Cansfield High School

Community school·Secondary school Wigan·WN4 9TP
Composite score
55.5
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#1,824
National rank
#220
In North West
#10
In Wigan
Top 58%
Nationally

Performance (KS4 GCSE)

Attainment 8 score
44.4
National avg ≈ 46
Progress 8 score
—
% achieving 9–5 in English & Maths
41%
% achieving 9–4 in English & Maths
64%
% EBacc grade 5+
12%
EBacc average points score
3.82

Ofsted judgements

Legacy framework · Read full report ↗

Overall effectiveness
Good
Quality of education
Good
Behaviour and attitudes
Good
Personal development
Good
Leadership and management
Good
Safeguarding effective?
Yes

Getting a place

Offered a place after putting it first
100%
135 first choices, 172 places
First choices per place
0.79
fewer first choices than places
Applications naming the school
381
any preference, for 172 places
Applications from another council area
8%
First preferences per place, last five years▼ 0.07
00.511.5
1 per place
1.1720221.0620230.9420240.8520250.792026

Red dashed line = one first choice per place. How to read this

Every child who put Cansfield High School first was offered a place in 2026, so no distance cut-off applied: living further away did not cost a place that year.

Application figures: DfE, school level applications and offers (2026 intake).

School profile

Age range
11–16
Pupils on roll
1,036
Gender
Mixed
Religious character
None
Admissions
Non-Selective

Pupil background

% FSM ever-6
27.1%
Typical secondary: 27.5%
% EAL
3.5%
Typical secondary: 12.0%

Special educational needs

% SEN support
20.4%
Typical secondary: 13.7%
% with an EHC plan
3.4%
Typical secondary: 2.9%

Attendance

Overall absence
8.0%
Typical secondary: 8.9%
Persistently absent
24.3%
Typical secondary: 25.7%

Staffing & funding

Pupils per teacher
16.7
Typical secondary: 16.7
Spend per pupil
£7,932
Typical secondary: £7,815

“Typical” = the median secondary school in England. What this means

What pupils do next

The share of this school's Year 11 leavers in education, training or employment for at least two terms afterwards.

In education, training or work
94%
184 pupils tracked
Stayed in education
76%
Apprenticeship
10%
Employment
8%

DfE, KS4 destination measures.

Nearby secondary schools

Location

Cansfield High School at a glance

Located in Wigan, Cansfield High School is a secondary school, classified by the DfE as a community school. The school educates roughly 1,036 pupils aged 11 to 16. Ofsted judged the school to be 'Good' at its most recent inspection. The school's average Attainment 8 score in the latest GCSE results was 44.4 — broadly in line with the national average (national average: 46). Its Attainment 8 score has risen by 2.9 points year on year. On our composite score, which combines the DfE attainment measures above, this places it in the lower half of secondary schools nationally.

41% of pupils achieved a grade 5 or above in both English and maths, below the national average of about 45%. 64% achieved a standard pass (grade 4+) in English and maths. Getting a place is straightforward: for the September 2026 intake every family who made Cansfield High School their first choice was offered one of its 172 Year 7 places. After Year 11, 94% of its leavers went on to education, an apprenticeship or work that they stayed in for at least two terms. Overall pupil absence was 8.0%. There are about 16.7 pupils per teacher. When comparing schools, it is still worth visiting in person to see whether the atmosphere and approach suit your child. This overview is generated automatically from the latest published DfE performance tables and Ofsted data; figures are rounded, and you can check the originals via the official links above.

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