The Westleigh School

The Westleigh School has demonstrated a strong overall performance, achieving a rating of good in all inspected areas. This is the school's first inspection since it opened in 2018, and it reflects the effective leadership and the determination of the staff to provide a supportive and inclusive environment for all students. The school ensures that pupils, including those who are disadvantaged and those with special educational needs, are given the necessary support to succeed academically and feel safe and valued within the school community.

Strengths

• Leaders instill high expectations for behaviour and academic achievement.
• Pupils make friends easily and feel happy and safe.
• The curriculum is ambitious and inclusive.
• Pupils benefit from a strong programme of enrichment activities.
• Teachers display strong subject expertise and deliver curriculums well.
• The school has effective arrangements for safeguarding.

Areas for Improvement

• In one or two subjects, curriculums are not adequately organized, affecting knowledge retention.

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 The Westleigh School attended 89.8% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 29.4% 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, 7.3% of pupils at The Westleigh School were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). 8 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 The Westleigh School had 17.2 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 24.5% 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, 18.5% of pupils at The Westleigh School were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 5.2% 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 2024–25 The Westleigh School received £9,558 and spent £9,128 for each of its 960 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £1,214,000 (£1,265 per pupil).

Across all 30 schools of The Shaw Education Trust, income was £11,108 and spending £10,954 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). Academy figures include a share of the trust's central services, shared out by pupil numbers, and are rounded to the nearest £1,000. Premises costs were defined differently from 2024, so compare them across that gap with care.

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

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

The Westleigh School is part of The Shaw Education Trust, which runs 30 schools. The nearest others:

• Tottington High School Bury
• Brookhaven School Bury
• Unsworth Academy Bury
• Woodhey High School Bury
• Brookfields School Widnes
• Hallwood Park Primary School and Nursery Runcorn
• The Russett School Northwich
• Kidsgrove Secondary School Stoke-On-Trent
• Kidsgrove Primary School Stoke-On-Trent
• Endon High School Stoke-On-Trent

What is The Westleigh School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for The Westleigh School is Good, from an inspection in December 2022.

When was The Westleigh School last inspected by Ofsted?

The Westleigh School was last inspected in December 2022.

How many pupils does The Westleigh School have?

The Westleigh School has 976 pupils on roll.

What age range does The Westleigh School cover?

The Westleigh School for pupils aged 11 to 16.

What are The Westleigh School's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 45.0, and 43% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is The Westleigh School?

The Westleigh School is at Westleigh Lane, Leigh, Lancashire, WN7 5NL.