St Mary and St John Catholic Primary School
Standishgate, Wigan, WN1 1XL
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Voluntary aided school
- Ages
- 4 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Headteacher
- Mr Thomas Atherton
- Diocese
- Archdiocese of Liverpool
- Constituency
- Wigan
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 210
- Pupils on roll
- 209
- URN
- 106459
- Local authority
- Wigan
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01942206733
About this school
St Mary and St John Catholic Primary School is a Roman Catholic voluntary aided primary school in Wigan. It teaches children aged 4 to 11 and has 209 pupils on roll.
You can read Ofsted's latest judgement for the school below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Numbers and a report only go so far, so visit in person before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Overall judgement at the last full inspection
This inspection took place under the previous framework, which gave a single overall grade. Ofsted now publishes report cards instead, so newer inspections of other schools will look different. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Outstanding
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Outstanding
- Personal development
- Outstanding
- Leadership and management
- Outstanding
- Early years
- Outstanding
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 30 | 31 | 30 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 77% | 81% | 67% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 13% | 13% | 3% |
| Expected standard in reading | 93% | 97% | 97% |
| Expected standard in maths | 90% | 87% | 73% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 93% | 97% | 80% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 108.0 | 110.0 | 108.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 106.0 | 107.0 | 103.0 |
| Reading progress | +0.60 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +1.10 | - | - |
| Maths progress | -0.10 | - | - |
Progress measures ended nationally after the 2022/23 school year, when the key stage 1 assessments they were based on were stopped. Blank progress figures in later years are not missing school data.
Trends over time
How St Mary and St John Catholic Primary School has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Wigan average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 77% | 62.4% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 81% | 62.7% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 67% | 63.3% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 4.7% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 4.2% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 3.6% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 210 |
| 2023/24 | 210 |
| 2024/25 | 210 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St Mary and St John Catholic Primary School compares
St Mary and St John Catholic Primary School ranked 49th of 97 primary schools in Wigan for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 57% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 93% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 67% | 3.6% | 15.2% | 209 | — |
| Mab's Cross Primary School | 57% | 4.2% | 21.3% | 461 | 0.1 miles |
| St Patrick's Catholic Primary School | 73% | 6.5% | 37.5% | 348 | 0.5 miles |
| St Catharine's CofE Primary School | 38% | 5.6% | 53.9% | 205 | 0.5 miles |
| Canon Sharples Church of England Primary School and Nursery | 58% | 6% | 47.2% | 326 | 0.7 miles |
| Woodfield Primary School | 93% | 2.7% | 6.2% | 209 | 0.9 miles |
Results reflect each school's cohort as much as its teaching, and free school meals share is context, not a judgement. Small gaps between neighbouring schools are rarely meaningful on their own.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 15.24%
- English as an additional language
- 25.7%
- Overall absence
- 3.55%
- Persistent absence
- 4.89%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Mab's Cross Primary School0.1 miles
Primary · Wigan
-
St Patrick's Catholic Primary School0.5 miles
Primary · Wigan
-
St Catharine's CofE Primary School0.5 miles
Primary · Wigan
-
Canon Sharples Church of England Primary School and Nursery0.7 miles
Primary · Wigan
-
Woodfield Primary School0.9 miles
Primary · Wigan
Other schools in Wigan
St Mary and St John Catholic Primary School ranks 37th of the 66 ranked primary schools in Wigan.
- Appley Bridge All Saints Church of England Primary Academy Primary
- Aspull Church Primary School Primary
- Beech Hill Community Primary School Primary
- Bickershaw CofE Primary School Primary
- Billinge Chapel End Primary School Primary
- Britannia Bridge Primary School Primary
- Bryn St Peter's CofE Primary School Primary
- Canon Sharples Church of England Primary School and Nursery Primary
- Castle Hill St Philip's CofE Primary School Primary
- Dalton St Michael's Church of England Primary School Primary
- Garswood Primary and Nursery School Primary
- Highfield St Matthew's Church of England Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does St Mary and St John Catholic Primary School teach?
- St Mary and St John Catholic Primary School teaches children aged 4 to 11. It is a primary school in Wigan.
- Who is the headteacher of St Mary and St John Catholic Primary School?
- The headteacher of St Mary and St John Catholic Primary School is Mr Thomas Atherton, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was St Mary and St John Catholic Primary School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St Mary and St John Catholic Primary School, and its latest judgement is set out in the inspection section on this page, with the framework and the date it was made.
- How big is St Mary and St John Catholic Primary School?
- St Mary and St John Catholic Primary School has 209 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 11.
- Is St Mary and St John Catholic Primary School full?
- St Mary and St John Catholic Primary School has capacity for 210 pupils and 209 on roll (100%), so it is at or above its published capacity. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is St Mary and St John Catholic Primary School a faith school?
- Yes. St Mary and St John Catholic Primary School is designated Roman Catholic, in the Archdiocese of Liverpool.
- Does St Mary and St John Catholic Primary School have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records St Mary and St John Catholic Primary School as having no nursery classes.
- How have St Mary and St John Catholic Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 77% in 2022/23 and 67% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does St Mary and St John Catholic Primary School rank locally?
- St Mary and St John Catholic Primary School ranked 49th of 97 primary schools in Wigan for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 57% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 93% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is St Mary and St John Catholic Primary School's absence rate?
- St Mary and St John Catholic Primary School's overall absence rate is 3.6% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are St Mary and St John Catholic Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St Mary and St John Catholic Primary School's key stage results are shown in the results section on this page, with the last three years so you can see the trend rather than a single year.
School details come from the Department for Education's Get Information About Schools register. Inspection outcomes come from Ofsted, and exam results from the Department for Education's school performance service. This page was last updated on 29 June 2026.