Standish Community High School
99%
Capacity
1,292
Pupils
2.2x
Demand
About Standish Community High School
Standish Community High School holds a Good rating from Ofsted, a grade it has maintained across both its most recent inspections, with the latest ungraded visit in 2021 confirming the school remains Good. The most telling academic metric is its Progress 8 score of -0.07, which places it in the 'Average' banding nationally. While this score is slightly below the national average of zero, it significantly outperforms the Wigan local authority average of -0.3, ranking Standish 4th out of 19 secondary schools in the borough. This suggests that pupils at Standish typically make progress in line with or slightly better than their peers across Wigan, even if the school isn't pushing students far beyond the national benchmark. The school's Attainment 8 score of 52.4 provides further context, indicating that the average pupil leaves with the equivalent of just over five strong GCSE passes.
Digging deeper into the 2023/24 GCSE results, the school's strengths and weaknesses become clearer. Standish achieves a strong basics 9-4 pass rate of 79.4% in English and maths, meaning nearly four in five pupils secure a standard pass in both core subjects. However, the basics 9-5 rate drops to 58.8%, showing a steeper fall when aiming for the higher 'strong pass' threshold. The Progress 8 breakdown reveals a mixed picture: pupils make positive progress in English (0.21) and open subjects (0.11), but struggle more in maths (-0.4) and EBacc subjects (-0.25). Only 16.7% of pupils entered the EBacc suite of subjects, with 13.2% achieving a grade 5 or above across all components. The EBacc average points score of 4.39 reflects a solid but not outstanding performance in these academic subjects.
Standish is a large, oversubscribed 11-16 school with 1,292 pupils on roll, just shy of its 1,300 capacity. For the 2025/26 intake, it received 545 applications for 252 places, with 233 first-preference offers made, giving an oversubscription ratio of 2.16. The school offers a wide range of facilities including a swimming pool, theatre, and sports hall, plus clubs from chess to the Duke of Edinburgh's Award. Its SEND provisions are comprehensive, covering 11 different needs from dyslexia to autistic spectrum disorder and multi-sensory impairment. With 17% of pupils eligible for free school meals, the school serves a broadly representative community. Standish suits families who want a large, well-established secondary with strong core GCSE results and a good range of extracurriculars, but who are comfortable with average progress scores and a weaker maths performance compared to English.
Key Details
| School Type | Secondary (State) |
| Age Range | 11 to 16 years |
| Gender | Mixed |
| Religious Character | Does not apply |
| Address | Kenyon Road, Wigan, Wigan, WN6 0NX |
| Headteacher | Lindsay Barker |
| Local Authority | Wigan |
| Number of Pupils | 1,292 |
| Free School Meals (FSM) | 17.0% |
| School Capacity | 1,292 / 1,300 (99% full) |
Ofsted Inspection Breakdown
14 Oct 2021Overall Effectiveness
Good
Latest inspection (14 Oct 2021): School remains Good
Source: Ofsted, 11 Dec 2014. Ratings: 1=Outstanding, 2=Good, 3=Requires Improvement, 4=Inadequate.
League Table Position
Based on Progress 8 (-0.07)
1687th of 3,141
Nationally
186th of 445
In North West
4th of 19
In Wigan
Source: Classpot analysis of DfE Progress 8 data
GCSE Results
2023/24Progress 8 Score
Students make similar progress to students nationally with the same starting point
Attainment 8 (vs national avg)
Students achieve significantly higher grades than the national average
Source: Department for Education, 2023/24. Progress 8 compares to students with similar Key Stage 2 results.
Where GCSE leavers go
2022/231%
of GCSE leavers stay on for sixth form at this school (cohort: 256 pupils).
- FE college57%
- Sixth form college26%
- Apprenticeship7%
- Employment5%
- Not sustained4%
- School sixth form (stay)1%
96% of leavers had a sustained destination 6 months on.
Source: DfE Compare School & College Performance, KS4 pupil destinations 2022/23 (revised). Only state-funded schools are required to report.
SEND Support
Source: Department for Education, 2024/25. Support availability based on current student population.
Facilities
11Facilities may vary. Contact the school for current availability.
Extracurriculars
16Sports
Clubs & Activities
Activities may vary by term. Contact the school for current offerings.
Admissions
2025/26Oversubscribed252
545
Good Demand
Popular school with more applications than places
233 families put this school as their 1st choice (43% of all applications)
Source: Department for Education, 2025/26. Data reflects national offer day applications and offers.
School day
Teaching hours
08:50 – 15:05
Source: standishchs.org.uk. Extracted automatically — confirm with the school before relying on these times.
Class profile
2024/25Better than half of schools in England.
Better than half of schools in England.
Lower is generally better — fewer pupils per teacher or per class means more individual attention. Sources: DfE School Workforce Census & Schools, pupils and their characteristics, 2024/25.
Pupils & demographics
2024/25Below the national average (25%).
Lower than the national median (10%) — mostly English as first language.
Ethnic background
- White British86.8%
- Mixed4.1%
- White (other)3.2%
- Asian2.6%
- Black0.4%
Source: DfE Schools, pupils and their characteristics (2024/25). Percentages may not sum to 100% — pupils classified as “unclassified”, “refused” or minor categories are not shown.
Attendance & Behaviour
2024/2575% of schools in England do better than this.
Half of schools in England do better than this.
Pupils missing 10% or more of sessions.
75% of schools in England do better than this.
A pupil temporarily sent home for behaviour.
Permanent exclusion is rare — most schools have none in a given year.
Ranks vs all state-funded schools in England. Source: DfE Pupil absence in schools & Suspensions and permanent exclusions.
Catchment & Local Competition
No catchment data published for this school
The dashed grey ring is a generic 1-mile reference area — it's not an admission boundary. Real catchment depends on year, demand, and council criteria. We currently have real data for about 6% of UK schools and are actively expanding the database.
⚠ This school is oversubscribed — without published cutoff data we can't show how far places reach. Check your council's admissions page.
Schools within 1 mile (reference area)
1 mile is a fixed reference, not this school's catchment.
5
Total schools
5
Oversubscribed
3
Primary
Don’t use the dashed grey ring as a catchment boundary — it’s a reference area for counting nearby schools only. Real admission boundaries depend on year-by-year demand and council criteria; ask the school or council for authoritative info.
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Frequently Asked Questions About Standish Community High School
Helpful Guides for Parents
Ofsted Ratings Explained
Understand the 4 Ofsted ratings and what they mean
Understanding Progress 8
Learn how Progress 8 measures pupil progress from primary to GCSE
SEN & EHCP: A Parent's Guide
Understanding SEN support, EHC Plans and your legal rights
Understanding School Catchment Areas
How admission distances work and tips for maximising your choices
Contact Information
Kenyon Road, Wigan
Wigan, WN6 0NX
Journey to School
Journey times are estimates based on current conditions. Actual times may vary.
Opening Hours
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