St Edmund Arrowsmith Catholic High School, Ashton-in-Makerfield
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St Edmund Arrowsmith Catholic High School, Ashton-in-Makerfield is a Roman Catholic school (voluntary aided) in Wigan for boys and girls aged 11 to 16. It has 1,204 pupils and room for 1,250. About 16 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far fewer than at most schools in England. We give it 76 out of 100. That puts it above schools like it, ahead of 61% of the 50 schools most like it. Ofsted visited in March 2026 and gave it a report card, which is below.
Rookery Avenue, Ashton-in-Makerfield, Wigan, WN4 9PF01942 728651arrowsmith.wigan.sch.ukMr Mark Dumican headteacherAll details
What Ofsted found
Ofsted visited on 3 March 2026. Instead of one overall word, it now gives a grade for each part of school life. Read the full report on Ofsted's website.
Ofsted says these new grades can't be lined up against the old one-word grades.
Earlier inspections (1)
| Date | Type | Outcome |
|---|---|---|
| 17 November 2021 | Ungraded | School remains Good |
Results
GCSE results, summer 2025
238 pupils sat their GCSEs. Here is how they did against every state secondary in England.
All GCSE measures, year by year
| Measure | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2019 | 2018 | Wigan | England |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of Year 11 | 238 | 239 | 230 | 242 | 237 | 229 | – | – |
| Average GCSE scoreAttainment 8 | 49.1 | 51.5 | 49.7 | 52.2 | 52.3 | 53.3 | 43.9 | 46.8 |
| Progress from age 11Progress 8 | – | +0.16 | +0.13 | +0.02 | -0.05 | +0.07 | – | – |
| Strong pass in English and mathsGrade 5+ in English and maths | 51% | 57% | 50% | 53% | 48% | 52% | 39% | 46% |
| Standard pass in English and mathsGrade 4+ in English and maths | 77% | 75% | 74% | 80% | 79% | 77% | 62% | 66% |
| Core subjects scoreEBacc average point score | 4.15 | 4.33 | 4.25 | 4.27 | 4.49 | 4.54 | 3.77 | 4.15 |
| Taking the core subjectsEBacc entry | 29% | 29% | 37% | 24% | 35% | 37% | 31% | 41% |
| Average GCSE score: low-income pupilsAttainment 8, disadvantaged | 38.3 | 35.4 | 36.9 | 37.8 | 46.3 | 37.5 | – | – |
| Average GCSE score: other pupilsAttainment 8, non-disadvantaged | 51.0 | 53.9 | 51.5 | 54.2 | 52.8 | 54.7 | – | – |
| Average GCSE score: pupils who started behindAttainment 8, low prior attainers | – | 29.4 | 29.9 | 33.6 | 22.6 | 26.6 | – | – |
| Average GCSE score: pupils who started aheadAttainment 8, high prior attainers | – | 64.9 | 66.9 | 68.5 | 60.5 | 63.1 | – | – |
Subjects
Results came out for 18 GCSE subjects in 2025. Each figure is the share of pupils who got a grade 5 or better, next to the average for state secondaries in England.
Strongest subjects
Subjects that did worse than the England average: French (35% here, 60% across England), Food Preparation & Nutrition (37% here, 52% across England), Music (52% here, 61% across England), Religious Studies (52% here, 60% across England).
The small number is how many pupils sat each subject. Subjects with fewer than six pupils aren't published.
Every subject against England, 2025
| Subject | Entries | Grades 9 to 7 | Grades 9 to 5 | Grades 9 to 4 | England 9 to 5 | Rank in England |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mathematics | 236 | 17% | 56% | 82% | 53% | 1,212 of 3,211 |
| English Language | 236 | 19% | 62% | 80% | 54% | 856 of 3,210 |
| English Literature | 233 | 24% | 65% | 79% | 58% | 920 of 3,202 |
| Religious Studies | 217 | 22% | 52% | 68% | 60% | 1,267 of 1,825 |
| Combined Science | 159 | 4% | 32% | 59% | 36% | 1,708 of 3,084 |
| Geography | 135 | 22% | 50% | 67% | 51% | 1,432 of 3,116 |
| History | 76 | 25% | 59% | 74% | 52% | 972 of 3,126 |
| Physics | 76 | 40% | 80% | 93% | 82% | 1,596 of 2,546 |
| Biology | 76 | 36% | 76% | 97% | 82% | 1,796 of 2,570 |
| Art and Design | 76 | 37% | 86% | 95% | 58% | 296 of 2,818 |
| Chemistry | 75 | 37% | 83% | 97% | 81% | 1,462 of 2,537 |
| Spanish | 61 | 16% | 57% | 79% | 54% | 902 of 1,941 |
| Computer Science | 54 | 26% | 63% | 74% | 56% | 683 of 1,861 |
| Design & Technology | 45 | 20% | 62% | 73% | 50% | 428 of 1,478 |
| French | 26 | 4% | 35% | 65% | 60% | 1,738 of 1,974 |
| Music | 23 | 30% | 52% | 61% | 61% | 266 of 395 |
| Food Preparation & Nutrition | 19 | 21% | 37% | 58% | 52% | – |
| Physical Education | 17 | 29% | 82% | 94% | 56% | – |
In combined science each pupil gets two grades and we count the lower one. Rankings only include state secondaries where 20 or more pupils sat the subject.
