St Mary and St John Catholic Primary School

About St Mary and St John Catholic Primary School

Parents considering St Mary and St John Catholic Primary School will find a school that is clearly in high demand. For the 2025/26 intake, the school received 98 applications for just 30 places, giving an oversubscription ratio of 3.27, meaning more than three families applied for every spot. Of those, 33 put it as their first preference, and 27 first-preference offers were made. That level of competition is a strong signal of local confidence. While the school doesn't publish a formal parent satisfaction survey, the sheer volume of applications suggests a positive reputation in the community. The school is full to its capacity of 210 pupils, with no spare places, and 15.2 per cent of pupils are eligible for free school meals, which is slightly below the national average for primary schools. Headteacher Thomas Atherton leads a Roman Catholic state primary for mixed genders from ages 4 to 11, and the school's most recent Ofsted inspection in 2023 awarded it Outstanding across every category, including quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and leadership and management. This was a repeat of its previous Outstanding rating from 2007.

Academically, St Mary and St John performs well above the local average. In the 2023/24 Key Stage 2 assessments, 81 per cent of pupils reached the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined, compared with a Wigan local authority average of 65 per cent. That puts the school 13th out of 98 primary schools in the borough, placing it in the top 25 per cent nationally. Looking at individual subjects, reading was a particular strength: 97 per cent of pupils met the expected standard, and 55 per cent achieved a higher score. In maths, 87 per cent met the expected standard and 26 per cent reached the higher standard, with an average score of 107. Writing saw 87 per cent at expected and 29 per cent at the higher level. The average reading score was 110. The school's overall ranking score of 81, based on the combined expected standard metric, places it 170th out of 2,065 primary schools in the North West region and 1,386th nationally out of 13,686. There are 16 other Outstanding-rated primary schools in Wigan, with the nearest being Woodfield Primary School, 1.5 km away.

The school offers a solid range of facilities including a dining hall, art studios, sports hall, library, gymnasium, ICT suite, outdoor playground, playing fields and a chapel. Sports provision covers swimming, athletics, netball, cross country, tennis and gymnastics, while extracurricular clubs include drama, chess, choir, science club, eco club and art club. For families with children who have additional needs, the school lists SEND provisions for specific learning difficulties including dyslexia, moderate learning difficulty, social emotional and mental health needs, speech language and communication needs, and hearing impairment. There is no nursery provision and no sixth form, as this is a primary school. The school's religious character is Roman Catholic, which will appeal to families seeking a faith-based education, though the admission data shows it is heavily oversubscribed, so applying as a first preference is advisable. This is a school that suits families who value strong academic outcomes, a clear moral framework, and a wide range of activities within a full-to-capacity, well-regarded local institution.

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