The Westleigh School

Academy sponsor led·Secondary school Leigh, Wigan·WN7 5NL
Composite score
45.5
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#2,903
National rank
#389
In North West
#18
In Wigan
Top 91%
Nationally

Performance (KS4 GCSE)

Attainment 8 score
36.4
National avg ≈ 46
Progress 8 score
—
% achieving 9–5 in English & Maths
21%
% achieving 9–4 in English & Maths
43%
% EBacc grade 5+
0%
EBacc average points score
3.09

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%
154 first choices, 188 places
First choices per place
0.82
fewer first choices than places
Applications naming the school
295
any preference, for 188 places
Applications from another council area
2%
First preferences per place, last five years▲ 0.07
00.511.5
1 per place
0.6820220.8920230.7920240.7420250.822026

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

Every child who put The Westleigh 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
957
Gender
Mixed
Religious character
None
Admissions
Non-Selective

Pupil background

% FSM ever-6
44.8%
Typical secondary: 27.5%
% EAL
17.6%
Typical secondary: 12.0%

Special educational needs

% SEN support
17.2%
Typical secondary: 13.7%
% with an EHC plan
4.8%
Typical secondary: 2.9%

Attendance

Overall absence
12.3%
Typical secondary: 8.9%
Persistently absent
36.2%
Typical secondary: 25.7%

Staffing & funding

Pupils per teacher
17.3
Typical secondary: 16.7
Spend per pupil
£8,341
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
84%
160 pupils tracked
Stayed in education
79%
Apprenticeship
3%
Employment
3%

DfE, KS4 destination measures.

Nearby secondary schools

Location

About The Westleigh School

The Westleigh School is a secondary school in Leigh, Wigan, classified by the DfE as a sponsor-led academy. Around 957 pupils aged 11 to 16 attend the school. The school holds a 'Good' judgement from Ofsted. The school's average Attainment 8 score in the latest GCSE results was 36.4 — below the national average (national average: 46). Its Attainment 8 score has risen by 2.3 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.

21% of pupils achieved a grade 5 or above in both English and maths, well below the national average of about 45%. 43% achieved a standard pass (grade 4+) in English and maths. Getting a place is straightforward: for the September 2026 intake every family who made The Westleigh School their first choice was offered one of its 188 Year 7 places. After Year 11, 84% of its leavers went on to education, an apprenticeship or work that they stayed in for at least two terms. Overall pupil absence was 12.3%. There are about 17.3 pupils per teacher. The school serves a community with above-average levels of disadvantage: about 45% of pupils have been eligible for free school meals in the last six years, compared with roughly 24% nationally — useful context when reading the results above. When you visit, you might ask how the school stretches its higher-attaining pupils and supports those who need to catch up. 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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