St James' Catholic Primary School Orrell, Wigan
Data last updated 11 Sept 2026
Location
Estimated admission likelihood based on school density and oversubscription data
Key Information
DfE GIASOfsted Rating
Ofsted · 5 years agoOverall
Ofsted Insights
What This School Does Well
St James' creates a warm, friendly and caring environment where children feel safe and loved. Pupils show excellent behaviour and enthusiasm for learning, with good progress across all year groups. The school offers a broad curriculum enhanced by a wide range of activities from sports like football and hockey to music clubs and gardening, helping children develop spiritually, morally, socially and culturally.
Key Strengths
- Pupils make good progress and show excellent attitudes to learning
- Very good behaviour in lessons and around school
- Wide range of extra-curricular activities and enrichment experiences
- Effective safeguarding with detailed records and staff awareness
- Strong progress for disadvantaged pupils and narrowing of gaps between boys and girls
Areas for Improvement
- Most-able pupils in subjects other than English and maths need more opportunities to make their own decisions about writing structure and content
- School website does not fully comply with regulations
- Subject leaders outside English and mathematics need to evaluate the impact of their actions more precisely on pupil achievement
- Recently appointed governors need appropriate induction training
Safeguarding
Safeguarding is effective, with detailed records of high quality and staff having secure knowledge of signs of abuse, reporting procedures, and risks such as female genital mutilation and child sexual exploitation.
Extracurricular Activities
Football, hockey, gardening, choir, school council, e-safety presentations
St James' Catholic Primary School Orrell continues to be good, with maintained quality of education and strong pupil progress across all year groups. The leadership team has built on good relationships and sustained high expectations for pupils' work and behaviour.
At a Glance
9.5%
Free School Meals
No
Boarding
No
Nursery
No
Sixth Form
No
Special Measures
Primary Performance (KS2)
Academic year 2025/26KS2 Results (% meeting expected standard)
Reading has remained stable at around 90%. Maths has remained stable at around 88%. Writing has remained stable at around 87%.
Class Sizes
26.2
Avg class size
24.8
Infant (KS1)
27.4
KS2
13
Total classes
1 class with more than 30 pupils
2024/25 academic year
Getting There
Train Stations
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Capacity & Demand
School Occupancy
86%
Available places
347 pupils
405 capacity
58 spare places available
Area Demand Pressure - Wigan
Based on MHCLG housing supply data for Wigan
Admissions Demand - Wigan
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(6)
House Prices
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SEN Provision
How many pupils have special educational needs, what types of support the school provides, and how it compares to similar schools.
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.
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.
School Funding
Annual funding per pupil, total budget, pupil premium grants, and how the school's resources compare to similar schools nationally.
Pupil Absence2024/25
3.37321%
Overall absence
4.86322%
Persistent absence
329
Enrolments
Absence trend
Source: DfE pupil absence statistics. Persistent absence = pupils missing 10%+ sessions.
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Secondary Schools Nearby
Secondary schools pupils are likely to move to
St James' Catholic Primary School Orrell
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