St Peter's Catholic High School, Wigan

From the headteacher's welcome: "We are very proud of our school and its commitment to providing all our students with a high-quality and fully-rounded Catholic education. St Peter's is a high-achieving school, setting and achieving very high expectations for our learners. We are also committed to providing outstanding pastoral care to help each student develop into the unique person they are called to be."

Coming up: an open evening on Thursday 19 November 2026. Check the school's website before you go, as dates can change.

In 2026, pupils at St Peter's Catholic High School averaged an Attainment 8 score of 49.2, the average grade across their best eight GCSEs. The average state school scored 45.8 in Wigan and 47 across England.

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

That is down from 51.1 in 2025.

Its most recent Progress 8 score, for 2024, was -0.12: pupils made 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 33.6, against 51.4 for other pupils at the school - a gap of 17.8 points.

Pupils sat GCSEs in 27 subjects; after English and maths, the most popular were Religious Studies, Combined Science and History.

For September 2026 entry, 238 families put St Peter's Catholic High School as their first choice and 478 named it as one of their preferences, for 199 places offered. That is 1.2 first choices for every place. 40 families who put it first were not offered a place there.

The nearest other state secondary schools to St Peter's Catholic High School are Dean Trust Wigan (0.5 miles, Requires improvement, Attainment 8 37.5); Up Holland High School (1.1 miles, Attainment 8 50); St John Fisher Catholic High School (2.3 miles, Good, Attainment 8 45.5); and The Deanery Church of England High School and Sixth Form College (2.6 miles, Good, Attainment 8 45.2).

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

Of the 215 pupils who finished Year 11 in 2023/24, 86% stayed in education or training for at least two terms, including 25% to a further education college, 8% to an apprenticeship and 2% into work.

12% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well below the average state school (25%), and 6.8% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.

The nearest railway station is Orrell Rail Station, about 0.8 miles away in a straight line.

9 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is St Peter's Catholic High School (outside), 90 metres away.

In 2024/25, St Peter's Catholic High School issued 65 suspensions, 6.3 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and 1 permanent exclusion.

The primary schools closest to St Peter's Catholic High School are Orrell Lamberhead Green Academy (0.6 miles), Orrell Holgate Academy (0.6 miles), St John's CofE Primary School (0.7 miles) and St James' Catholic Primary School Orrell (1 mile). Admission does not depend on which primary a child attends unless the school's policy names feeder schools.