3 12 15
2 17 11 28
3 12 16 28
4 17 13 30
5 14 11 25
6 21 10 31

Ethnicities

Ethnicity Percentage
White, British 75.4%
African 6.4%
Chinese 5.3%
White, Other 4.3%
Indian 2.7%
White & Black (African) 2.1%
Mixed, Other 1.6%
Asian, Other 0.5%

St Wilfrids Catholic Primary School demonstrates a strong level of performance overall, with pupils achieving at levels comparable to their peers nationally. The school showcases notable strengths in safeguarding practices, ensuring that students feel safe and valued in their environment. The leadership team's commitment to developing a broad and ambitious curriculum is evident, as is their effective management of attendance and behaviour, creating a positive learning atmosphere. However, there are areas for improvement, particularly in supporting pupils with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND), where staff training is necessary to enhance their skills in identifying and addressing these needs effectively.

Overall Ofsted Rating Expected standard
 >  Leadership & Governance Expected standard
 >  Personal Development & Wellbeing Expected standard
 >  Achievement Expected standard
 >  Attendance & Behaviour Expected standard
 >  Curriculum & Teaching Expected standard
 >  Inclusion Expected standard
 >  Early Years Expected standard
Last Report Date 24 Feb 2026
Date Report
24 Feb 2026 School inspection
14 Sep 2021 School inspection
07 Jun 2016 Short inspection
21 May 2012 Full inspection
28 Jan 2009 Full inspection
05 Jun 2008 Curriculum and development visit
03 May 2006 Full inspection
10 Oct 2000 Full inspection

Strengths

  • Strong safeguarding practices ensuring pupils feel safe.
  • High expectations for pupil behaviour and effective management.
  • Broad and ambitious curriculum that builds on prior knowledge.
  • Effective support for pupils' personal development and wellbeing.
  • Good attendance rates, often above the national average.

Areas for Improvement

  • Inconsistent expertise among staff in supporting pupils with SEND.
  • Occasional gaps in pupils' knowledge remain unchecked.

How many students meet the standards

Reading, Writing & Maths School Score Percentile (local) Percentile (nationwide)
Pupils meeting the expected standard 63%
Pupils meeting a higher standard 11%

Average Scaled Score

Results are converted into scaled scores to allow accurate comparisons of performance over time even if the difficulty of the test varies over time. Scaled scores range from 80 to 120.

Subject School Percentile (local) Percentile (nationwide)
Reading 104
Maths 107

Progress Scores

A progress score is a way to measure how well a student progressed in comparison to other students of a similar starting ability. A score of zero means would mean that a student made the same progress as others that had a similar starting a ability. A positive score would mean that the student made more progress than other students of similar starting ability. The scores below are for the whole school so is the average progress score across all students.

Metric School Score Percentile (local) Percentile (nationwide)
Reading 0.5
Writing 0.7
Maths 2.4

How many students meet the standards

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Average Scaled Score

Results are converted into scaled scores to allow accurate comparisons of performance over time even if the difficulty of the test varies over time. Scaled scores range from 80 to 120.

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Progress Scores

A progress score is a way to measure how well a student progressed in comparison to other students of a similar starting ability. A score of zero means would mean that a student made the same progress as others that had a similar starting a ability. A positive score would mean that the student made more progress than other students of similar starting ability. The scores below are for the whole school so is the average progress score across all students.

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Reception admissions, 2026 entry

Number of Applications Number of Offers
First Preference
Second Preference 12 4
Third Preference 6 2
From another Local Authority 0 0

Previous years

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Places and pupil numbers

In 2024–25 St Wilfrids Catholic Primary School had 183 pupils for 199 places. 16 places (8.0%) were unfilled.

Pupils and places

Reception intake in the “Area 8: Ashton Primary” planning area

Wigan counted 205 Reception pupils in this area in 2024–25 and forecasts 183 in 2029–30, down 11%.

201020112012201320142015201620172018201920212022202320242025
Places 199199199199199199199199199199199199199199199
Pupils 209203197202205207205195185183182179186193183
Unfilled 0.0%0.0%1.0%0.0%0.0%0.0%0.0%2.0%7.0%8.0%8.5%10.1%6.5%3.0%8.0%

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 Wilfrids Catholic Primary School attended 95.4% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 11.1% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 13.0%).

