R L Hughes Primary School, Wigan
R L Hughes Primary School is a primary school for pupils aged 3 to 11 in Wigan. It was rated Good at its last graded Ofsted inspection, in January 2013. Ofsted's ungraded inspection in February 2023 did not change this grade. Its 2025 Key Stage 2 results were the 10th-highest of the 67 schools in Wigan with published results, and 1,291st of 14,452 across England. It was 97% full in 2025.
- SATs results
- Above England average
- Ofsted
- Good (2013)
- Demand
- Every first choice offered
- Attendance
- Better than England average
Reception applications for September 2027 close in 81 days
Deadline Friday 15 January 2027. Apply to Wigan (the council where you live). Offers on 16 April.
Data last updated 26 Oct 2026
R L Hughes Primary School in detail
R L Hughes Primary School in its own words
In its own words: "Work has started on our new build and will continue through 2027 The school's senior leadership team and the Governing body believe that having a school dog brings many benefits to our children. · For the school to have a pet that was able to live as naturally as conditions would allow."
From the headteacher's welcome: "Work has started on our new build and will continue through 2027 We are a large, busy and friendly school. Please feel free to contact our school directly with any queries you may have. If you have any ideas about the content of our site please let us know via the school office."
Vision and values (school website)Headteacher's welcome (school website)
Source: The school's own website
Results
In 2025, 85% of Year 6 pupils at R L Hughes Primary School reached the expected standard in reading and 97% in maths. At the average state primary the figures were 78% and 79% in Wigan and 77% and 75% across England.
Results rose from 78% in reading and 82% in maths in 2024.
Getting a place at R L Hughes Primary School
For September 2026 entry, 37 families put R L Hughes Primary School as their first choice and 93 named it as one of their preferences, for 51 places offered. It had fewer first-choice applications than places. Every family who put it first was offered a place there for 2026 entry.
Admissions history and your chances at R L Hughes Primary School
Compared with nearby schools
The nearest other state primary schools to R L Hughes Primary School are St Oswald's Catholic Primary School (0.2 miles, Good, 60% reading, 66% maths); Nicol Mere School (0.6 miles, Outstanding, 97% reading, 97% maths); St Thomas CofE Primary School (0.6 miles, Good, 62% reading, 69% maths); and Bryn St Peter's CofE Primary School (0.8 miles, Good, 79% reading, 90% maths).
R L Hughes Primary School's 2025 results were higher than 3 of these 4 schools.
St Oswald's Catholic Primary SchoolNicol Mere SchoolSt Thomas CofE Primary SchoolBryn St Peter's CofE Primary School
Who goes there
5.9% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.
Getting there
The nearest railway station is Bryn Rail Station, about 1100 metres away (roughly a 14-minute walk).
8 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Osborne Road (near), 110 metres away.
Suspensions and exclusions
In 2024/25, R L Hughes Primary School issued 3 suspensions, 0.7 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and no permanent exclusions.
Secondary schools nearby
The secondary schools closest to R L Hughes Primary School are Cansfield High School (0.3 miles); St Edmund Arrowsmith Catholic High School, Ashton-in-Makerfield (0.6 miles); and The Byrchall High School (0.6 miles).
Cansfield High SchoolSt Edmund Arrowsmith Catholic High School, Ashton-in-MakerfieldThe Byrchall High School
Sources: DfE school performance data (averages: state mainstream schools); DfE school-level applications and offers; council admissions booklets; DfE appeals statistics; DfE school census and special educational needs statistics; NaPTAN (Department for Transport); DfE exclusions statistics
Location
Every family who put it first was offered a place for 2026 entry, so distance did not limit places that year.
Key Information
DfE GIASOfsted Rating
Ofsted · 4 years agoThis judgement is from January 2013, 13 years ago, longer than Ofsted's usual 4-year cycle: the school may have changed since.
Overall
Latest (ungraded) inspection: The school remains Good.
Ofsted Insights
From Ofsted's February 2023 inspection report.
What This School Does Well
This is a welcoming school where children thrive in a positive environment with strong behaviour and clear safeguarding. The school excels at teaching early reading and phonics, ensuring many pupils become confident readers by Year 2. Leaders create lots of opportunities for pupils to develop leadership skills and discover their talents, including roles as play leaders and members of the eco-council and reading council.
Key Strengths
- Pupils display positive behaviour and feel safe with effective systems to address bullying quickly
- Ambitious curriculum with carefully organised key knowledge from early years to Year 6, particularly strong in early reading and phonics
- Effective support for pupils with SEND through timely identification and adapted teaching
- Strong focus on developing a love of reading with high-quality texts and reading council
- Staff benefit from ongoing training to develop subject knowledge
Areas for Improvement
- Recent curriculum revisions in one or two subjects are not yet fully implemented in all year groups, causing some teachers to be unclear about what content to teach
- Some pupils are not achieving as well as they could due to incomplete curriculum implementation
Safeguarding
Safeguarding arrangements are effective with leaders and staff vigilant about all aspects, receiving regular training to identify pupils at risk, and pupils learning how to keep themselves safe online and in relationships.
Extracurricular Activities
Play leaders programme, eco-council, reading council, debating club
R L Hughes Primary School continues to be a good school where pupils are happy and benefit from positive relationships with staff and each other. Governors and leaders are ambitious for all pupils to succeed both academically and as well-rounded individuals.
At a Glance
20.2%
Free School Meals
No
Boarding
Yes
Nursery
No
Sixth Form
No
Special Measures
Primary Performance (KS2)
Academic year 2024/25KS2 Results (% meeting expected standard)
Reading has improved from 78% to 85% (2024 to 2025). Maths has improved from 82% to 97% (2024 to 2025). Writing has improved from 73% to 85% (2024 to 2025).