Does every child do well here?
A good school does well by every child, not just on average. Each row compares two groups of pupils here. The grey marks show the same two groups across England. 1 of the 3 gaps is smaller than the gap across England. When a group has fewer than about ten pupils, its figures jump around a lot from year to year.
At GCSE, 2025
Low-income means the child has had free school meals at some point in the last six years. A group's figure isn't published when it has fewer than six pupils.
Getting a place
Open to all. There is no entrance test. As a Roman Catholic school it may put families of that faith first. Check the school's own admissions rules.
About 141 places were empty, so most families who apply get in, though a popular year group can still fill up. Pupil numbers have stayed about the same since 2021/22.
The last child to get a place lived 4.4 miles away in 2026, 1.9 miles away in 2025. Children in care, brothers and sisters of current pupils, faith and other priority groups are placed first. After that, the closer you live, the better your chances. Type in your postcode to see how far away you are.
We measure in a straight line from the middle of your postcode to the school. The council measures its own way, and the cut-off changes every year. Use this as a rough guide, and read the council's admissions booklet before you apply.
How places were given out for September 2026. More children applied than there were places. The last place went to a child living 4.4 miles from the school. Living closer than that didn't guarantee a place, but living much further away meant missing out that year.
| Entry | Places | Got a place | How far the last child lived | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 Secondary | 240 | 240 | 4.4 miles | LA |
| 2025 Secondary | 240 | 240 | 1.9 miles | LA |
The distances are the council's own, usually measured in a straight line from home to the school gate. If the distance is getting shorter each year, the school is getting harder to get into. See which councils we have this data for.
What a home within 1.9 miles of the school costs
Every home sold within that distance of the school (the typical cut-off over the last three years), of any type, from HM Land Registry records. If homes here cost more than the district average, that is the price people pay to live close enough to get in.
What parents say
From Ofsted's Parent View survey: 198 parents answered in the year to 6 April 2026. Parents choose whether to fill it in, and many only do so when an inspection is coming, so don't read too much into small differences. The England figures are the average for secondary schools with enough answers to publish.
Who goes here
Who a school teaches matters. That is why our score compares it with schools that take in a similar mix of children, not with every school in the country.
The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: emotional and mental health (75), Autistic spectrum disorder (51), Specific learning difficulty (46), SEN support but no specialist assessment of type of need (8), Hearing impairment (7), language and communications needs (5).
How the mix of pupils has changed
| Census | 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils on roll | 1,204 | 1,202 | 1,211 | 1,208 | 1,215 | 1,207 |
| Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals | 16% | 13% | 12% | 10% | 9% | 9% |
| Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language | 9% | 7% | 5% | 3% | 3% | 3% |
| Pupils getting extra supportSEN support | – | 7% | 9% | 9% | 8% | 12% |
| Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans | – | 4% | 4% | 3% | 2% | 2% |
Attendance and behaviour
In 2024/25 pupils were in school 93.0% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 91.4%.
Attendance year by year
| Measure | 2024/25 | 2023/24 | 2022/23 | 2021/22 | 2020/21 | 2018/19 | England |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sessions missedOverall absence | 7.0% | 6.9% | 7.4% | 8.6% | 4.5% | 4.4% | 8.6% |
| Missed with permissionAuthorised absence | 5.3% | 5.4% | 6.1% | 7.2% | 3.6% | 3.6% | – |
| Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence | 1.6% | 1.5% | 1.3% | 1.4% | 0.9% | 0.8% | – |
| Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence | 17.1% | 19.0% | 20.6% | 28.1% | 10.9% | 9.6% | 23.9% |
| SuspensionsSuspension rate | 6.6 | 4.1 | 4.0 | 4.1 | 5.6 | – | – |
| Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | – | – |
What pupils do next
After GCSEs
Where the 230 pupils who left in 2022/23 were a year later.
