SCHOOL PROFILE

St Catherine's Catholic Primary School, Lowton

Primary Voluntary aided school URN 106507
Open
Pupils 8,834,192 Latest school census
Capacity 210 Published school capacity
Capacity used 101.0% Pupils as a share of capacity
Age range 4 – 11 Statutory age range
OFSTED

Latest ungraded inspection

31 March 2023
Latest published outcome School remains Good
SCHOOL DETAILS

About this school

School type Voluntary aided school
Phase Primary
Gender Mixed
Religious character Roman Catholic
Local authority Wigan
Trust Not applicable
Census date 15 January 2026
PUPIL PROFILE

School community

Latest published pupil characteristics for 2025/26.

2025/26
Total pupils 212 212 full-time · 0 part-time
Female pupils 100 47.2% of pupils
Male pupils 112 52.8% of pupils

Free school meals

Pupils eligible for free school meals.

12.7%
12.1 pts below England
School 12.7%
Wigan 29.4%
North West 28.5%
England 24.8%

English as an additional language

Pupils whose first language is not English.

11.8%
8.5 pts below England
School 11.8%
Wigan 11.9%
North West 18.1%
England 20.3%

Young carers

Pupils recorded as young carers.

0.0%
1.0 pts below England
School 0.0%
Wigan 0.5%
North West 0.8%
England 1.0%

Ethnicity

Largest recorded pupil groups.

White British
78.8%
167
Any other White background
5.7%
12
African
3.8%
8
Chinese
2.8%
6
Any other Asian background
1.9%
4
Any other ethnic group
1.9%
4
Council, regional and national comparisons are pupil-weighted using published school census counts.
ADDITIONAL NEEDS

Special educational needs

Pupils receiving SEN support or with an education, health and care plan.

2025/26
Pupils with SEN 11.8% 25 of 212 pupils
9.0 pts below England England: 20.8%
School 11.8%
Wigan 22.5%
North West 22.1%
England 20.8%
SEN support 9.9% 21 pupils
England 14.8% 4.9 pts below
EHC plans 1.9% 4 pupils
England 6.0% 4.1 pts below
PRIMARY NEEDS

Most common identified needs

Pupils
Speech, language & communication 9
Social, emotional & mental health 6
Autistic spectrum disorder 5
Moderate learning difficulty 3
Specific learning difficulty 2

SEN comparisons are pupil-weighted using published 2025/26 Department for Education school-level data. Primary needs combine pupils receiving SEN support and pupils with EHC plans.

ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE

Key stage 2 outcomes

Published Department for Education results for 2024/25.

2024/25
EXPECTED STANDARD

Reading, writing & maths

73.0% 12.6 pts above England
School 73.0%
Wigan 63.2%
North West 59.1%
England 60.4%
EXPECTED STANDARD

Reading

83.0%

9.2 pts above England

School 83.0%
Wigan 74.8%
North West 73.2%
England 73.8%
EXPECTED STANDARD

Writing

77.0%

6.7 pts above England

School 77.0%
Wigan 72.0%
North West 69.2%
England 70.3%
EXPECTED STANDARD

Maths

87.0%

15.0 pts above England

School 87.0%
Wigan 75.5%
North West 71.7%
England 72.0%
School results show the percentage of pupils meeting the expected standard. Council, regional and national comparisons are averages of published school-level percentages and are not pupil-weighted official attainment rates.
ATTENDANCE & ABSENCE

Attendance profile

Published Department for Education absence data for 2024/25. Lower absence rates are generally better.

2024/25
ABSENCE RATE

Overall absence

5.21%

Percentage of possible sessions missed.

1.01 pts lower than England
School 5.21%
Wigan 6.03%
North West 6.25%
England 6.22%
ABSENCE RATE

Persistent absence

11.64%

Pupils missing 10% or more of sessions.

4.18 pts lower than England
School 11.64%
Wigan 15.01%
North West 15.89%
England 15.82%
ABSENCE RATE

Severe absence

0.53%

Pupils missing 50% or more of sessions.

1.27 pts lower than England
School 0.53%
Wigan 1.55%
North West 1.75%
England 1.80%
Council, regional and national comparisons are averages of published school-level percentages rather than pupil-weighted official absence rates.
HOW DOES IT COMPARE?

School context

Comparison with open primary schools.

CAPACITY

Capacity utilisation

101.0% 12.8 pts above England
St Catherine's Catholic Primary School, Lowton
101.0%
Wigan
96.7%
North West
90.6%
England
88.2%
Benchmarks use open schools in the same phase. Capacity utilisation is calculated from published pupil and capacity figures.
Sources: Department for Education · Get Information about Schools · Ofsted monthly management information