St John Fisher Catholic High School
Baytree Road, Springfield, Wigan, WN6 7RN
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Voluntary aided school
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Headteacher
- Mrs Alison Rigby
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Diocese
- Archdiocese of Liverpool
- Constituency
- Wigan
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,000
- Pupils on roll
- 998
- URN
- 106535
- Local authority
- Wigan
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01942510715
About this school
St John Fisher Catholic High School is a Roman Catholic voluntary aided secondary school in Wigan. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 998 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected St John Fisher Catholic High School, 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
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 11 November 2021, where inspectors confirmed the school remains Good. The school's last full inspection took place before September 2019, so its area grades are not part of Ofsted's current published data. Older reports are on the school's Ofsted page.
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 194 | 202 | 192 |
| Attainment 8 score | 42.1 | 42.2 | 41.3 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.71 -0.91 to -0.50 | -0.58 -0.78 to -0.38 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 36% | 32.2% | 34.9% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 56% | 54% | 55.2% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 9% | 9.9% | 16.1% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.4 | 3.4 | 3.4 |
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 St John Fisher Catholic High 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 | 42.1 | 36.1 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 42.2 | 34.4 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 41.3 | 36.6 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 9.5% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 9.8% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 8.9% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 999 |
| 2023/24 | 1,010 |
| 2024/25 | 994 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St John Fisher Catholic High School compares
St John Fisher Catholic High School ranked 13th of 19 secondary schools in Wigan for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 43% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 12% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 41.3 | 8.9% | 32.9% | 998 | — |
| The Deanery Church of England High School and Sixth Form College | 45.7 | 8.8% | 30.6% | 1,365 | 0.9 miles |
| Dean Trust Rose Bridge | 39.7 | 8.7% | 58.1% | 692 | 1.9 miles |
| Dean Trust Wigan | 33.1 | 9% | 57.3% | 715 | 1.9 miles |
| Shevington High School | 49 | 7.4% | 23.7% | 878 | 2.0 miles |
| St Peter's Catholic High School | 51.1 | 5.7% | 11.3% | 1,026 | 2.3 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)
- 32.9%
- English as an additional language
- 14.7%
- Overall absence
- 8.89%
- Persistent absence
- 24.78%
Location
Nearby schools
-
The Deanery Church of England High School and Sixth Form College0.9 miles
Secondary · Wigan
-
Dean Trust Rose Bridge1.9 miles
Secondary · Wigan
-
Dean Trust Wigan1.9 miles
Secondary · Wigan
-
Shevington High School2.0 miles
Secondary · Wigan
-
St Peter's Catholic High School2.3 miles
Secondary · Wigan
Other schools in Wigan
St John Fisher Catholic High School ranks 9th 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 Peter's Catholic High School Secondary
- Standish Community High School Secondary
- The Byrchall High School Secondary
- The Deanery Church of England High School and Sixth Form College Secondary
- Up Holland High School Secondary
Common questions
- What ages does St John Fisher Catholic High School teach?
- St John Fisher Catholic High School teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in Wigan.
- Who is the headteacher of St John Fisher Catholic High School?
- The headteacher of St John Fisher Catholic High School is Mrs Alison Rigby, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has St John Fisher Catholic High School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St John Fisher Catholic High 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 John Fisher Catholic High School?
- St John Fisher Catholic High School has 998 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is St John Fisher Catholic High School full?
- St John Fisher Catholic High School has capacity for 1,000 pupils and 998 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 John Fisher Catholic High School a faith school?
- Yes. St John Fisher Catholic High School is designated Roman Catholic, in the Archdiocese of Liverpool.
- Is St John Fisher Catholic High School a selective school?
- No. St John Fisher Catholic High School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- How have St John Fisher Catholic High School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 42.1 in 2022/23 and 41.3 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 John Fisher Catholic High School compare with other schools in Wigan?
- St John Fisher Catholic High School ranked 13th of 19 secondary schools in Wigan for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 43% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 12% 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 John Fisher Catholic High School's absence rate?
- St John Fisher Catholic High School's overall absence rate is 8.9% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are St John Fisher Catholic High School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St John Fisher Catholic High 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.