Orrell Holgate Academy
Moor Road, Orrell, Wigan, WN5 8SJ
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 4 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- THE ROWAN LEARNING TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mrs Gail Worrall
- Sponsor
- The Rowan Learning Trust
- Constituency
- Makerfield
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 210
- Pupils on roll
- 198
- URN
- 143389
- Local authority
- Wigan
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01942776670
About this school
Orrell Holgate Academy is a primary academy in Wigan. It teaches children aged 4 to 11 and has 198 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Orrell Holgate Academy, 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's most recent visit was a short inspection on 29 January 2025, where inspectors found the school has improved significantly. 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 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 32 | 30 | 29 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 91% | 83% | 86% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 28% | 27% | 24% |
| Expected standard in reading | 94% | 100% | 93% |
| Expected standard in maths | 94% | 90% | 90% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 94% | 97% | 93% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 111.0 | 110.0 | 108.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 108.0 | 106.0 | 107.0 |
| Reading progress | +2.10 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +2.50 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +0.40 | - | - |
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 Orrell Holgate Academy 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 | 91% | 62.4% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 83% | 62.7% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 86% | 63.3% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 4.2% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 4.3% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 4% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 213 |
| 2023/24 | 204 |
| 2024/25 | 200 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Orrell Holgate Academy compares
Orrell Holgate Academy ranked 10th of 97 primary schools in Wigan for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 95% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 83% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 86% | 4% | 17% | 198 | — |
| St James' Catholic Primary School Orrell | 80% | 3.4% | 11.1% | 347 | 0.4 miles |
| Orrell Newfold Community Primary School | 93% | 3.8% | 11.2% | 447 | 0.5 miles |
| Orrell Lamberhead Green Academy | 78% | 6.1% | 38.6% | 408 | 1.0 miles |
| St Thomas the Martyr Voluntary Aided Church of England Primary School | 76% | 5.1% | 30.6% | 211 | 1.0 miles |
| St John's CofE Primary School | 71% | 6.8% | 40.6% | 185 | 1.1 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)
- 17%
- English as an additional language
- 6%
- Overall absence
- 4%
- Persistent absence
- 7.69%
Location
Nearby schools
-
St James' Catholic Primary School Orrell0.4 miles
Primary · Wigan
-
Orrell Newfold Community Primary School0.5 miles
Primary · Wigan
-
Orrell Lamberhead Green Academy1.0 miles
Primary · Wigan
-
St Thomas the Martyr Voluntary Aided Church of England Primary School1.0 miles
Primary · Skelmersdale
-
St John's CofE Primary School1.1 miles
Primary · Wigan
Other schools in Wigan
Orrell Holgate Academy ranks 9th of the 66 ranked primary schools in Wigan.
- Appley Bridge All Saints Church of England Primary Academy Primary
- Aspull Church Primary School Primary
- Beech Hill Community Primary School Primary
- Bickershaw CofE Primary School Primary
- Billinge Chapel End Primary School Primary
- Britannia Bridge Primary School Primary
- Bryn St Peter's CofE Primary School Primary
- Canon Sharples Church of England Primary School and Nursery Primary
- Castle Hill St Philip's CofE Primary School Primary
- Dalton St Michael's Church of England Primary School Primary
- Garswood Primary and Nursery School Primary
- Highfield St Matthew's Church of England Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Orrell Holgate Academy teach?
- Orrell Holgate Academy teaches children aged 4 to 11. It is a primary school in Wigan.
- Who is the headteacher of Orrell Holgate Academy?
- The headteacher of Orrell Holgate Academy is Mrs Gail Worrall, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Orrell Holgate Academy been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Orrell Holgate Academy, 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 Orrell Holgate Academy?
- Orrell Holgate Academy has 198 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 11.
- Is Orrell Holgate Academy full?
- Orrell Holgate Academy has capacity for 210 pupils and 198 on roll (94%), so it has space against 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 Orrell Holgate Academy a faith school?
- No. Orrell Holgate Academy has no designated religious character.
- Does Orrell Holgate Academy have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records Orrell Holgate Academy as having no nursery classes.
- Is Orrell Holgate Academy part of an academy trust?
- Orrell Holgate Academy is part of THE ROWAN LEARNING TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Orrell Holgate Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 91% in 2022/23 and 86% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Orrell Holgate Academy compare with other schools in Wigan?
- Orrell Holgate Academy ranked 10th of 97 primary schools in Wigan for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 95% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 83% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Orrell Holgate Academy's absence rate?
- Orrell Holgate Academy's overall absence rate is 4% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Orrell Holgate Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Orrell Holgate Academy'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 2 July 2026.