Sessions missed

Pupils persistently absent

20142015201620172018201920212022202320242025
Authorised absence 3.4%3.9%3.8%4.2%3.8%3.4%2.0%4.4%4.3%4.3%3.6%
Unauthorised absence 0.4%0.1%0.2%0.4%1.2%1.1%0.3%1.1%0.9%1.1%1.0%
Severely absent pupils 0.6%0.0%0.0%0.0%0.0%0.6%0.0%0.0%0.0%0.0%0.6%

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, 0.0% of pupils at St Wilfrids Catholic Primary School were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). No pupils were permanently excluded.

Pupils suspended at least once

2010201120122013201420152016201720182019202020212022202320242025
Suspensions per 100 pupils 0.00.00.80.00.00.00.00.50.00.50.00.00.01.01.40.0
Permanent exclusions 0000000000000000

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 Wilfrids Catholic Primary School had 17.9 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 33.9% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 15.7%).

Pupils per teacher

Teachers who left the school within a year

2011201220132014201520162017201820192020202120222023202420252026
Pupils per adult 10.511.111.010.510.010.410.210.18.810.910.410.110.410.39.09.2
Teachers who left state teaching 10.0%11.2%0.0%20.4%8.2%10.0%10.0%0.0%0.0%0.0%0.0%0.0%10.4%10.0%8.7%–
Teachers who took any sick leave 44.4%40.0%66.7%62.5%77.8%63.6%63.6%54.5%40.0%–60.0%70.0%60.0%45.5%25.0%–
Sick days per teacher 8.09.82.44.62.24.72.41.33.6–9.83.02.23.20.4–

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, 12.8% of pupils at St Wilfrids Catholic Primary School were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 4.3% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 4.1%).

Pupils by main type of need

SEN support EHC plan
Speech, language and communication needs 10 1
Autistic spectrum disorder 1 6
No specialist assessment of need 6 0
Social, emotional and mental health 4 1
Specific learning difficulty 2 0
Other difficulty or disability 1 0

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 Wilfrids Catholic Primary School received £7,864 and spent £7,403 for each of its 183 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £36,000 (£198 per pupil).

Income per pupil

Spending per pupil

20192020202120222023202420252026
Revenue reserve £261,000£234,000£183,000£108,000£44,000-£6,000-£48,000£36,000
per pupil £1,321£1,177£937£558£224-£27-£250£198
In-year balance -£8,000-£27,000-£51,000-£75,000-£75,000-£50,000-£42,000£84,000
per pupil -£39-£137-£262-£386-£382-£243-£220£461

