The Deanery Church of England High School and Sixth Form College
Frog Lane, Wigan, WN1 1HQ
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Voluntary aided school
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Church of England
- Headteacher
- Mr Martin Wood
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Diocese
- Diocese of Liverpool
- Constituency
- Wigan
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,389
- Pupils on roll
- 1,365
- URN
- 106534
- Local authority
- Wigan
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01942768801
About this school
The Deanery Church of England High School and Sixth Form College is a Church of England voluntary aided secondary school in Wigan. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,365 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected The Deanery Church of England High School and Sixth Form College, 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 no longer gives schools a single overall grade. Each area of the school's work is graded on a five-point scale, and safeguarding is judged separately.
- Inclusion
- Expected standard
- Curriculum and teaching
- Expected standard
- Achievement
- Expected standard
- Attendance and behaviour
- Expected standard
- Personal development and wellbeing
- Strong standard
- Leadership and governance
- Expected standard
- Post-16 provision
- Expected standard
- Safeguarding
- Met
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 251 | 250 | 249 |
| Attainment 8 score | 41.8 | 44.0 | 45.7 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.44 -0.62 to -0.26 | -0.31 -0.49 to -0.13 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 30% | 38% | 40.2% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 52% | 60.4% | 65.5% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 11% | 13.2% | 8% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.5 | 3.7 | 3.8 |
Progress 8 is paused nationally for the 2024/25 and 2025/26 school years. Those pupils sat no key stage 2 tests during the Covid pandemic, so there is no starting point to measure progress from. A blank figure here is not missing school data.
Trends over time
How The Deanery Church of England High School and Sixth Form College 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 | 41.8 | 36.1 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 44 | 34.4 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 45.7 | 36.6 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 8.8% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 8.6% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 8.8% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,432 |
| 2023/24 | 1,401 |
| 2024/25 | 1,372 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How The Deanery Church of England High School and Sixth Form College compares
The Deanery Church of England High School and Sixth Form College ranked 8th of 19 secondary schools in Wigan for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 60% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 13% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 45.7 | 8.8% | 30.6% | 1,365 | — |
| St John Fisher Catholic High School | 41.3 | 8.9% | 32.9% | 998 | 0.9 miles |
| Dean Trust Rose Bridge | 39.7 | 8.7% | 58.1% | 692 | 1.1 miles |
| Hawkley Hall High School | 40.4 | 9.2% | 24.9% | 1,170 | 1.7 miles |
| Dean Trust Wigan | 33.1 | 9% | 57.3% | 715 | 2.1 miles |
| St Peter's Catholic High School | 51.1 | 5.7% | 11.3% | 1,026 | 2.6 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
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 30.58%
- English as an additional language
- 9.6%
- Overall absence
- 8.78%
- Persistent absence
- 24.43%
Location
Nearby schools
-
St John Fisher Catholic High School0.9 miles
Secondary · Wigan
-
Dean Trust Rose Bridge1.1 miles
Secondary · Wigan
-
Hawkley Hall High School1.7 miles
Secondary · Wigan
-
Dean Trust Wigan2.1 miles
Secondary · Wigan
-
St Peter's Catholic High School2.6 miles
Secondary · Wigan
Other schools in Wigan
The Deanery Church of England High School and Sixth Form College ranks 6th of the 13 ranked secondary schools in Wigan.
- Cansfield High School Secondary
- Dean Trust Rose Bridge Secondary
- Dean Trust Wigan Secondary
- Hawkley Hall High School Secondary
- Outwood Academy Hindley Secondary
- Shevington High School Secondary
- St Edmund Arrowsmith Catholic High School, Ashton-in-Makerfield Secondary
- St John Fisher Catholic High School Secondary
- St Peter's Catholic High School Secondary
- Standish Community High School Secondary
- The Byrchall High School Secondary
- Up Holland High School Secondary
Common questions
- What ages does The Deanery Church of England High School and Sixth Form College teach?
- The Deanery Church of England High School and Sixth Form College teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Wigan.
- Who is the headteacher of The Deanery Church of England High School and Sixth Form College?
- The headteacher of The Deanery Church of England High School and Sixth Form College is Mr Martin Wood, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has The Deanery Church of England High School and Sixth Form College been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected The Deanery Church of England High School and Sixth Form College, 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 The Deanery Church of England High School and Sixth Form College?
- The Deanery Church of England High School and Sixth Form College has 1,365 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is The Deanery Church of England High School and Sixth Form College full?
- The Deanery Church of England High School and Sixth Form College has capacity for 1,389 pupils and 1,365 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 The Deanery Church of England High School and Sixth Form College a faith school?
- Yes. The Deanery Church of England High School and Sixth Form College is designated Church of England, in the Diocese of Liverpool.
- Is The Deanery Church of England High School and Sixth Form College a selective school?
- No. The Deanery Church of England High School and Sixth Form College is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- How have The Deanery Church of England High School and Sixth Form College's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 41.8 in 2022/23 and 45.7 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does The Deanery Church of England High School and Sixth Form College compare with other schools in Wigan?
- The Deanery Church of England High School and Sixth Form College ranked 8th of 19 secondary schools in Wigan for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 60% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 13% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is The Deanery Church of England High School and Sixth Form College's absence rate?
- The Deanery Church of England High School and Sixth Form College's overall absence rate is 8.8% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are The Deanery Church of England High School and Sixth Form College's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, The Deanery Church of England High School and Sixth Form College'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 13 August 2026.