Newton Westpark Primary School

About Newton Westpark Primary School

Newton Westpark Primary School in Wigan holds a Good rating from Ofsted, a grade it has maintained across both its most recent inspections. The 2023 inspection gave it Good marks across every category: quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, leadership and management, and early years provision. However, the school’s academic outcomes tell a more complicated story. At Key Stage 2, just 33% of pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined. That figure is roughly half the local authority average of 65% and places the school 96th out of 98 primary schools in Wigan. Only 3% of pupils reached the higher standard in all three subjects, and while maths scores were slightly stronger — with an average scaled score of 104 and 23% achieving the higher standard — reading and writing results were notably lower, with 50% of pupils reaching the expected level in each.

The school’s exam data needs to be read in context. Newton Westpark has a very high proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals at 55.6%, more than three times the national average, and this is likely to affect headline attainment figures. Progress scores are not available in the data, so it is difficult to say how much value the school adds relative to pupils’ starting points. In maths, the average scaled score of 104 is just above the national benchmark of 100, which suggests some solid teaching in that subject. The Ofsted inspection noted that behaviour and attitudes are Good, and the school has held a consistent Good rating since at least 2014. For parents weighing up the school, the key question is whether the low combined attainment reflects the school’s intake or its teaching — and without progress measures, that is hard to answer from the data alone.

Newton Westpark is a small primary school with 207 pupils, just under its capacity of 210, and it is oversubscribed: for 30 places in the 2025/26 intake, there were 55 applications, with 28 first-preference offers made. The school offers a range of facilities including an ICT suite, sports hall, sensory room and a chapel, and runs clubs in science, film, drama and eco. Sports provision includes gymnastics, dance, tennis, swimming and netball. The school has a broad SEND offer, with provisions 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 whose children have additional needs, this breadth of support may be a significant draw. The nearest Outstanding-rated school is Twelve Apostles Catholic Primary, 0.4 km away, so parents with a strong focus on academic outcomes may want to compare options.

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