Shevington High School

Shevington High School is a mainstream secondary school that inspectors found to be performing well overall. The school’s inclusive ethos, strong leadership and governance, and innovative personal development provision are clear strengths. Pupils feel safe, behave very well, and benefit from a curriculum and support systems that help disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND access the full life of the school. Safeguarding standards are met. The school is not yet strong in every area. Achievement at the end of key stage 4 is generally in line with national averages and improving, but some subjects and some pupil groups do not achieve as well as they could. Teaching is typically effective, yet there is variability across subjects, and assessment information is not always used to build knowledge. Attendance has improved and is in line with national averages, but leaders know more remains to be done for pupils facing additional barriers. Support for writing and number skills is less embedded than reading support, which slows progress for some pupils. Leaders have a secure understanding of what needs to improve, and staff, governors and parents speak positively about the direction of travel. The next steps focus on refining attendance strategies, strengthening teaching consistency across subjects, and better measuring the impact of actions on achievement for all pupils, including disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND. The inspection was a full section 5 inspection under the renewed framework; the current headteacher has been in post since September 2024.

Strengths

• Inclusive ethos shared by leaders, staff and pupils and embedded across school life
• Safeguarding standards are met and pupils feel safe
• Highly effective training for staff to support pupils with SEND, which improves teaching
• Clear systems to identify barriers to learning and highly effective classroom adaptations
• Disadvantaged pupils are supported to achieve their potential, including through pupil premium funding
• Strong external agency partnerships and bespoke support plans, including enhanced mentoring for pupils known to social care
• Highly ambitious leaders and governors who monitor and evaluate impact extremely well
• Brave decision-making, including international links and a digital strategy that improve pupils' world views and employability
• Governors provide high-quality support for leaders' wellbeing alongside rigorous oversight
• Staff feel well supported, consulted and able to access individualised professional learning
• Innovative and comprehensive personal development programme, including the SAIL curriculum and missions
• Pupils are secure in keeping themselves safe online and in the local community
• Effective small-group coaching sessions that help pupils take responsibility for their development
• A wide range of enrichment opportunities, including international visits, with barriers proactively removed
• Prioritised wellbeing provision with access to trained staff and external help
• Highly effective careers programme with bespoke guidance and strong destinations
• Pupils behave very well, show excellent attitudes to learning and classrooms are calm
• Bullying and discrimination are not tolerated and incidents are dealt with quickly and effectively
• Well-sequenced curriculum across subjects and year groups, regularly reviewed and adapted
• Teachers are subject experts and receive bespoke professional learning
• Effective reading support helps pupils make rapid progress
• Pupils leave well prepared for education, employment or training
• Pupils and staff live out the values of respect, aspiration, inclusion and kindness
• Pupils develop maturity, self-motivation and effective digital learning autonomy
• Pupils gain international citizenship through projects and trips, including to Sweden and China

Areas for Improvement

• Attendance rates have remained in line with national averages for several years and need further improvement
• More work is needed to improve attendance for pupils facing additional barriers, including disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND
• Support for writing and number skills is less embedded than reading support, so progress slows for some pupils
• Assessment information is occasionally not used effectively to build pupils' knowledge
• Teaching is not equally secure in all subjects, leading to lower learning and achievement in some subjects
• There is variability in the quality of teaching across subjects
• Leaders should continue to develop systems to measure the impact of actions on achievement for all pupils, including disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND
• In some subjects, pupils do not achieve as well as they could in national examinations at the end of key stage 4
• Disadvantaged pupils' Progress 8 was below national in 2022/23, although it improved to close to average in 2023/24

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 Shevington High School attended 92.6% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 20.4% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 23.4%).

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, 5.6% of pupils at Shevington High School were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). 3 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 Shevington High School had 16.6 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 9.9% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 14.1%).

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, 12.6% of pupils at Shevington High School were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 3.9% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 3.5%).

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 secondary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2025–26 Shevington High School received £7,983 and spent £8,076 for each of its 878 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £807,000 (£920 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).

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What is Shevington High School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Shevington High School is Expected standard, from an inspection in June 2026.

When was Shevington High School last inspected by Ofsted?

Shevington High School was last inspected in June 2026.

How many pupils does Shevington High School have?

Shevington High School has 878 pupils on roll.

What age range does Shevington High School cover?

Shevington High School for pupils aged 11 to 16.

What are Shevington High School's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 50.4, and 46% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Shevington High School?

Shevington High School is at Shevington Lane, Shevington, Wigan, Lancashire, WN6 8AB.