St John Fisher Catholic High School, Wigan

Ofsted's report card from its 10 March 2026 inspection grades St John Fisher Catholic High School on 6 areas: 1 strong standard, 3 expected standard and 2 needs attention. Report cards replaced single-word judgements in November 2025, on a five-point scale from exceptional to urgent improvement.

Personal development and wellbeing - Strong standard. "Leaders are passionate about pupils' personal development and have developed a comprehensive programme."

Attendance and behaviour - Expected standard. "Leaders have taken decisive and sustained action to improve attendance."

Inclusion - Expected standard. "Leaders place inclusion at the heart of the school's work and maintain high expectations for all pupils."

Leadership and governance - Expected standard. "Leaders demonstrate a clear purpose and have high aspirations for every pupil."

Achievement - Needs attention. "Leaders demonstrate a clear understanding of pupils' starting points."

Curriculum and teaching - Needs attention. "There is variation across the school in the precise delivery of the curriculum."

Safeguarding standards were met.

Ofsted's next steps for the school: "Leaders should ensure that assessment effectively addresses gaps in pupils' knowledge and supports future learning"; "Leaders should ensure that the curriculum is suitably adapted to meet the needs of all pupils, leading to high achievement"; "Leaders should ensure that agreed teaching strategies and practice are consistently embedded across the school to support rapid improvements".

In its own words: "At St John Fisher Catholic High School, our ethos is rooted in the Gospel message and lived out through the daily life of our community. This page shares the principles that guide who we are, what we strive for and how we support every member of our school family."

In 2026, pupils at St John Fisher Catholic High School averaged an Attainment 8 score of 45.5, the average grade across their best eight GCSEs. The average state school scored 45.8 in Wigan and 47 across England.

34% passed English and maths at grade 5 or above, against 43% in Wigan and 47% in England.

That is up from 41.3 in 2025.

Its most recent Progress 8 score, for 2024, was -0.58: pupils made well below average progress compared with pupils nationally who started secondary school at the same level. Progress 8 was not published for 2026.

Disadvantaged pupils averaged an Attainment 8 of 41.8, against 47.4 for other pupils at the school - a gap of 5.6 points.

Pupils sat GCSEs in 23 subjects; after English and maths, the most popular were Religious Studies, Combined Science and Geography.

For September 2026 entry, 201 families put St John Fisher Catholic High School as their first choice and 408 named it as one of their preferences, for 194 places offered. That is slightly more first choices than places. 20 families who put it first were not offered a place there.

The nearest other state secondary schools to St John Fisher Catholic High School are The Deanery Church of England High School and Sixth Form College (0.9 miles, Good, Attainment 8 45.2); Dean Trust Rose Bridge (1.9 miles, Requires improvement, Attainment 8 38.9); Dean Trust Wigan (1.9 miles, Requires improvement, Attainment 8 37.5); and Shevington High School (2 miles, Good, Attainment 8 50.4).

St John Fisher Catholic High School's 2026 results were higher than 3 of these 4 schools.

94 parents answered Ofsted's Parent View survey about St John Fisher Catholic High School (as of April 2026): 87% would recommend the school, 85% say their child is happy there and 60% of those with a view say bullying is dealt with well.

The strongest agreement was that their child feels safe (88%); the weakest, that the school deals with bullying well (among parents with a view) (60%).

Of the 202 pupils who finished Year 11 in 2023/24, 85% stayed in education or training for at least two terms, including 48% to a further education college, 4% to an apprenticeship and 5% into work.

33.4% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well above the average state school (25%), according to the 2026 school census.

The nearest railway station is Wigan Wallgate Rail Station, about 1.2 miles away in a straight line.

13 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is St John Fisher High School (outside), 70 metres away.

In 2024/25, St John Fisher Catholic High School issued 106 suspensions, 10.7 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and 5 permanent exclusions.

The primary schools closest to St John Fisher Catholic High School are Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School (under 0.1 miles), Beech Hill Community Primary School (0.2 miles), Wigan St Andrew's CofE Junior and Infant School (0.3 miles) and Standish Lower Ground St Anne's CofE Primary School (0.6 miles). Admission does not depend on which primary a child attends unless the school's policy names feeder schools.