St Catherine's Catholic Primary School, Lowton

About St Catherine's Catholic Primary School, Lowton

St Catherine's Catholic Primary School in Lowton holds a Good rating from Ofsted, a grade it has maintained consistently across its two most recent inspections. The school's most informative exam metric is the proportion of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined, which stands at 72 per cent. That figure sits comfortably above the Wigan local authority average of 65 per cent, placing the school 31st out of 98 primary schools in the borough and within the top 50 per cent nationally. In the 2023/24 academic year, individual subject results were strongest in reading and maths, where 84 per cent of pupils met the expected standard in each, while writing reached 78 per cent. At the higher standard, reading led with 31 per cent, followed by maths at 25 per cent and writing at 16 per cent. The school's average scaled scores were 105 in reading and 106 in maths, both above the national benchmark of 100.

The Ofsted inspection from March 2023 confirmed the school continues to be Good, with leadership and management also rated Good. The previous graded inspection in 2014 had awarded Good overall, with leadership and management and early years provision each scoring 2 on the four-point scale. The school has a capacity of 210 pupils and currently enrols 213, reflecting consistent demand. Around 14 per cent of pupils are eligible for free school meals, slightly below the national average. The school does not have a sixth form or nursery provision, and it operates as a Roman Catholic state primary for mixed-gender pupils aged four to eleven. The headteacher is S Leck. In terms of local competition, the nearest Outstanding-rated school is All Saints Catholic Primary School in Golborne, 1.6 kilometres away, and 16 of the 99 primary schools in Wigan hold the top Ofsted grade.

Admissions data for the 2025/26 intake shows the school is oversubscribed, with 81 applications for 30 places, giving an oversubscription ratio of 2.7. Of the 23 first-preference applications, 21 received offers. The school offers a broad range of facilities including a chapel, music rooms, art studios, a forest school area, a gymnasium and a sports hall. Sports on offer include netball, tennis, gymnastics and cross country, while clubs range from science and coding to chess and drama. The school provides support for pupils with moderate learning difficulties, speech, language and communication needs, social and emotional mental health needs, and autistic spectrum disorder. This combination of solid academic outcomes, Catholic character and strong local demand makes St Catherine's a practical choice for families in Lowton who prioritise a faith-based primary with above-average results and a wide extracurricular offer.

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