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

Name Distance
Willow Grove Primary School
Willow Grove, Ashton-in-Makerfield, Wigan, Greater Manchester, WN4 8XF
0.33 miles
St Thomas CofE Primary School
Hodnet Drive, Ashton-in-Makerfield, Wigan, Lancashire, WN4 8PQ
0.45 miles
St Oswald's Catholic Primary School
Council Avenue, Ashton-in-Makerfield, Wigan, Lancashire, WN4 9AZ
0.87 miles
Nicol Mere School
Roman Road, Ashton-in-Makerfield, Wigan, Lancashire, WN4 8DF
0.98 miles
R L Hughes Primary School
Mayfield Street, Ashton-in-Makerfield, Wigan, Lancashire, WN4 9QL
1 miles
Golborne Community Primary School
Talbot Street, Golborne, Warrington, Cheshire, WA3 3NN
1.38 miles
Bryn St Peter's CofE Primary School
Downall Green Road, Ashton-in-Makerfield, Wigan, Lancashire, WN4 0DL
1.39 miles
St Thomas CofE Junior and Infant School
Church Street, Golborne, Warrington, Cheshire, WA3 3TH
1.47 miles
All Saints Catholic Primary School, Golborne, Wigan
Hazel Grove, Golborne, Warrington, Cheshire, WA3 3LU
1.61 miles
Holy Family Catholic Academy
Wigan Street, Platt Bridge, Wigan, Lancashire, WN2 5JF
1.9 miles
Rectory CofE Primary School
Rectory Road, North Ashton, Ashton-in-Makerfield, Wigan, Lancashire, WN4 0QF
1.95 miles
St John's Church of England Primary School, Abram
Simpkin Street, Abram, Wigan, Lancashire, WN2 5QE
1.95 miles
Lowton West Primary School
Slag Lane, Lowton, Warrington, Cheshire, WA3 2ED
2.01 miles
Garswood Primary and Nursery School
Hamilton Road, Ashton-in-Makerfield, Wigan, Lancashire, WN4 0SF
2.14 miles
Platt Bridge Community School
Rivington Avenue, Platt Bridge, Wigan, Lancashire, WN2 5NG
2.32 miles
Haydock English Martyrs' Primary School
Piele Road, Haydock, St. Helens, Merseyside, WA11 0JY
2.34 miles
St Mary's CofE Primary School
Wright Street, Platt Bridge, Wigan, Lancashire, WN2 3NX
2.41 miles
St James' Church of England Primary School
Lyme Street, Haydock, St Helens, Merseyside, WA11 0NL
2.43 miles
St Luke's CofE Primary School
Church Lane, Lowton, Warrington, Cheshire, WA3 2PW
2.46 miles
Marus Bridge Primary School
Kelvin Grove, Marus Bridge, Wigan, Lancashire, WN3 6SP
2.47 miles
Name Distance
Cansfield High School
Old Road, Ashton-in-Makerfield, Wigan, Lancashire, WN4 9TP
0.97 miles
St Edmund Arrowsmith Catholic High School, Ashton-in-Makerfield
Rookery Avenue, Ashton-in-Makerfield, Wigan, Lancashire, WN4 9PF
1.02 miles
The Byrchall High School
Warrington Road, Ashton-in-Makerfield, Wigan, Lancashire, WN4 9PQ
1.1 miles
Landgate School, Bryn
Landgate Lane, Ashton-in-Makerfield, Bryn, Wigan, Greater Manchester, WN4 0EP
1.56 miles
Golborne High School
Lowton Road, Golborne, Warrington, Cheshire, WA3 3EL
1.62 miles
Martha H School
Downall Green Road, Wigan, Greater Manchester, WN4 0LZ
1.79 miles
Learn 4 Life School
64a Rectory Road, Ashton in Makerfield, Wigan, Skelmersdale, Lancashire, WN4 0QD
1.94 miles
Hope Academy
Ashton Road, Newton-le-Willows, Merseyside, WA12 0AQ
2.11 miles
Hawkley Hall High School
Carr Lane, Hawkley Hall, Wigan, Lancashire, WN3 5NY
2.22 miles
Fix-It (UK) Ltd
Unit 6-7 Rosebridge Industrial Estate, Wigan, WN3 4TA
2.4 miles
Newbridge Learning Community
Moss Lane, Platt Bridge, Wigan, Lancashire, WN2 3TL
2.41 miles
Hope School
Kelvin Grove, Marus Bridge, Wigan, Greater Manchester, WN3 6SP
2.44 miles
Green Meadow Independent Primary School
Robson Way, Lowton, Warrington, WA3 2RD
2.67 miles
Outwood Academy Haydock
Clipsley Lane, Haydock, St. Helens, Merseyside, WA11 0JG
2.95 miles
Expanse Learning Wigan School
Tyrer Avenue, Worsley Mesnes, Wigan, Greater Manchester, WN3 5XF
3.12 miles
Lowton Church of England High School
Newton Road, Lowton, Warrington, Cheshire, WA3 1DU
3.3 miles
Willow Bank School
Winwick Road, St Helens, Newton-le-Willows, Merseyside, WA12 8DE
3.35 miles
Wargrave House School
449 Wargrave Road, Newton-le-Willows, Merseyside, WA12 8RS
3.35 miles
The Holden School
Firs Lane, Leigh, Greater Manchester, WN7 4SB
3.47 miles
The Parks School
Market Street, Hindley, Hindley, WN2 3AN
3.52 miles

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

What is St Wilfrids Catholic Primary School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for St Wilfrids Catholic Primary School is Expected standard, from an inspection in April 2026.

When was St Wilfrids Catholic Primary School last inspected by Ofsted?

St Wilfrids Catholic Primary School was last inspected in April 2026.

How many pupils does St Wilfrids Catholic Primary School have?

St Wilfrids Catholic Primary School has 187 pupils on roll.

What age range does St Wilfrids Catholic Primary School cover?

St Wilfrids Catholic Primary School for pupils aged 3 to 11.

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

In 2025, 63% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is St Wilfrids Catholic Primary School?

St Wilfrids Catholic Primary School is at Golborne Road, Ashton-in-Makerfield, Wigan, Lancashire, WN4 8SJ.

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