St James' Catholic Primary School Orrell: 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, 54 families put St James' Catholic Primary School Orrell as their first choice and 113 named it as one of their preferences, for 46 places offered. That is 1.2 first choices for every place. 8 families who put it first were not offered a place there.
Demand has been fairly steady: 50 first choices in 2021, against 54 in 2026.
Across Wigan, 89% of families were offered their first-choice primary school for 2026 entry, and 97% were offered one of the schools they named.
In 2025, families in Wigan lodged 130 appeals against primary school offers; 100 reached a hearing and 26 succeeded (26% 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 | 46 | 54 | 113 | 1.2 | 8 |
| 2025 | 40 | 40 | 103 | 1.0 | 0 |
| 2024 | 44 | 44 | 112 | 1.0 | 0 |
| 2023 | 39 | 37 | 111 | 0.9 | 0 |
| 2022 | 55 | 45 | 129 | 0.8 | 0 |
| 2021 | 55 | 50 | 124 | 0.9 | 0 |
| 2020 | 39 | 39 | 98 | 1.0 | 0 |
| 2019 | 60 | 60 | 134 | 1.0 | 0 |
| 2018 | 60 | 53 | 125 | 0.9 | 1 |
| 2017 | 48 | 46 | 123 | 1.0 | 0 |
| 2016 | 59 | 55 | 134 | 0.9 | 0 |
| 2015 | 60 | 59 | 140 | 1.0 | 0 |
| 2014 | 40 | 42 | 132 | 1.1 | 3 |
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.