Shevington Vale Primary School

About Shevington Vale Primary School

Shevington Vale Primary School is a popular choice among local families, with 32 first-preference applications for just 29 places in the 2025/26 admissions round, making it officially oversubscribed. The school received 64 total applications for those 29 spots, giving it an oversubscription ratio of 2.21, meaning more than two families applied for every available place. While the school does not publish a parent recommendation percentage, the strong demand suggests a solid reputation in the community. Headteacher Karen Tomlinson leads a mixed, state primary for children aged 2 to 11, with a current roll of 195 pupils against a capacity of 165, so the school is operating above its official capacity. The proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals is 8.7%, which is relatively low, indicating a broadly affluent intake. The school has no religious character and offers nursery provision, making it a straightforward option for families seeking a non-denominational start.

Academically, Shevington Vale was rated Good in its most recent Ofsted inspection in March 2022, with an Outstanding grade for personal development. The other four graded areas — quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, leadership and management, and early years provision — all received Good. In the 2023/24 Key Stage 2 assessments, 57% of pupils reached the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined, which is below the Wigan local authority average of 65%. The school ranks 71st out of 98 primary schools in Wigan on this measure, placing it in the bottom half locally. However, individual subject results are more mixed: 83% met the expected standard in reading, compared with 65% in writing and 61% in maths. The average reading score was 104 and maths 102, both slightly above the national benchmark of 100. Just 9% of pupils achieved the higher standard across all three subjects.

The school offers a strong range of facilities including a Forest School, sensory room, library, chapel and playing fields. Sports provision is broad, with gymnastics, football, swimming, rounders, cross country, cricket and netball, and there are clubs for gardening, art, chess, choir, science and film. SEND support covers specific learning difficulties like dyslexia, moderate learning difficulty, social, emotional and mental health needs, speech and language communication needs, hearing impairment and physical disability. The school is oversubscribed, so families should be prepared to apply early and consider their catchment area. It suits parents who value a Good-rated school with strong personal development and a wide extracurricular offer, and who are comfortable with KS2 outcomes that are below the local average but with solid reading results.

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