St Edmund Arrowsmith Catholic High School, Ashton-in-Makerfield: admissions history
How many families applied, how many places there were, and how far the last place went - every year we hold.
For September 2026 entry, 258 families put St Edmund Arrowsmith Catholic High School, Ashton-in-Makerfield as their first choice and 453 named it as one of their preferences, for 233 places offered. That is 1.1 first choices for every place. 34 families who put it first were not offered a place there.
Demand has been fairly steady: 246 first choices in 2021, against 258 in 2026.
31% of applications came from families living in another council area.
Across Wigan, 91% of families were offered their first-choice secondary school for 2026 entry, and 98% were offered one of the schools they named.
In 2025, families in Wigan lodged 261 appeals against secondary school offers; 192 reached a hearing and 30 succeeded (15.6% of those heard).
Applications and offers by year
| Entry year | Places offered | First choices | Named at all | First choices per place | First choices not offered |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 233 | 258 | 453 | 1.1 | 34 |
| 2025 | 227 | 223 | 387 | 1.0 | 4 |
| 2024 | 236 | 222 | 404 | 0.9 | 0 |
| 2023 | 231 | 229 | 401 | 1.0 | 4 |
| 2022 | 233 | 228 | 408 | 1.0 | 2 |
| 2021 | 235 | 246 | 439 | 1.0 | 12 |
| 2020 | 234 | 259 | 446 | 1.1 | 25 |
| 2019 | 234 | 273 | 474 | 1.2 | 41 |
| 2018 | 234 | 230 | 394 | 1.0 | 1 |
| 2017 | 236 | 267 | 438 | 1.1 | 31 |
| 2016 | 237 | 265 | 445 | 1.1 | 29 |
| 2015 | 238 | 277 | 496 | 1.2 | 42 |
| 2014 | 236 | 277 | 493 | 1.2 | 41 |
Source: DfE, Primary and secondary school applications and offers (school-level file). "Places offered" is the number of offers made on national offer day, which can differ from the school's published admission number.