OFSTED
24 January 2024
Latest graded inspection
Latest published outcome
Good
OEIF
Quality of education
Good
Behaviour & attitudes
Good
Personal development
Good
Leadership & management
Good
SCHOOL DETAILS
About this school
School type
Free schools
Phase
Secondary
Gender
Mixed
Religious character
—
Local authority
Wigan
Trust
EDUCATION PARTNERSHIP TRUST
Census date
15 January 2026
PUPIL PROFILE
2025/26
School community
Latest published pupil characteristics for 2025/26.
Total pupils
561
561 full-time ·
0 part-time
Female pupils
268
47.8% of pupils
Male pupils
293
52.2% of pupils
Free school meals
Pupils eligible for free school meals.
22.6 pts
above England
School
47.4%
Wigan
29.4%
North West
28.5%
England
24.8%
English as an additional language
Pupils whose first language is not English.
14.2 pts
below England
School
6.1%
Wigan
11.9%
North West
18.1%
England
20.3%
Young carers
Pupils recorded as young carers.
0.6 pts
below England
School
0.4%
Wigan
0.5%
North West
0.8%
England
1.0%
Ethnicity
Largest recorded pupil groups.
White British
87.2%
489
Any other Mixed background
2.7%
15
Any other ethnic group
1.8%
10
Any other Asian background
1.6%
9
Any other White background
1.4%
8
Unclassified
1.4%
8
Council, regional and national comparisons
are pupil-weighted using published school
census counts.
ADDITIONAL NEEDS
2025/26
Special educational needs
Pupils receiving SEN support or with an education, health and care plan.
Pupils with SEN
24.6%
138 of
561 pupils
3.8 pts
above England
England:
20.8%
England
14.8%
6.1 pts
above
England
6.0%
2.3 pts
below
PRIMARY NEEDS
Pupils
Most common identified needs
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
2024/25
Key stage 4 outcomes
Published Department for Education results for 2024/25.
ATTAINMENT 8
Average attainment score
39.3
0.1 pts
above England
Latest published: 0.00 · 2023/24
Comparisons are averages of published school-level results for open schools. They are not pupil-weighted official local authority attainment rates.
ATTENDANCE & ABSENCE
2024/25
Attendance profile
Published Department for Education absence data for 2024/25. Lower absence rates are generally better.
ABSENCE RATE
8.90%
Overall absence
Percentage of possible sessions missed.
2.69 pts
higher than
England
School
8.90%
Wigan
6.03%
North West
6.25%
England
6.22%
ABSENCE RATE
26.14%
Persistent absence
Pupils missing 10% or more of sessions.
10.32 pts
higher than
England
School
26.14%
Wigan
15.01%
North West
15.89%
England
15.82%
ABSENCE RATE
3.68%
Severe absence
Pupils missing 50% or more of sessions.
1.88 pts
higher than
England
School
3.68%
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 secondary schools.
CAPACITY
Capacity utilisation
102.0%
9.7 pts
above England
Atherton High School
102.0%
Wigan
96.1%
North West
91.8%
England
92.3%
Benchmarks use open schools in the
same phase. Capacity utilisation is
calculated from published pupil and
capacity figures.