Platt Bridge Community School

About Platt Bridge Community School

Platt Bridge Community School sits within Wigan local authority, a borough with 99 primary schools where it ranks 34th — comfortably in the top half. The three highest-scoring peers locally are Nicol Mere School, Gilded Hollins Community School, and Standish St Wilfrid's Church of England Primary Academy, all of which outrank it on the same KS2 expected standard metric. But Platt Bridge holds its own in a competitive landscape, and its most recent Ofsted inspection in 2024 judged the school Good overall, with two standout areas rated Outstanding: behaviour and attitudes, and early years provision. That early years rating is particularly notable given the school offers nursery provision for children as young as two. The nearest Outstanding-rated primary is St Mary and St John Catholic Primary School, 3.8 kilometres away. Headteacher Stephen Wallace leads a school that is oversubscribed — 76 applications for 50 places in 2025/26, with 48 first-preference offers — suggesting strong local demand.

Academically, Platt Bridge’s KS2 results for 2023/24 show 71% of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined, which is above the Wigan local authority average of 65%. That places the school in the top 50 nationally by this metric, and 34th out of 98 primaries in the LA. Individual subject scores tell a similar story: 78% achieved the expected standard in reading, 83% in maths, and 76% in writing. At the higher standard, the percentages are lower — 12% in reading, 14% in maths, 10% in writing, and just 3% across all three — which reflects the school’s intake, with 48% of pupils eligible for free school meals, well above the national average. Progress scores are not available in the data, so it’s hard to say how much value the school adds, but the expected standard results are solid. The previous Ofsted inspection in 2013 rated the school Outstanding overall, so the current Good rating represents a step down, though the inspection framework has changed significantly since then.

The school is well equipped for a primary of its size, with facilities including a sports hall, playing fields, an ICT suite, art studios, a library, a sensory room, and a forest school area. Clubs range from gardening and eco club to chess, coding, choir and book club, while sports offered include gymnastics, cricket, netball and athletics. SEND provision is comprehensive, covering specific learning difficulties like dyslexia, moderate and profound multiple learning difficulties, social emotional and mental health needs, speech language and communication needs, and autistic spectrum disorder, plus a resourced provision. With 483 pupils against a capacity of 504, the school is near full but not bursting. It’s a non-religious, mixed, state primary with no sixth form. This is a school that suits families in Wigan who want a Good-rated local option with strong early years support, a broad range of enrichment activities, and a track record of above-average KS2 outcomes despite a high-deprivation intake.

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