St Gabriel's Catholic Primary School, Leigh

Good
Primary
Voluntary aided school
Mixed
Roman Catholic
Ages 311

Data last updated 11 Sept 2026

Location

Very likely (~669m)Possible (~955m)Unlikely (~1.2km)Confidence: high

Estimated admission likelihood based on school density and oversubscription data

Key Information

DfE GIAS
Head:Mrs Cathie Williams
Pupils:375 / 315 capacity
LA:Wigan
Phone:01942769712
Address:Queensway, Higher Folds, Leigh, WN7 2XG
Admissions:Not applicable
Status:open

Ofsted Rating

Ofsted · 2 years ago
-

Overall

Good

Quality of Education

Good

Behaviour & Attitudes

Outstanding

Personal Development

Good

Leadership & Management

Good

Early Years

Inspected 24 September 2024View full report
URN:106506
UKPRN:10078696
Diocese:Archdiocese of Liverpool
Constituency:Leigh and Atherton
Urban/Rural:Larger rural: Nearer to a major town or city

Ofsted Insights

What This School Does Well

St Gabriel's creates a warm, inclusive environment where pupils are polite, well-behaved and eager to learn. The school excels at combining strong teaching in reading, phonics and maths with enriching experiences like educational trips and a wide range of sports activities. Leadership is thoughtful and focused on what families in the community need, with staff working hard to help every child succeed.

Key Strengths

  • Pupils display consistently good behaviour and positive attitudes to learning in a calm, purposeful environment
  • Strong progress in phonics teaching with effective grouping and additional support for those who need it
  • High-quality provision for PE and sport with experienced coaches ensuring all pupils can take part and succeed
  • Leadership team has successfully addressed previous inspection areas for improvement, with attendance now at national average
  • Subject leaders developing a broad, engaging curriculum with impressive results in art and geography

Areas for Improvement

  • Writing attainment remains below average - pupils need to use ambitious vocabulary more accurately and apply complex sentence structures more consistently for clarity and flow
  • History teaching across key stage 2 lacks progression, with pupils completing similar simple timeline activities without increasing challenge year on year
  • Need to extend the effective progression planning work demonstrated by art and geography leaders into other subject areas beyond mathematics and English

Safeguarding

Safeguarding is effective, with strong safeguarding culture, regular staff and governor training, vigilant reporting of concerns, and rigorous checks on all adults working with children.

Extracurricular Activities

School trips (including Quarry Bank Mill), dodgeball, swimming, gymnastics, music, art

St Gabriel's Catholic Primary School continues to be good, with strong leadership maintaining quality education and a clear focus on developing pupils' key skills in English and mathematics alongside enriching experiences.

At a Glance

51.4%

Free School Meals

No

Boarding

Yes

Nursery

No

Sixth Form

No

Special Measures

What Parents Think

17 responses
Would recommend88%
Child is happy94%
Well taught94%
Good progress88%
Feels safe100%
Well behaved88%
Bullying dealt with18%
Kept informed100%
Handles concerns65%
Wider development94%

Source: Ofsted Parent View - % who strongly agree or agree

Primary Performance (KS2)

Academic year 2025/26

KS2 Results (% meeting expected standard)

2024
2025
Reading+4ppMaths-2ppWriting-1pp

Reading has improved from 81% to 85%. Maths has remained stable at around 81%. Writing has remained stable at around 72%.

Class Sizes

25.9

Avg class size

24.4

Infant (KS1)

27.6

KS2

13

Total classes

2 classes with more than 30 pupils

2024/25 academic year

Getting There

Bus Stops

Regent Drive (nr)
124m · 2 min walk
Kensington Drive (opp)
207m · 3 min walk
Higher Folds Park (nr)
337m · 5 min walk
Royal Drive (nr)
367m · 6 min walk
Regina Crescent (nr)
383m · 6 min walk
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Capacity & Demand

School Occupancy

119%

Over capacity

375 pupils

315 capacity

60 places over capacity

Area Demand Pressure - Leigh

High pressure
New homes approved:830
Projected new pupils:208

Based on MHCLG housing supply data for Leigh

Admissions Demand - Wigan

Low demand0.92x oversubscription

Places available

3,894

Applications

3,601

Got 1st preference

89.7%

Got preferred school

97.0%

Primary admissions across Wigan (2025/26)

Inspection History(9)

24 September 2024
Quality of EducationGood
Behaviour & AttitudesGood
Personal DevelopmentOutstanding
Leadership & ManagementGood
Early YearsGood
5 February 2019
12 November 2014
Leadership & ManagementGood

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SEN Provision

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Pupil Demographics

The school's pupil mix - ethnicity breakdown, free school meals eligibility, and English as an additional language. Useful context when evaluating school fit.

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Teachers & Staff

Teacher qualification rates, pupil-to-teacher ratio, staff turnover, and salary data. Shows how well-resourced and stable the school's workforce is.

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School Funding

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Pupil Absence
2024/25

5.6268%

Overall absence

13.81579%

Persistent absence

304

Enrolments

Authorised3.52633%
Unauthorised2.10047%
Persistent (10%+)13.81579%
Severe (50%+)0%

Absence trend

4.36125%
18/19
3.80969%
20/21
6.67065%
21/22
6.457%
22/23
5.95217%
23/24
5.6268%
24/25
Overall absence rate

Source: DfE pupil absence statistics. Persistent absence = pupils missing 10%+ sessions.

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