Class Sizes
27.5
Avg class size
27.7
Infant (KS1)
28.5
KS2
13
Total classes
2025/26 academic year
How Does This School Compare?
Ranked against 5 nearby primary schools
Latest from R L Hughes Primary School
Newsletter 18 September 2026
18 Sep 2026
Newsletter Friday 11 September 2026
11 Sep 2026
Newsletter 17 July 2026
16 Jul 2026
Newsletter 10 July 2026
9 Jul 2026
Newsletter 03 July 2026
2 Jul 2026
Newsletter 26 June 2026
25 Jun 2026
From R L Hughes Primary School's website. School Signal is not affiliated with the school.
Keep up with R L Hughes Primary School
Getting There
Bus Stops
Free school transport
Check free transport to R L Hughes Primary School from your postcode →
You apply to the council where you live. R L Hughes Primary School is in Wigan; for families living there:
Apply to Wigan for free school transport. Its policy is on the council's website.
Safety and surroundings
Road collisions within 500 m (2021 to 2025)
- Collisions
- 8
- Fatal
- 0
- Serious
- 3
- Children hurt
- 4
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 8 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 3 serious and 5 slight.
4 children aged 0 to 15 were hurt: 3 on foot and 1 on a bicycle.
3 of the collisions happened on a weekday between 08:00 and 09:30 or 14:45 and 16:30, holidays included.
The typical figure for schools in Wigan is 10 (the median across 146 schools, same distance and years).
Serious and slight counts use the Department for Transport's severity adjustment, which allows for changes in how police forces record injuries; they are estimates, rounded to whole numbers. Distances are in a straight line. Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19), Open Government Licence v3.0.
Commute and house prices
Your chances of a place at R L Hughes Primary School
Will you get a place at R L Hughes Primary School? Get the admissions report
Your home postcode, set against R L Hughes Primary School's admissions figures, in one report saved to your account.
What the report includes for R L Hughes Primary School:
- The straight-line distance from your home to R L Hughes Primary School.
- We hold no last distance offered figures from Wigan, so the report covers demand, alternatives and dates.
- Applications, first choices and offers at R L Hughes Primary School for 2014 to 2026 entry.
- How many families in Wigan got their first choice, and how often appeals there succeed.
- The nearest state schools to your home, with Ofsted rating, demand and last distance offered where published.
- Key dates for September 2027 entry and how to apply.
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Capacity & Demand
School Occupancy
97%
Near capacity
407 pupils
420 places
13 spare places in 2025
2025, DfE school capacity data
Area Demand Pressure - Wigan
Based on MHCLG Live Table 122 (2024-25, last 5 years) for Wigan
Across Wigan council
Places available
3,894
Applications
3,541
Got 1st preference
88.7%
Got preferred school
97.3%
All primary applications across Wigan council (2026/27), not just this school.
This school: Every first choice offered
Inspection History(6)
SEND & SEN Provision
SEN Overview
57
SEN Support
14
EHC Plans
16.7%
of Total Pupils
2026 academic year
Provision & Specialist Facilities
Pupils by Need Type
Pupil Demographics
Ethnicity
2026 academic year
Key Indicators
425
Total Pupils
205
Boys
220
Girls
2026 academic year
Workforce
19
Teachers
22.4:1
Pupil-teacher ratio
£56,787
Mean salary
2026 data
School Funding
£5,054
Per pupil
£2291k
Total funding
£118k
Pupil premium
2025-26 financial year allocations
Pupil Absence2024/25
4.2%
Overall absence
8.4%
Persistent absence
357
Enrolments
Absence trend
Source: DfE pupil absence statistics. Persistent absence = pupils missing 10%+ sessions.
Secondary Schools Nearby
Secondary schools pupils are likely to move to
R L Hughes Primary School
Questions parents ask about R L Hughes Primary School
What are SATs results like at R L Hughes Primary School?
Of the pupils at R L Hughes Primary School who took the 2025 Key Stage 2 assessments, 85% reached the expected standard in reading and 97% did so in maths.
What is R L Hughes Primary School's Ofsted rating?
R L Hughes Primary School's most recent Ofsted inspection, in February 2023, was ungraded, so it gave no overall grade. At its last graded inspection, in January 2013, it was rated Good.
What is the catchment area for R L Hughes Primary School?
No fixed boundary. When R L Hughes Primary School is oversubscribed, Wigan allocates places by its published criteria, usually ending with home-to-school distance.
Is it hard to get a place at R L Hughes Primary School?
R L Hughes Primary School was close to full in 2025, at 97% of its capacity.
How big are the classes at R L Hughes Primary School?
Classes at R L Hughes Primary School average 27.5 pupils (2025/26).
How many pupils go to R L Hughes Primary School?
R L Hughes Primary School has around 425 pupils on roll. 20% are eligible for free school meals.
What is attendance like at R L Hughes Primary School?
4.2% of sessions were missed at R L Hughes Primary School in 2024/25. 8.4% of pupils were persistently absent (missing 10% or more of sessions).
How do I apply to R L Hughes Primary School?
Apply through Wigan's coordinated admissions process, naming R L Hughes Primary School on your application. Applications for Reception places starting in September 2027 close on Friday 15 January 2027, and offers are made on Friday 16 April 2027.
How many road collisions happen near R L Hughes Primary School?
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 8 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 3 serious and 5 slight. 4 children aged 0 to 15 were hurt: 3 on foot and 1 on a bicycle. 3 of the collisions happened on a weekday between 08:00 and 09:30 or 14:45 and 16:30, holidays included. The typical figure for schools in Wigan is 10 (the median across 146 schools, same distance and years).
Where is R L Hughes Primary School?
R L Hughes Primary School is at Mayfield Street, Ashton-in-Makerfield, Wigan, Lancashire, WN4 9QL.
Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19)