Among pupils from low-income families it was 93%, compared with 97% for everyone else.
Earlier years
| Destination | 2022/23 leavers | 2021/22 leavers | 2020/21 leavers | 2019/20 leavers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Still in education, work or training | 96% | 95% | 99% | 98% |
| Education | 89% | 85% | 90% | 91% |
| Apprenticeship | 4% | 7% | 6% | 4% |
| Work | 3% | 3% | 3% | 3% |
| Not in education, work or training | 3% | 5% | 1% | 2% |
Staff and money
From the government's count of school staff in November 2025 and the school's published accounts.
Money
From the council school accounts, year to March 2025. The per-pupil figures are compared with other secondary schools in England that report their accounts the same way.
Reserves are the money left over at the end of the year, kept back for emergencies and big projects. Being in the red year after year is a warning sign. Very large reserves can mean money sitting in the bank instead of being spent on today's pupils. Academy figures are rounded to the nearest £1,000 and include a share of any money the trust holds centrally.
The area around the school
Crime figures come from police.uk. The police record each crime at the nearest of a fixed set of map points rather than the exact spot, so “within 500 m” is only rough. House prices are from HM Land Registry sales nearby over the last two years.
Nearby schools
The closest secondary schools, nearest first. Hover over a row to see it on the map.
| School | Type | Distance | Pupils | Ofsted | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Byrchall High School | Academy | 140 m | 1,138 | Good 2022 | 28 | Compare |
| Cansfield High School | Council | 0.8 miles | 974 | Good 2024 | 30 | Compare |
| Hope Academy | Academy | 1.6 miles | 1,235 | No overall grade 2024 | 28 | Compare |
| Outwood Academy Haydock | Academy | 1.9 miles | 791 | No overall grade 2024 | 35 | Compare |
| Golborne High School | Foundation | 2.2 miles | 1,144 | Outstanding 2023 | 67 | Compare |
| Hawkley Hall High School | Academy | 2.8 miles | 1,170 | No overall grade 2024 | 33 | Compare |
| St Augustine of Canterbury Catholic Academy | Academy | 3.2 miles | 549 | No overall grade 2024 | 49 | Compare |
| St. Cuthbert's Catholic Academy | Academy | 3.7 miles | – | Not inspected | – | Compare |
Compared with schools like it
Our score compares St Edmund Arrowsmith Catholic High School, Ashton-in-Makerfield with the 46 schools in England whose pupils are most like its own. We match on family income, how many children are learning English, special needs, the neighbourhood, the size of the school and how it admits pupils. Those 46 schools are dotted all over the country, so we don't list them. What matters is where this school sits among them.
How the score was worked out
The score is out of 100. A 76 means that once everything below is added up, this school comes out ahead of 76% of secondary schools in England. Results bounce around from year to year, especially in small schools, so we also show a likely range: 69 to 81. Every part is judged against schools with a similar mix of pupils. For small schools we pull each part towards the group average, so one unusual year can't swing the score too far.
| What we looked at | How much it counts | Against schools like it | Effect on the score | Based on |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Results over three years | 20% | in line | +0.06 | 2025, 2024 and 2023 results; 238 pupils |
| Ofsted inspection | 20% | above | +0.16 | Ofsted report card, 0.5 years old |
| Progress pupils make | 20% | in line | +0.06 | DfE progress measure; 238 pupils |
| Direction of travel over five years | 10% | above | +0.03 | results and attendance falling year on year |
| Attendance and behaviour | 10% | above | +0.07 | 2024/25; 1,222 pupils |
| Results, allowing for the mix of pupils | 10% | in line | -0.02 | Attainment relative to schools with a similar intake; 238 pupils |
| What pupils do next | 5% | above | +0.04 | 230 pupils |
| What parents say | 5% | above | +0.03 | Ofsted's Parent View survey, allowing for how many parents replied; 198 responses |
Worked out on 13 September 2026 (method v1). Read how the score works, including every weight and the checks we run. Think a number is wrong? Tell us.
