Atherton High School
Hamilton Street, Atherton, M46 0AY
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Free schools
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- EDUCATION PARTNERSHIP TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mrs Leanne Turner
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sponsor
- Education Partnership Trust
- Constituency
- Leigh and Atherton
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 550
- Pupils on roll
- 561
- URN
- 138233
- Local authority
- Wigan
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01942885500
About this school
Atherton High School is a secondary academy in Atherton. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 561 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Atherton 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
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
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 74 | 82 | 89 |
| Attainment 8 score | 40.4 | 40.7 | 39.3 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.18 -0.51 to +0.16 | 0.00 -0.32 to +0.31 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 32% | 30.5% | 25.8% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 57% | 59.8% | 51.7% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 55% | 53.7% | 38.2% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.5 |
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 Atherton 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 | 40.4 | 36.1 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 40.7 | 34.4 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 39.3 | 36.6 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 9% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 9.2% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 8.9% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 509 |
| 2023/24 | 525 |
| 2024/25 | 547 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Atherton High School compares
Atherton High School ranked 17th of 19 secondary schools in Wigan for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 36% 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 | 39.3 | 8.9% | 47.2% | 561 | — |
| Fred Longworth High School | 45.9 | 8% | 23.5% | 1,283 | 0.8 miles |
| The Westleigh School | 36.4 | 10.2% | 44.8% | 976 | 1.6 miles |
| Bedford High School | 45.5 | 9% | 38.2% | 1,111 | 1.9 miles |
| Westhoughton High School | 44.4 | 11.1% | 24.5% | 1,342 | 2.1 miles |
| St Mary's Catholic High School | 44.2 | 8.7% | 20% | 1,537 | 2.1 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)
- 47.17%
- English as an additional language
- 4.9%
- Overall absence
- 8.9%
- Persistent absence
- 26.14%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Fred Longworth High School0.8 miles
Secondary · Manchester
-
The Westleigh School1.6 miles
Secondary · Leigh
-
Bedford High School1.9 miles
Secondary · Leigh
-
Westhoughton High School2.1 miles
Secondary · Bolton
-
St Mary's Catholic High School2.1 miles
Secondary · Manchester
Common questions
- What ages does Atherton High School teach?
- Atherton High School teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in Atherton.
- Who is the headteacher of Atherton High School?
- The headteacher of Atherton High School is Mrs Leanne Turner, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Atherton High School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Atherton 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 Atherton High School?
- Atherton High School has 561 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is Atherton High School full?
- Atherton High School has capacity for 550 pupils and 561 on roll (102%), 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 Atherton High School a faith school?
- No. Atherton High School has no designated religious character.
- Is Atherton High School a selective school?
- No. Atherton High School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is Atherton High School part of an academy trust?
- Atherton High School is part of EDUCATION PARTNERSHIP TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Atherton High School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 40.4 in 2022/23 and 39.3 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Atherton High School compare with other schools in Wigan?
- Atherton High School ranked 17th of 19 secondary schools in Wigan for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 36% 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 Atherton High School's absence rate?
- Atherton High School's overall absence rate is 8.9% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Atherton High School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Atherton 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 1 July 2026.