Christ Church CofE Primary School, Pennington
West Bridgewater Street, Pennington, Leigh, WN7 4HB
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Voluntary aided school
- Ages
- 4 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Church of England
- Headteacher
- Mrs Claire Hill
- Diocese
- Diocese of Manchester
- Constituency
- Leigh and Atherton
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 210
- Pupils on roll
- 205
- URN
- 106512
- Local authority
- Wigan
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01942673667
About this school
Christ Church CofE Primary School, Pennington is a Church of England voluntary aided primary school in Leigh. It teaches children aged 4 to 11 and has 205 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Christ Church CofE Primary School, Pennington, and its latest judgement is set out 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
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Early years
- Good
- Safeguarding
- Effective
A short monitoring inspection followed on : inspectors found that standards have been maintained.
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 28 | 30 | 30 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 57% | 57% | 43% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 4% | 17% | 0% |
| Expected standard in reading | 82% | 73% | 73% |
| Expected standard in maths | 82% | 80% | 63% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 79% | 80% | 63% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 106.0 | 104.0 | 106.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 106.0 | 107.0 | 103.0 |
| Reading progress | +1.50 | - | - |
| Writing progress | 0.00 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +0.80 | - | - |
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 Christ Church CofE Primary School, Pennington 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 | 57% | 62.4% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 57% | 62.7% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 43% | 63.3% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 6.3% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 5.9% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 6.6% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 204 |
| 2023/24 | 210 |
| 2024/25 | 208 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Christ Church CofE Primary School, Pennington compares
Christ Church CofE Primary School, Pennington ranked 93rd of 97 primary schools in Wigan for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 14% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 30% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 43% | 6.6% | 40.4% | 205 | — |
| Leigh St Mary's CofE Primary School | 43% | 5.2% | 29.5% | 211 | 0.4 miles |
| Leigh CofE Primary School | 60% | 5.6% | 45.3% | 350 | 0.4 miles |
| St Joseph's Catholic Primary School Leigh | 45% | 5.8% | 20.7% | 204 | 0.4 miles |
| Leigh Central Primary School | 55% | 5.7% | 49.3% | 211 | 0.5 miles |
| Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School Leigh | 51% | 7% | 33.9% | 300 | 0.5 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.
Inspection history
-
Ungraded inspection report29 January 2025
- 11 February 2020
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 40.38%
- English as an additional language
- 10.1%
- Overall absence
- 6.56%
- Persistent absence
- 17.02%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Leigh St Mary's CofE Primary School0.4 miles
Primary · Leigh
-
Leigh CofE Primary School0.4 miles
Primary · Leigh
-
St Joseph's Catholic Primary School Leigh0.4 miles
Primary · Leigh
-
Leigh Central Primary School0.5 miles
Primary · Leigh
-
Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School Leigh0.5 miles
Primary · Leigh
Other schools in Leigh
Christ Church CofE Primary School, Pennington ranks 14th of the 15 ranked primary schools in Leigh.
- Bedford Hall Methodist Primary School 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 Gabriel's Catholic Primary School Primary
- St Joseph's Catholic Primary School Leigh Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Christ Church CofE Primary School, Pennington teach?
- Christ Church CofE Primary School, Pennington teaches children aged 4 to 11. It is a primary school in Leigh.
- Who is the headteacher of Christ Church CofE Primary School, Pennington?
- The headteacher of Christ Church CofE Primary School, Pennington is Mrs Claire Hill, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Christ Church CofE Primary School, Pennington been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Christ Church CofE Primary School, Pennington, 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 Christ Church CofE Primary School, Pennington?
- Christ Church CofE Primary School, Pennington has 205 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 11.
- Is Christ Church CofE Primary School, Pennington full?
- Christ Church CofE Primary School, Pennington has capacity for 210 pupils and 205 on roll (98%), so it is close to full. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is Christ Church CofE Primary School, Pennington a faith school?
- Yes. Christ Church CofE Primary School, Pennington is designated Church of England, in the Diocese of Manchester.
- Does Christ Church CofE Primary School, Pennington have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records Christ Church CofE Primary School, Pennington as having no nursery classes.
- How have Christ Church CofE Primary School, Pennington's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 57% in 2022/23 and 43% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Christ Church CofE Primary School, Pennington compare with other schools in Wigan?
- Christ Church CofE Primary School, Pennington ranked 93rd of 97 primary schools in Wigan for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 14% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 30% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Christ Church CofE Primary School, Pennington's absence rate?
- Christ Church CofE Primary School, Pennington's overall absence rate is 6.6% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Christ Church CofE Primary School, Pennington's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Christ Church CofE Primary School, Pennington'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.