The Byrchall High School, Wigan

From the headteacher's welcome: "I am proud to be the headteacher of this high-achieving, caring community where every child is valued and encouraged to succeed. At Byrchall, we offer an exciting and stimulating learning environment with access to one of the broadest range of subject options in the region."

Clubs and activities named on the school's website include drama and choir.

In 2026, pupils at The Byrchall High School averaged an Attainment 8 score of 42.8, the average grade across their best eight GCSEs. The average state school scored 45.8 in Wigan and 47 across England.

38% 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 -0.4: 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, against 47.7 for other pupils at the school - a gap of 14.7 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, 315 families put The Byrchall High School as their first choice and 721 named it as one of their preferences, for 250 places offered. That is 1.3 first choices for every place. 75 families who put it first were not offered a place there.

The nearest other state secondary schools to The Byrchall High School are St Edmund Arrowsmith Catholic High School, Ashton-in-Makerfield (under 0.1 miles, Good, Attainment 8 50.4); Cansfield High School (0.9 miles, Good, Attainment 8 41.7); Hope Academy (1.5 miles, Requires improvement, Attainment 8 43.9); and Outwood Academy Haydock (1.9 miles, Attainment 8 42.9).

The Byrchall High School's 2026 results were higher than 1 of these 4 schools.

The Byrchall High School is run by its own single-school academy trust.

39 parents answered Ofsted's Parent View survey about The Byrchall High School (as of April 2026): 100% would recommend the school, 97% say their child is happy there and 88% of those with a view say bullying is dealt with well.

The strongest agreement was that they would recommend the school (100%); the weakest, that the school deals with bullying well (among parents with a view) (88%).

Of the 250 pupils who finished Year 11 in 2023/24, 84% stayed in education or training for at least two terms, including 46% to a further education college, 4% to an apprenticeship and 1% into work.

33.7% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, well above the average state school (25%), and 7.5% speak English as an additional language, against 18.8% on average, according to the 2026 school census.

The Byrchall High School has a SEN unit for specific learning difficulties such as dyslexia, severe learning difficulties and profound and multiple learning difficulties: 8 places, 8 pupils on roll.

The nearest railway station is Bryn Rail Station, about 1.3 miles away in a straight line.

8 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Byrchall and St Edmund Arrowsmith High Schools (near), 160 metres away.

In 2024/25, The Byrchall High School issued 72 suspensions, 6.7 for every 100 pupils (the average state school: 6.3), and 1 permanent exclusion.

The primary schools closest to The Byrchall High School are St Oswald's Catholic Primary School (0.4 miles), R L Hughes Primary School (0.6 miles), St Thomas CofE Primary School (0.7 miles) and St Wilfrids Catholic Primary School (1.1 miles). Admission does not depend on which primary a child attends unless the school's policy names feeder schools.