St Gabriel's Catholic Primary School
Queensway, Higher Folds, Leigh, WN7 2XG
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Voluntary aided school
- Ages
- 3 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Headteacher
- Mrs Cathie Williams
- Diocese
- Archdiocese of Liverpool
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Constituency
- Leigh and Atherton
- Setting
- Larger rural: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 315
- Pupils on roll
- 375
- URN
- 106506
- Local authority
- Wigan
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01942769712
About this school
St Gabriel's Catholic Primary School is a Roman Catholic voluntary aided primary school in Leigh. It teaches children aged 3 to 11 and has 375 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected St Gabriel's Catholic Primary School, and its latest judgement is set out below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Seeing a school for yourself shows what no page can, so arrange a visit before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Ofsted did not give an overall grade. Between September 2024 and September 2025 inspections graded each area of a school's work without a single overall judgement, ahead of the move to report cards. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Outstanding
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Early years
- Good
- 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 | 44 | 48 | 47 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 73% | 73% | 72% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 9% | 10% | 17% |
| Expected standard in reading | 82% | 81% | 85% |
| Expected standard in maths | 77% | 83% | 81% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 77% | 83% | 83% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 109.0 | 107.0 | 108.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 109.0 | 107.0 | 108.0 |
| Reading progress | +3.60 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -0.90 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +4.60 | - | - |
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 Gabriel's 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 | 73% | 62.4% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 73% | 62.7% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 72% | 63.3% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 6.5% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 6% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 5.6% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 346 |
| 2023/24 | 359 |
| 2024/25 | 374 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St Gabriel's Catholic Primary School compares
St Gabriel's Catholic Primary School ranked 33rd of 97 primary schools in Wigan for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 71% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 45% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 72% | 5.6% | 56% | 375 | — |
| Sacred Heart RC Primary School | 61% | 6.2% | 42% | 178 | 0.7 miles |
| Hindsford CofE Primary School | 77% | 4.2% | 43.8% | 207 | 0.7 miles |
| Parklee Primary School | — | — | — | 325 | 1.0 miles |
| Tyldesley Primary School | 81% | 4.7% | 5.6% | 441 | 1.1 miles |
| St Thomas' CofE Primary School, Leigh | 48% | 5.4% | 27.3% | 395 | 1.1 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)
- 56.01%
- English as an additional language
- 19.5%
- Overall absence
- 5.63%
- Persistent absence
- 13.82%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Sacred Heart RC Primary School0.7 miles
Primary · Manchester
-
Hindsford CofE Primary School0.7 miles
Primary · Manchester
-
Parklee Primary School1.0 miles
Primary · Wigan
-
Tyldesley Primary School1.1 miles
Primary · Manchester
-
St Thomas' CofE Primary School, Leigh1.1 miles
Primary · Leigh
Other schools in Leigh
St Gabriel's Catholic Primary School ranks 2nd of the 15 ranked primary schools in Leigh.
- Bedford Hall Methodist Primary School Primary
- Christ Church CofE Primary School, Pennington Primary
- Gilded Hollins Community School Primary
- Leigh Central Primary School Primary
- Leigh CofE Primary School Primary
- Leigh St John's CofE Primary Primary
- Leigh St Mary's CofE Primary School Primary
- Leigh St Peter's CofE Primary School Primary
- Leigh Westleigh Methodist Primary School Primary
- Newton Westpark Primary School Primary
- Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School Leigh Primary
- St Joseph's Catholic Primary School Leigh Primary
Common questions
- What ages does St Gabriel's Catholic Primary School teach?
- St Gabriel's Catholic Primary School teaches children aged 3 to 11. It is a primary school in Leigh.
- Who is the headteacher of St Gabriel's Catholic Primary School?
- The headteacher of St Gabriel's Catholic Primary School is Mrs Cathie Williams, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has St Gabriel's Catholic Primary School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St Gabriel's 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 many pupils are at St Gabriel's Catholic Primary School?
- St Gabriel's Catholic Primary School has 375 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 11.
- Is St Gabriel's Catholic Primary School full?
- St Gabriel's Catholic Primary School has capacity for 315 pupils and 375 on roll (119%), 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 Gabriel's Catholic Primary School a faith school?
- Yes. St Gabriel's Catholic Primary School is designated Roman Catholic, in the Archdiocese of Liverpool.
- Does St Gabriel's Catholic Primary School have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records St Gabriel's Catholic Primary School as having nursery classes.
- How have St Gabriel's Catholic Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 73% in 2022/23 and 72% 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 Gabriel's Catholic Primary School compare with other schools in Wigan?
- St Gabriel's Catholic Primary School ranked 33rd of 97 primary schools in Wigan for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 71% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 45% 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 Gabriel's Catholic Primary School's absence rate?
- St Gabriel's Catholic Primary School's overall absence rate is 5.6% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are St Gabriel's Catholic Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St Gabriel's 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.