Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School

About Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School

Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School in Wigan is a larger-than-average state primary, with 427 pupils on a 420-capacity site, and it is noticeably oversubscribed: for 51 places in 2025/26, it received 73 applications, with 47 first-preference offers. That demand makes sense when you look at the local picture, but the school’s headline Key Stage 2 results tell a more complicated story. Just 42% of pupils reached the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined, compared with the Wigan local authority average of 65% for primary schools. That gap is significant — 23 percentage points below the LA norm — and it places Sacred Heart at 94th out of 98 primary schools in the borough, firmly in the bottom 50 nationally. The school’s ranking score of 42 on the KS2 expected standard metric reflects this, though the raw scores in individual subjects offer a slightly more nuanced view.

Breaking down the 2023/24 KS2 outcomes, reading was the strongest subject: 70% of pupils met the expected standard, with an average scaled score of 103. Writing followed at 63% expected, and maths at 58% expected, with an average maths score of 101. The proportion reaching the higher standard was low across the board — 8% in reading, 8% in maths, 3% in writing, and just 2% in all three combined. There is no Progress 8 data available for this primary, so it is hard to say how much value the school adds relative to pupils’ starting points. However, Ofsted’s most recent graded inspection in 2018 rated the school Good overall, with Good for leadership and management and Good for early years provision. An ungraded inspection in 2023 confirmed the school remains Good. That is a clear improvement from the previous graded inspection in 2016, when it was judged Requires Improvement overall, with early years provision rated Requires Improvement and leadership and management also Requires Improvement.

The school offers a wide range of facilities, including a chapel, music rooms, an ICT suite, a sensory room, and an outdoor playground. Sports provision is strong, with football, cricket, tennis, swimming, athletics, netball and cross country all on offer, alongside clubs for drama, art, gardening and science. The SEND register is broad, covering moderate learning difficulty, social, emotional and mental health needs, speech, language and communication needs, visual impairment, physical disability, autistic spectrum disorder, and other difficulties. With 27.3% of pupils eligible for free school meals — above the national average — the school serves a relatively disadvantaged catchment. The nearest Outstanding-rated primary is Woodfield Primary School, 1.5 km away. Sacred Heart will suit Catholic families who prioritise faith-based education and a supportive SEND environment, but those focused purely on academic outcomes at KS2 may want to compare results carefully against other Wigan primaries.

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