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 above England, and results at 16 were close to England in 2026. Fewer pupils miss a lot of school than across England.
Orrell at a glance
How Orrell'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.
7 mainstream schools in Orrell, best first
Results well above the England average.
13 first choices, 10 offers made
Met the standard at 1192%
England 62%
Results well above the England average.
71 first choices, 59 offers made
Met the standard at 1193%
England 62%
Results well above the England average.
54 first choices, 46 offers made
Met the standard at 1180%
England 62%
3 mainstream schools in Orrell, best first
Results above the England average.
238 first choices, 199 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1649.2
England 46.2
Results above the England average.
174 first choices, 192 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1650.0
England 46.2
Results well below the England average.
110 first choices, 140 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1637.5
England 46.2
9 in Orrell, highest Ofsted grade first
Wigan, WN5 8LY · Nursery
Nurseries don't sit tests, so there are no results to compare.
Skelmersdale, WN8 0DX · Nursery
Nurseries don't sit tests, so there are no results to compare.
Skelmersdale, WN8 0DT · Nursery
Nurseries don't sit tests, so there are no results to compare.
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 Orrell 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 Orrell school for that age, with filters for type, faith and Ofsted grade.
Ages 0 to 4
All 6 inspected are Good or better.
9nurseries
Ages 4 to 11
100% Good or better. 84% met the standard at 11.
7schools
Ages 11 to 16
All 2 inspected are Good or better. 42% got grade 5 in English and maths.
3schools
Here's how Orrell'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.
OrrellEngland
Primaries rated Good or Outstanding
Latest Ofsted grade, 5 primaries with one.
100%
England 96%
Close to England
Secondaries rated Good or Outstanding
2 of the 2 with a grade.
100%
England 93%
Met the expected standard at 11
Reading, writing and maths.
84%
England 62%
Grade 5 or above in English and maths
At GCSE.
42%
Pupils who miss a lot of school
Missed 1 in 10 days or more. Lower is better.
16%
England 18%
Primary pupils on free school meals
A sign of family income, not of school quality.
18%
Latest graded inspection for the 7 schools that have one.
100%
Good or Outstanding
Orrell in blue. There were no tests in 2020 and 2021 because of Covid.
Orrell has 19 schools and nurseries.
There are 3% more pupils than in 2018, but numbers have fallen since 2025.
18% of primary pupils here get free school meals. Schools get extra money for each of them.
Pupils in Orrell'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.
Orrell18%
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.
Orrell has 19 schools, including 7 primary schools, 3 secondary schools, 9 nurseries. Some count in more than one group. You can browse each category using the filters on Eduscope.
The highest-ranked schools in Orrell on Eduscope are Crawford Village Primary School, Orrell Newfold Community Primary School, St James' Catholic Primary School Orrell. 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 Orrell hold a Good or Outstanding Ofsted rating, which is above the England average of 94.8%. This includes 2 schools rated Outstanding and 5 rated Good.
Across primary schools in Orrell, 84% 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 Orrell is 17.9:1. 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 Orrell is 16.0%. A pupil is classed as persistently absent if they miss 10% or more of school sessions. Across England it is 18.1%.
There are 4,532 pupils enrolled across schools in Orrell, with 1,917 in primary and 2,615 in secondary. 24.3% 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 Orrell 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.
