Schools in Wigan
137 schools in the Wigan local authority.
Schools
137
Open schools
Pupils
48,379
2025–26 census
Good or better
97%
108 of 111 graded
Academic Performance
5.5
out of 10 · 131 schools
Ofsted ratings
- Outstanding
- 17 15%
- Good
- 91 82%
- Requires improvement
- 3 3%
- Inadequate
- 0 0%
16 inspected since 2024, no overall grade10 superseded by a report card10 not judged
5.5
Academic PerformanceAveraged over 131 of 137 schools that can be scored
Pupils
48,379
pupils on roll
Boys 52%48% Girls
Roll from 136 of 137 schools (48,379 pupils). Independent schools report roll and sex only.
Ethnicity
White
85%Asian
3%Black
5%Mixed
4%Chinese
1%Any other group
2%Unclassified
<1%Ethnicity from 126 of 137 schools (48,024 pupils). Independent schools report roll and sex only.
Pupil characteristics
- Free school meals
- 29.6%
- First language not English
- 12.0%
- Young carers
- <1%
14,204 of 48,024 pupils · 126 of 137 schools
5,771 of 48,024 pupils · 126 of 137 schools
234 of 47,821 pupils · 124 of 137 schools
Schools by phase
- Primary
- 99
- Secondary
- 19
- Special
- 8
- Nursery
- 2
- PRU
- 1
- Not recorded
- 8
Top primary schools in Wigan
The 20 highest-scoring primary schools here on Academic Performance, which combines the Ofsted judgement with DfE attainment.
- 1.Nicol Mere SchoolWigan · Primary10.0/10Outstanding
- 2.Standish St Wilfrid's Church of England Primary AcademyWigan · Primary10.0/10Outstanding
- 3.Orrell Newfold Community Primary SchoolWigan · Primary9.9/10Outstanding
- 4.Leigh St John's CofE PrimaryWigan · Primary9.8/10Outstanding
- 5.Our Lady's RC Primary School WiganWigan · Primary9.8/10Outstanding
- 6.St Mary and St John Catholic Primary SchoolWigan · Primary9.8/10Outstanding
- 7.Holy Family Catholic Primary School, New Springs, WiganWigan · Primary9.7/10Outstanding
- 8.Garrett Hall Primary SchoolWigan · Primary9.6/10Outstanding
- 9.St Marie's Catholic Primary School StandishWigan · Primary9.6/10Outstanding
- 10.Winstanley Community Primary SchoolWigan · Primary9.6/10Outstanding
- 11.Twelve Apostles Catholic Primary SchoolWigan · Primary9.4/10Outstanding
- 12.All Saints Catholic Primary School, Golborne, WiganWigan · Primary9.2/10Outstanding
- 13.Woodfield Primary SchoolWigan · Primary9.0/10
- 14.Wood Fold Primary SchoolWigan · Primary8.9/10
- 15.Gilded Hollins Community SchoolWigan · Primary8.8/10Good
- 16.Orrell Holgate AcademyWigan · Primary8.8/10Good
- 17.St James' Catholic Primary School OrrellWigan · Primary8.8/10Good
- 18.St Aidan's Catholic Primary School, WiganWigan · Primary8.7/10
- 19.St Luke's CofE Primary SchoolWigan · Primary8.7/10Good
- 20.Hindsford CofE Primary SchoolWigan · Primary8.6/10
Top secondary schools in Wigan
The highest-scoring secondary schools here on Academic Performance, which combines the Ofsted judgement with DfE attainment.
- 1.Golborne High SchoolWigan · Secondary9.6/10Outstanding
- 2.St Peter's Catholic High SchoolWigan · Secondary7.5/10Good
- 3.Shevington High SchoolWigan · Secondary7.1/10Good
- 4.St Edmund Arrowsmith Catholic High School, Ashton-in-MakerfieldWigan · Secondary7.0/10Good
- 5.Standish Community High SchoolWigan · Secondary6.6/10Good
- 6.Bedford High SchoolWigan · Secondary6.2/10Good
- 7.Fred Longworth High SchoolWigan · Secondary6.0/10Good
- 8.Lowton Church of England High SchoolWigan · Secondary5.9/10Good
- 9.The Deanery Church of England High School and Sixth Form CollegeWigan · Secondary4.0/10Good
- 10.Cansfield High SchoolWigan · Secondary3.8/10Good
- 11.St Mary's Catholic High SchoolWigan · Secondary3.4/10Good
- 12.The Byrchall High SchoolWigan · Secondary2.9/10Good
- 13.Hawkley Hall High SchoolWigan · Secondary2.8/10
- 14.St John Fisher Catholic High SchoolWigan · Secondary2.6/10Good
- 15.Outwood Academy HindleyWigan · Secondary2.5/10
- 16.Dean Trust Rose BridgeWigan · Secondary2.3/10
- 17.Atherton High SchoolWigan · Secondary2.0/10Good
- 18.The Westleigh SchoolWigan · Secondary1.4/10Good
- 19.Dean Trust WiganWigan · Secondary0.1/10Requires improvement
Browse all 137 schools in Wigan — filter by phase or Ofsted rating.
About schools in Wigan
- How many schools are there in Wigan?
- Wigan has 137 open schools — 99 primary, 19 secondary, 8 special, 2 nursery, teaching 48,379 pupils in total.
- How many schools in Wigan are rated Good or Outstanding?
- 108 of the 111 schools holding an Ofsted grade — 97% — are rated Good or Outstanding, including 17 rated Outstanding. That share is measured against graded schools, not all 137: a school inspected since September 2024 has no overall grade at all.
- What is the average Academic Performance in Wigan?
- 5.5 out of 10, averaged across the 131 schools here that can be scored, where 5 is the national average. Academic Performance combines the Ofsted judgement with DfE attainment and is ranked against comparable schools, so it is neither figure on its own.
- Why do some Wigan schools have no Ofsted rating?
- 26 schools in Wigan currently hold no overall grade. Ofsted stopped awarding single-word judgements in September 2024 and moved to a report card of separately graded areas, so schools inspected since then have no overall rating whatever the inspection found. Their profiles show the report card instead.
- What does Wigan local authority do?
- A local authority is the body responsible for state education in its area — the level most admissions and school-place decisions are made at. Wigan covers 137 schools and sits in the North West region. It does not run academies or independent schools directly, though it still coordinates admissions for most of them.
- How many pupils in Wigan are eligible for free school meals?
- 29.6% — 14,204 of 48,024 pupils at the 126 schools that report it. Independent schools file a return with roll and sex only, so they are outside this figure rather than counted as zero.
Part of the North West region.