A town in Wigan
In short: Most primary schools here are rated Good or better, about the same as across England. Results at 11 are below England, and results at 16 were close to England in 2026. Attendance is close to the England figure.
Atherton at a glance
How Atherton'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.
9 mainstream schools in Atherton, best first
Results well above the England average.
46 first choices, 29 offers made
Met the standard at 1177%
England 62%
Greater Manchester, M46 0PA · State · Primary · Ages 4 to 11
Results above the England average.
38 first choices, 29 offers made
Met the standard at 1167%
England 62%
Results well above the England average.
40 first choices, 54 offers made
Met the standard at 1171%
England 62%
1 mainstream schools in Atherton, best first
Results close to the England average.
119 first choices, 120 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1646.2
England 46.2
8 in Atherton, highest Ofsted grade first
Manchester, M46 0HX · Nursery
Nurseries don't sit tests, so there are no results to compare.
Manchester, M46 9PT · Nursery
Nurseries don't sit tests, so there are no results to compare.
Manchester, M46 9BL · Nursery
Nurseries don't sit tests, so there are no results to compare.
1 in Atherton. Eduscope doesn't rank these.
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.
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.
Schools in Atherton sit in 2 council areas. Your home council handles your application, wherever the school is. Living nearby doesn't guarantee a place: each school's admission rules decide.
Pick a stage to see every Atherton school for that age, with filters for type, faith and Ofsted grade.
Ages 0 to 4
All 8 inspected are Good or better.
8nurseries
Ages 4 to 11
100% Good or better. 57% met the standard at 11.
10schools
Ages 11 to 16
The one inspected is Good or better. 38% got grade 5 in English and maths.
1school
The one inspected is Good or better. About 7 pupils per teacher.
1school
Here's how Atherton's schools break down by type, faith and more.
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.
Worked out by Eduscope from each school's published figures. Not an official statistic for this town.
AthertonEngland
Primaries rated Good or Outstanding
Latest Ofsted grade, 5 primaries with one.
100%
England 96%
Close to England
Secondaries rated Good or Outstanding
1 of the 1 with a grade.
100%
England 93%
Met the expected standard at 11
Reading, writing and maths.
57%
England 62%
Grade 5 or above in English and maths
At GCSE.
38%
Pupils who miss a lot of school
Missed 1 in 10 days or more. Lower is better.
17%
England 18%
Close to England
Primary pupils on free school meals
A sign of family income, not of school quality.
33%
Latest graded inspection for the 7 schools that have one.
100%
Good or Outstanding
Atherton in blue. There were no tests in 2020 and 2021 because of Covid.
Atherton has 19 schools and nurseries.
There are 3% more pupils than in 2018, but numbers have fallen since 2025.
33% of primary pupils here get free school meals. Schools get extra money for each of them.
Pupils in Atherton's state schools each January.
Up 3% 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.
Atherton33%
Apply through your local council, even for academies and faith schools.
Follow any school and we'll email you when it gets a new Ofsted report or new results are out. Nothing else.
Atherton has 19 schools, including 10 primary schools, 1 secondary school, 8 nurseries, 1 special school. Some count in more than one group. You can browse each category using the filters on Eduscope.
The highest-ranked schools in Atherton on Eduscope are Hindsford CofE Primary School, St Michael's CofE Primary School, Howe Bridge, St Philip's CofE Primary School, Atherton. 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.
100% of inspected schools in Atherton hold a Good or Outstanding Ofsted rating, which is above the England average of 94.8%. This includes 1 school rated Outstanding and 6 rated Good.
Across primary schools in Atherton, 57% 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 Atherton 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 Atherton is 17.3%. A pupil is classed as persistently absent if they miss 10% or more of school sessions. Across England it is 18.1%.
There are 2,890 pupils enrolled across schools in Atherton, with 2,329 in primary and 561 in secondary. 36.0% of pupils are eligible for free school meals.
Start by considering your child's age, your location, and whether you prefer a state or independent school. Use Eduscope to compare 19 schools in Atherton 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.
