The Ark Wigan Ltd, Wigan
The Ark Wigan Ltd is a special school for pupils aged 16 to 24 in Wigan.
Data last updated 26 Oct 2026
The Ark Wigan Ltd in detail
The Ark Wigan Ltd in its own words
In its own words: "The Ark is a SEN Specialist College, founded in 2020. The Ark is located on Library Street in the heart of Wigan, offering a different style of vocational education, through out student-centred, holistic approach."
Vision and values (school website)
Source: The school's own website
Compared with nearby schools
The nearest other special schools to The Ark Wigan Ltd are TMP College (0.3 miles, Good); CEWE School (0.6 miles, Good); Expanse Learning Wigan School (1.2 miles, Good); and Infinite Schools Wigan (1.5 miles, Good).
TMP CollegeCEWE SchoolExpanse Learning Wigan SchoolInfinite Schools Wigan
Who goes there
The Ark Wigan Ltd is approved under Section 41 of the Children and Families Act 2014, so parents can ask for it to be named in their child's education, health and care (EHC) plan.
Getting there
The nearest railway station is Wigan Wallgate Rail Station, about 160 metres away (roughly a 2-minute walk).
38 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Wallgate (opposite), 100 metres away.
The area around the school
Measured by the 2025 English Indices of Deprivation, the neighbourhood The Ark Wigan Ltd stands in is among the 10% most deprived neighbourhoods in England. This describes where the school is, not where its pupils live.
Sources: DfE school census and special educational needs statistics; NaPTAN (Department for Transport); English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG); data.police.uk street-level crime
Key Information
DfE GIASOfsted Rating
No inspection data available
At a Glance
No
Boarding
No
Nursery
Approved
Section 41
No
Special Measures
How Does This School Compare?
Ranked against 5 nearby schools
Keep up with The Ark Wigan Ltd
Getting There
Train Stations
Bus Stops
Free school transport
Check free transport to The Ark Wigan Ltd from your postcode →
You apply to the council where you live. The Ark Wigan Ltd is in Wigan; for families living there:
Apply to Wigan for free school transport. Its policy is on the council's website.
Safety and surroundings
Road collisions within 500 m (2021 to 2025)
- Collisions
- 51
- Fatal
- 0
- Serious
- 15
- Children hurt
- 4
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 51 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 15 serious and 36 slight.
4 children aged 0 to 15 were hurt: 3 on foot and 1 in a vehicle or otherwise.
7 of the collisions happened on a weekday between 08:00 and 09:30 or 14:45 and 16:30, holidays included.
The typical figure for schools in Wigan is 10 (the median across 146 schools, same distance and years).
Serious and slight counts use the Department for Transport's severity adjustment, which allows for changes in how police forces record injuries; they are estimates, rounded to whole numbers. Distances are in a straight line. Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19), Open Government Licence v3.0.
Commute and house prices
Capacity & Demand
Area Demand Pressure - Wigan
Based on MHCLG Live Table 122 (2024-25, last 5 years) for Wigan
Across Wigan council
Places available
4,061
Applications
3,718
Got 1st preference
91.1%
Got preferred school
97.6%
All secondary applications across Wigan council (2026/27), not just this school.
Special educational needs provision
The Ark Wigan Ltd is approved under Section 41 of the Children and Families Act 2014, so parents can ask for it to be named in their child's education, health and care (EHC) plan.
Source: Get Information about Schools (GIAS), Department for Education.
Questions parents ask about The Ark Wigan Ltd
What is the catchment area for The Ark Wigan Ltd?
No fixed boundary. When The Ark Wigan Ltd is oversubscribed, Wigan allocates places by its published criteria, usually ending with home-to-school distance.
Does The Ark Wigan Ltd have specialist SEN provision?
The Ark Wigan Ltd is approved under Section 41 of the Children and Families Act 2014, so parents can ask for it to be named in their child's education, health and care (EHC) plan.
How do I apply to The Ark Wigan Ltd?
Apply through Wigan's coordinated admissions process, naming The Ark Wigan Ltd on your application. The national closing date in England is 31 October for secondary places and 15 January for primary places, in the year before your child starts.
How many road collisions happen near The Ark Wigan Ltd?
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 51 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 15 serious and 36 slight. 4 children aged 0 to 15 were hurt: 3 on foot and 1 in a vehicle or otherwise. 7 of the collisions happened on a weekday between 08:00 and 09:30 or 14:45 and 16:30, holidays included. The typical figure for schools in Wigan is 10 (the median across 146 schools, same distance and years).
Where is The Ark Wigan Ltd?
The Ark Wigan Ltd is at 13 Library Street, Wigan, WN1 1NN.
Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19)