A council (local authority) in the North West
In short: Most primary schools here are rated Good or better, about the same as across England. Results at 11 are above England, and results at 16 were close to England in 2026. Attendance is close to the England figure.
Wigan at a glance
How Wigan's schools compare with England, area by area.
Primary and secondary schools are ranked by Eduscope score, which weighs up results, inspections, attendance and more. Nurseries, special and independent schools aren't ranked. A high score isn't everything: always visit.
99 mainstream schools in Wigan, best first
Results well above the England average.
42 first choices, 30 offers made
Met the standard at 1193%
England 62%
Results well above the England average.
96 first choices, 60 offers made
Met the standard at 1197%
England 62%
Results well above the England average.
72 first choices, 86 offers made
Met the standard at 1178%
England 62%
19 mainstream schools in Wigan, best first
Wigan, WN4 9PF · State · Secondary · Ages 11 to 16
Results above the England average.
258 first choices, 233 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1650.4
England 46.2
Results above the England average.
183 first choices, 169 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1650.4
England 46.2
Results close to the England average.
279 first choices, 236 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1645.1
England 46.2
103 in Wigan, highest Ofsted grade first
Leigh, WN7 5JL · Nursery
Nurseries don't sit tests, so there are no results to compare.
Wigan, WN2 1XJ · Nursery
Nurseries don't sit tests, so there are no results to compare.
Wigan, WN1 3SU · State · Nursery · Ages 2 to 5
No published results yet.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
5 in Wigan, by the school's Eduscope score
Results close to the England average.
262 first choices, 256 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1647.1
England 46.2
Wigan, WN1 1HQ · State · Secondary · Ages 11 to 18
Results close to the England average.
275 first choices, 245 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1645.2
England 46.2
Wigan, WN4 0EP · Special · All-through · Ages 4 to 19
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
21 in Wigan. Eduscope doesn't rank these.
Wigan, WN4 0EP · Special · All-through · Ages 4 to 19
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
Wigan, WN2 4XA · Special · Secondary · Ages 11 to 19
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
Manchester, M46 9HP · Special · Primary · Ages 4 to 11
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
9 in Wigan. Eduscope doesn't rank these.
Greater Manchester, WN1 3JW · Independent · Primary · Ages 4 to 11
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
Wigan, WN3 5XF · Independent · Secondary · Ages 11 to 16
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
Warrington, WA3 2RD · Independent · All-through · Ages 3 to 14
Independent school. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
Each dot is a school or nursery, coloured by its latest Ofsted grade. Point at a dot to see its name, or use the list.
Apply through the council where you live, even for a school in another council's area. Independent schools take applications directly.
Wigan is a metropolitan borough in the North West with 99 mainstream primary schools and 19 mainstream secondary schools. Towns with the most schools include Wigan, Leigh and Ashton-in-Makerfield. The council still runs or maintains most state schools here: only 29% are academies or free schools. Faith schools are common, with 74 in the area, and they can put families of their faith first when they're full.
From Wigan council's website, checked 7 November 2026. Check the council's pages before you apply.
School admissions team: 01942 489013
If a date falls on a weekend or bank holiday, offers go out the next working day.
88.7%got their first-choice primary school in Wigan in 2026. England: 92.4%. Ranked 128 of 151 councils. 97.3% got one of their top three.3.9% were offered a primary school in another council. England: 3.6%.
91.1%got their first-choice secondary school in Wigan in 2026. England: 83.6%. Ranked 37 of 151 councils. 97.6% got one of their top three.5.6% were offered a secondary school in another council. England: 8.0%.
Source: DfE applications and offers, 2026. A low rate shows high demand, not poor schools.
30 of 136 primary appeals heard in Wigan succeeded in 2025. 26 of 159 secondary appeals heard in Wigan succeeded in 2025.
Pick a stage to see every Wigan school for that age, with filters for type, faith and Ofsted grade.
Ages 0 to 4
15 Outstanding, 70 Good, 1 need to improve.
103nurseries
Ages 4 to 11
100% Good or better. 66% met the standard at 11.
108schools
Ages 11 to 16
All 10 inspected are Good or better. 43% got grade 5 in English and maths.
33schools
2 Outstanding, 7 Good, 2 need to improve. About 8 pupils per teacher.
21schools
Here's how Wigan's schools break down by type, faith and more.
