The Westleigh School
Westleigh Lane, Leigh, WN7 5NL
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- THE SHAW EDUCATION TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mr Carlton Bramwell
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sponsor
- The Shaw Education Trust
- Constituency
- Makerfield
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,050
- Pupils on roll
- 976
- URN
- 146087
- Local authority
- Wigan
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01942202580
About this school
The Westleigh School is a secondary academy in Leigh. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 976 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected The Westleigh School, 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
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 | 160 | 172 | 189 |
| Attainment 8 score | 34.3 | 34.1 | 36.4 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.75 -0.98 to -0.53 | -0.81 -1.04 to -0.59 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 19% | 24.4% | 21.2% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 43% | 41.9% | 42.9% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 1% | 5.2% | 13.2% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 2.8 | 2.9 | 3.1 |
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 Westleigh 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 | 34.3 | 36.1 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 34.1 | 34.4 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 36.4 | 36.6 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 12.6% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 12.3% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 10.2% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 917 |
| 2023/24 | 970 |
| 2024/25 | 957 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How The Westleigh School compares
The Westleigh School ranked 18th of 19 secondary schools in Wigan for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 29% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 7% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 36.4 | 10.2% | 44.8% | 976 | — |
| Atherton High School | 39.3 | 8.9% | 47.2% | 561 | 1.6 miles |
| Outwood Academy Hindley | 40 | 10.6% | 35% | 908 | 1.9 miles |
| Fred Longworth High School | 45.9 | 8% | 23.5% | 1,283 | 2.1 miles |
| Bedford High School | 45.5 | 9% | 38.2% | 1,111 | 2.1 miles |
| Westhoughton High School | 44.4 | 11.1% | 24.5% | 1,342 | 2.4 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)
- 44.83%
- English as an additional language
- 17.6%
- Overall absence
- 10.2%
- Persistent absence
- 29.41%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Atherton High School1.6 miles
Secondary · Atherton
-
Outwood Academy Hindley1.9 miles
Secondary · Wigan
-
Fred Longworth High School2.1 miles
Secondary · Manchester
-
Bedford High School2.1 miles
Secondary · Leigh
-
Westhoughton High School2.4 miles
Secondary · Bolton
Other schools in Leigh
- Bedford High School Secondary
- Bedford Hall Methodist Primary School Primary
- Christ Church CofE Primary School, Pennington Primary
- Gilded Hollins Community School Primary
- Leigh Central Primary School Primary
- Leigh CofE Primary School Primary
- Leigh St John's CofE Primary Primary
- Leigh St Mary's CofE Primary School Primary
- Leigh St Peter's CofE Primary School Primary
- Leigh Westleigh Methodist Primary School Primary
- Newton Westpark Primary School Primary
- Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School Leigh Primary
Common questions
- What ages does The Westleigh School teach?
- The Westleigh School teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in Leigh.
- Who is the headteacher of The Westleigh School?
- The headteacher of The Westleigh School is Mr Carlton Bramwell, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has The Westleigh School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected The Westleigh 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 The Westleigh School?
- The Westleigh School has 976 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is The Westleigh School full?
- The Westleigh School has capacity for 1,050 pupils and 976 on roll (93%), 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 The Westleigh School a faith school?
- No. The Westleigh School has no designated religious character.
- Is The Westleigh School a selective school?
- No. The Westleigh School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is The Westleigh School part of an academy trust?
- The Westleigh School is part of THE SHAW EDUCATION TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have The Westleigh School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 34.3 in 2022/23 and 36.4 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 Westleigh School compare with other schools in Wigan?
- The Westleigh School ranked 18th of 19 secondary schools in Wigan for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 29% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 7% 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 Westleigh School's absence rate?
- The Westleigh School's overall absence rate is 10.2% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are The Westleigh School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, The Westleigh 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 10 July 2026.