Leigh St Mary's CofE Primary School

About Leigh St Mary's CofE Primary School

Leigh St Mary's CofE Primary School sits in the middle of the pack when it comes to headline primary metrics in Wigan, but with a few notable gaps. The local authority average for pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths at Key Stage 2 is 65 per cent; at Leigh St Mary's, that figure is 57 per cent, putting the school 72nd out of 98 primary schools in the borough. That places it in the bottom half of Wigan's state primaries, and nationally it sits in the 65th percentile. However, the school's maths average score of 104 is solid, and 77 per cent of pupils hit the expected standard in maths specifically, which is a stronger showing. The picture is more mixed in reading and writing, where expected rates are 70 and 67 per cent respectively. The proportion reaching the higher standard across all three subjects is just 3 per cent, which is low, though individual subject higher rates are a bit better: 20 per cent in maths and 17 per cent in reading.

Academically, the school's most recent graded Ofsted inspection in 2019 rated it Good overall, with Good for leadership and management and Good for early years provision. An ungraded inspection in 2024 confirmed the school remains Good. That's a step down from its previous Outstanding rating in 2008, but the school has held a Good rating across both its recent inspections. The Progress 8 measure is not available for this school, so it's hard to say how much value the school adds relative to pupils' starting points. What is clear is that the school serves a community with above-average disadvantage: 29.5 per cent of pupils are eligible for free school meals, which is notably higher than the national average. The school is a Church of England primary, which may appeal to families looking for a faith-based setting, though the data doesn't indicate how strongly that shapes the day-to-day experience.

Leigh St Mary's is a small school, with 207 pupils against a capacity of 210, and it is oversubscribed: for 30 places in 2025/26, there were 79 applications, with 27 first-preference applications and 26 offers made to first-preference families. That's a ratio of 2.63 applicants per place, so getting in is competitive. Facilities include a library, forest school, gymnasium, playing fields and a chapel, and the school offers a decent range of clubs from art and choir to coding and chess. Sports provision covers rounders, gymnastics, tennis, cross country, netball and swimming. The school has a broad SEND offer, including support for dyslexia, moderate learning difficulties, social and emotional mental health needs, speech and language needs, hearing impairment, physical disability and autistic spectrum disorder. For families who want a Church of England primary with strong SEND support and a forest school, this is a solid option, though the academic outcomes are more mixed than some nearby alternatives.

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