Questions parents ask
Is St Edmund Arrowsmith Catholic High School, Ashton-in-Makerfield a good school?
Yes, going by the figures. St Edmund Arrowsmith Catholic High School, Ashton-in-Makerfield scores 76 out of 100. That is above schools that take in a similar mix of pupils, and ahead of 61% of the 50 schools most like it in England. The score could fairly be anywhere from 69 to 81, so a few points either way between schools doesn't mean much.
What is St Edmund Arrowsmith Catholic High School, Ashton-in-Makerfield's Ofsted rating?
Ofsted no longer gives schools one overall grade. When it visited on 3 March 2026 it rated teaching as strong, achievement as strong, behaviour and attendance as strong, leadership as strong.
How good are St Edmund Arrowsmith Catholic High School, Ashton-in-Makerfield's GCSE results?
In summer 2025, 51% of pupils got a grade 5 or better in both English and maths. Across England it was 46%. Its Attainment 8 score, which is the average grade across a pupil's best eight subjects times ten, was 49.1, against 46.8 for England. In each subject, pupils here finished a little ahead of children across England who started secondary school at the same level.
How many pupils does St Edmund Arrowsmith Catholic High School, Ashton-in-Makerfield have?
1,204 pupils aged 11 to 16 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 1,250 places, so it is 96% full.
Is St Edmund Arrowsmith Catholic High School, Ashton-in-Makerfield oversubscribed, and how far away can you live?
Yes. For September 2026 the last place went to a child living 4.4 miles away. Children in care, brothers and sisters of current pupils and other priority groups come before distance, so the cut-off moves every year.
What is attendance like at St Edmund Arrowsmith Catholic High School, Ashton-in-Makerfield?
Pupils were in school 93.0% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 91.4%. 17% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.
What do parents say about St Edmund Arrowsmith Catholic High School, Ashton-in-Makerfield?
87% of the 198 parents who answered Ofsted's Parent View survey would recommend it to other parents, and 84% say their child is happy there. Across England, 77% of parents would recommend their child's school.
How big are the classes at St Edmund Arrowsmith Catholic High School, Ashton-in-Makerfield?
The average class had 23.3 pupils in January 2026. Across England it was 22.8. 22% of classes had more than 30 pupils.
Does St Edmund Arrowsmith Catholic High School, Ashton-in-Makerfield have a sixth form?
No. Pupils leave after Year 11 for a sixth form elsewhere, a college or an apprenticeship; 96% of 2022/23 leavers were still in education, work or training six months on.
These answers come straight from the figures on this page and update when new data comes out.
Contact and details
- Address
- Rookery Avenue, Ashton-in-Makerfield, Wigan, WN4 9PF
- Telephone
- 01942 728651
- Website
- www.arrowsmith.wigan.sch.uk
- Headteacher
- Mr Mark Dumican
- Type of school
- Roman Catholic school (voluntary aided) (Voluntary aided school, local authority maintained schools)
- Phase
- Secondary school, ages 11-16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic, Archdiocese of Liverpool
- Local authority
- Wigan
- Ward
- Ashton-in-Makerfield South
- Constituency
- Makerfield
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- URN
- 106540 · LAESTAB 3594805 · UKPRN 10017746
Recent changes
- New KS4 results for 2024/25
Where these figures come from
- School details: Department for Education, Get Information About Schools, refreshed daily (this page rebuilt 13 September 2026).
- Inspections: Ofsted management information, monthly; latest publication in our data 27 August 2026.
- GCSE results: DfE key stage 4 performance tables, 2024/25 final.
- Attendance: DfE pupil absence in schools in England, 2024/25 full year.
- Pupil characteristics: DfE school census, January 2026.
- Staff: DfE school workforce census, November 2025.
- Class sizes: DfE schools, pupils and their characteristics, January 2026.
- Pupil premium: DfE allocations and conditions of grant, 2026 to 2027.
- Money: DfE financial benchmarking and insights tool, consistent financial reporting 2024/25.
- Admissions outcomes: Wigan council's published allocation statistics (source), entry years 2025, 2026.
- House prices: HM Land Registry price paid data, December 2023 to December 2025, placed by postcode.
- Neighbourhood: police.uk street-level crime, HM Land Registry price paid data, NaPTAN bus stops, English Indices of Deprivation 2025.
- All under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Full list and update calendar.