The blue bar is the average Eduscope score of the primary schools in each town. The black line is the Wigan average, 54.
Average primary score
61Wigan 54
Average primary score
41Wigan 54
Average primary score
33Wigan 54
Some areas, like parts of a bigger town, are easiest to find by postcode.
Inspections, exam results and attendance, next to the figure for England where we have it.
WiganEngland
Primaries rated Good or Outstanding
Latest Ofsted grade, 66 primaries with one.
100%
England 96%
Close to England
Secondaries rated Good or Outstanding
10 of the 10 with a grade.
100%
England 93%
Met the expected standard at 11
Reading, writing and maths.
66%
England 62%
Grade 5 or above in English and maths
At GCSE.
43%
Pupils who miss a lot of school
Missed 1 in 10 days or more. Lower is better.
18%
England 18%
Close to England
Primary pupils on free school meals
A sign of family income, not of school quality.
29%
Latest graded inspection for the 90 schools that have one.
98%
Good or Outstanding
Wigan in blue. There were no tests in 2020 and 2021 because of Covid.
The latest published year for each measure. Sources and years are on our data sources page.
| Measure | Wigan | England |
|---|---|---|
| Good or Outstanding (Ofsted) | 98% | 95% |
| Met the expected standard at 11 (KS2) | 66% | 62% |
| Attainment 8 | 45.1 | 46.2 |
| Persistent absence | 18% | 18% |
| Pupils per teacher | 18.1:1 | 17.9:1 |
| Spending per pupil | £8,046 | £8,120 |
| In education or work after 16 | 90% | 91% |
| Went on to higher education | 46% | 56% |
| Pupils with special educational needs | 22% | 21% |
| Pupils with English as an additional language | 12% | 22% |
| Pupils on free school meals | 30% | 27% |
DfE local authority code 359, ONS code E08000010.
Wigan has 244 schools and nurseries across 13 towns and villages, the biggest being Wigan, Leigh, Golborne and Ashton-in-Makerfield.
There are 5% more pupils than in 2018.
29% of primary pupils here get free school meals. Schools get extra money for each of them.
Pupils in Wigan's state schools each January.
Up 5% since 2018. More children can mean popular schools fill up faster.
Out of every 10 primary pupils, how many get free school meals. It's a sign of family income, not of school quality.
Wigan29%
Follow any school and we'll email you when it gets a new Ofsted report or new results are out. Nothing else.
Wigan has 244 schools, including 108 primary schools, 33 secondary schools, 103 nurseries, 9 independent schools, 21 special schools. Some count in more than one group. You can browse each category using the filters on Eduscope.
The highest-ranked schools in Wigan on Eduscope are Woodfield Primary School, Nicol Mere School, Wood Fold Primary School. We rank each state school against schools of the same phase across England on its Ofsted inspection, results and attendance. Independent, special and nursery schools aren't ranked.
98% of inspected schools in Wigan hold a Good or Outstanding Ofsted rating, which is above the England average of 94.8%. This includes 15 schools rated Outstanding and 73 rated Good.
Across primary schools in Wigan, 66% of pupils meet the expected standard in reading, writing, and maths at Key Stage 2. This is based on the latest published results from the Department for Education.
The average pupil-teacher ratio across schools in Wigan is 18.1:1. While not a direct measure of class size, this indicates the level of teaching resource available per pupil. Across England it is 17.9:1.
The persistent absence rate across schools in Wigan is 17.5%. A pupil is classed as persistently absent if they miss 10% or more of school sessions. Across England it is 18.1%.
There are 48,231 pupils enrolled across schools in Wigan, with 27,246 in primary and 20,782 in secondary. 29.6% of pupils are eligible for free school meals.
There are 9 independent schools in Wigan. Fees vary by school and age group, with day school fees typically ranging from £10,000 to £20,000 per year. You can compare all private schools in Wigan on Eduscope, including ISI inspection ratings where available.
Start by considering your child's age, your location, and whether you prefer a state or independent school. Use Eduscope to compare 244 schools in Wigan by Ofsted ratings, exam results, and distance. Filter by school type, gender, religious character, and admissions policy to narrow your options.
Sources: DfE school performance tables, DfE school census and workforce, DfE pupil absence, Ofsted. Photos are stand-ins.
