St Edmund Arrowsmith Catholic High School, Ashton-in-Makerfield
Rookery Avenue, Ashton-in-Makerfield, Wigan, WN4 9PF
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Voluntary aided school
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Headteacher
- Mr Mark Dumican
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Diocese
- Archdiocese of Liverpool
- Constituency
- Makerfield
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,250
- Pupils on roll
- 1,204
- URN
- 106540
- Local authority
- Wigan
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01942728651
About this school
St Edmund Arrowsmith Catholic High School, Ashton-in-Makerfield is a Roman Catholic voluntary aided secondary school in Wigan. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 1,204 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected St Edmund Arrowsmith Catholic High School, Ashton-in-Makerfield, 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
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
- Strong standard
- Curriculum and teaching
- Strong standard
- Achievement
- Strong standard
- Attendance and behaviour
- Strong standard
- Personal development and wellbeing
- Strong standard
- Leadership and governance
- Strong standard
- Safeguarding
- Met
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 230 | 239 | 238 |
| Attainment 8 score | 49.7 | 51.5 | 49.1 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.13 -0.05 to +0.32 | +0.16 -0.02 to +0.34 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 50% | 56.9% | 50.8% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 74% | 74.9% | 76.5% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 37% | 28.5% | 29.4% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.3 | 4.3 | 4.2 |
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 Edmund Arrowsmith Catholic High School, Ashton-in-Makerfield 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 | 49.7 | 36.1 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 51.5 | 34.4 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 49.1 | 36.6 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 7.4% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 6.9% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 7% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,208 |
| 2023/24 | 1,211 |
| 2024/25 | 1,202 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St Edmund Arrowsmith Catholic High School, Ashton-in-Makerfield compares
St Edmund Arrowsmith Catholic High School, Ashton-in-Makerfield ranked 4th of 19 secondary schools in Wigan for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 73% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 26% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 49.1 | 7% | 13.7% | 1,204 | — |
| The Byrchall High School | 41.3 | 9.4% | 36.8% | 1,138 | 0.1 miles |
| Cansfield High School | 44.4 | 7% | 27.1% | 974 | 0.8 miles |
| Hope Academy | 43.8 | 9.2% | 28.8% | 1,235 | 1.6 miles |
| Outwood Academy Haydock | 41.2 | 8.9% | 39.4% | 791 | 1.9 miles |
| Golborne High School | 50.1 | 7.9% | 23.8% | 1,144 | 2.2 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)
- 13.73%
- English as an additional language
- 6.7%
- Overall absence
- 6.98%
- Persistent absence
- 17.1%
Location
Nearby schools
-
The Byrchall High School0.1 miles
Secondary · Wigan
-
Cansfield High School0.8 miles
Secondary · Wigan
-
Hope Academy1.6 miles
Secondary · Newton-le-Willows
-
Outwood Academy Haydock1.9 miles
Secondary · St. Helens
-
Golborne High School2.2 miles
Secondary · Warrington
Other schools in Wigan
St Edmund Arrowsmith Catholic High School, Ashton-in-Makerfield ranks 3rd 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 John Fisher Catholic High School 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 Edmund Arrowsmith Catholic High School, Ashton-in-Makerfield teach?
- St Edmund Arrowsmith Catholic High School, Ashton-in-Makerfield teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in Wigan.
- Who is the headteacher of St Edmund Arrowsmith Catholic High School, Ashton-in-Makerfield?
- The headteacher of St Edmund Arrowsmith Catholic High School, Ashton-in-Makerfield is Mr Mark Dumican, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has St Edmund Arrowsmith Catholic High School, Ashton-in-Makerfield been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St Edmund Arrowsmith Catholic High School, Ashton-in-Makerfield, 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 Edmund Arrowsmith Catholic High School, Ashton-in-Makerfield?
- St Edmund Arrowsmith Catholic High School, Ashton-in-Makerfield has 1,204 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is St Edmund Arrowsmith Catholic High School, Ashton-in-Makerfield full?
- St Edmund Arrowsmith Catholic High School, Ashton-in-Makerfield has capacity for 1,250 pupils and 1,204 on roll (96%), 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 St Edmund Arrowsmith Catholic High School, Ashton-in-Makerfield a faith school?
- Yes. St Edmund Arrowsmith Catholic High School, Ashton-in-Makerfield is designated Roman Catholic, in the Archdiocese of Liverpool.
- Is St Edmund Arrowsmith Catholic High School, Ashton-in-Makerfield a selective school?
- No. St Edmund Arrowsmith Catholic High School, Ashton-in-Makerfield is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- How have St Edmund Arrowsmith Catholic High School, Ashton-in-Makerfield's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 49.7 in 2022/23 and 49.1 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 Edmund Arrowsmith Catholic High School, Ashton-in-Makerfield compare with other schools in Wigan?
- St Edmund Arrowsmith Catholic High School, Ashton-in-Makerfield ranked 4th of 19 secondary schools in Wigan for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 73% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 26% 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 Edmund Arrowsmith Catholic High School, Ashton-in-Makerfield's absence rate?
- St Edmund Arrowsmith Catholic High School, Ashton-in-Makerfield's overall absence rate is 7% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are St Edmund Arrowsmith Catholic High School, Ashton-in-Makerfield's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St Edmund Arrowsmith Catholic High School, Ashton-in-Makerfield'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.