St Peter's Catholic High School

St Peter's Catholic High School is performing overall at a good level, with notable strengths in behavior and personal development, both of which are rated outstanding. The school fosters a welcoming atmosphere where pupils feel safe and valued, contributing to their positive attitudes towards learning. The curriculum is broad, enabling pupils to engage with a variety of subjects, including modern foreign languages, which are becoming increasingly popular among students. However, there are areas for improvement, particularly in supporting pupils with special educational needs and/or disabilities (SEND), where the information provided to staff could be enhanced for better instructional adaptation. Additionally, support for struggling readers in key stage 4 needs further development so that these pupils receive timely assistance to improve their reading skills.

Strengths

• Exceptional behavior and attitudes among pupils.
• Positive relationships and a sense of community within the school.
• Strong commitment to personal development and well-being.
• Broad curriculum with a growing emphasis on modern foreign languages.
• Skilled staff in assessing and addressing pupils' learning needs.

Areas for Improvement

• Insufficient detailed information for staff to support pupils with SEND effectively.
• Underdeveloped support for reading difficulties in key stage 4.

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 Peter's Catholic High School attended 94.3% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 13.4% 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, 4.0% of pupils at St Peter's Catholic High School were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). One pupil was 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 Peter's Catholic High School had 17.2 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 4.0% 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, 13.0% of pupils at St Peter's Catholic High School were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 3.7% 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 St Peter's Catholic High School received £7,184 and spent £7,267 for each of its 1,027 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £115,000 (-£112 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 Peter's Catholic High School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for St Peter's Catholic High School is Good, from an inspection in April 2024.

When was St Peter's Catholic High School last inspected by Ofsted?

St Peter's Catholic High School was last inspected in April 2024.

How many pupils does St Peter's Catholic High School have?

St Peter's Catholic High School has 1,026 pupils on roll.

What age range does St Peter's Catholic High School cover?

St Peter's Catholic High School for pupils aged 11 to 16.

What are St Peter's Catholic High School's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 49.2, and 47% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is St Peter's Catholic High School?

St Peter's Catholic High School is at Howards Lane, Orrell, Wigan, Lancashire, WN5 8NU.