Bedford High School
Community school · 1,111 pupils
74% stayed in education · Attainment 8 45.5
Free schools
Atherton High School
- Pupils on roll
- 561of 550 places
- Free school meals
- 47.4%
- Year 11 cohort 2025
- 89
- Ofsted
- Good, 24 January 2024Read the Ofsted report
What the data says
Atherton High School has no sixth form. Of the 74 pupils who finished Year 11 there in 2023, 18% moved to a sixth form college, 70% to a further education college and 3% started an apprenticeship.
Art and Design is unusually popular at GCSE: 37% of the year group took it, against 7% of pupils across England.
GCSE results in 2025 were below the national picture: Attainment 8 of 39.3 against 46.1 across England and 43.4 in Wigan, with 26% of pupils getting grade 5 or above in both English and maths (England 45%).
As an 11–16 school, Atherton High School is judged on where pupils go at 16 rather than on A level results.
Where pupils went after Year 11
Destinations of the 2023 Year 11 leavers, measured the following year: the share in a sustained place for at least two terms. Compared with all state-funded schools in Wigan and England.
School sixth formSixth form collegeFurther education collegeOther educationApprenticeshipEmploymentNo sustained destination
| Measure | Atherton High School | Wigan | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils in the cohort | 74 | 3,620 | 607,348 |
| Any sustained destination | 93% | 91% | 92% |
| Stayed in education | 89% | 82% | 86% |
| — school sixth form | 0% | 6% | 34% |
| — sixth form college | 18% | 33% | 13% |
| — further education college | 70% | 41% | 37% |
| — other education | 1% | 2% | 2% |
| Apprenticeship | 3% | 5% | 3% |
| Employment | 1% | 4% | 3% |
| No sustained destination | 7% | 7% | 6% |
| Destination unknown | 0% | 2% | 3% |
GCSE results 2025
| Measure | Atherton High School | Wigan | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Attainment 8 (average points per pupil) | 39.3 | 43.4 | 46.1 |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 26% | 39% | 45% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 52% | 61% | 65% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate subjects | 38% | 30% | 41% |
| EBacc average point score | 3.48 | 3.73 | 4.09 |
| Disadvantaged pupils in the cohort | 39% | 28% | 28% |
| Attainment 8 — disadvantaged pupils | 33.6 | 33.5 | 34.9 |
| Attainment 8 — other pupils | 43.0 | 47.2 | 50.4 |
| Pupils with high prior attainment (Key Stage 2) | — | — | — |
| English as an additional language | 6% | 8% | 19% |
Progress 8 is not available for 2025 and 2026: these cohorts had no Key Stage 2 tests in 2020 and 2021, so there is no baseline. Attainment 8 shows results without taking pupils’ starting points into account.
Subjects taken at GCSE
Entries in 2025 as a share of the Year 11 cohort, and the share of entries graded 7–9 and 4–9, compared with all entries in England.
| Subject | Entries | Share of cohort | England | Grades 7–9 | England | Grades 4–9 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| English Language | 88 | 99% | 89% | 9% | 20% | 63% |
| Combined Science | 88 | 99% | 65% | 6% | 9% | 55% |
| Mathematics | 88 | 99% | 88% | 5% | 22% | 57% |
| English Literature | 86 | 97% | 86% | 9% | 21% | 70% |
| Geography | 51 | 57% | 41% | 6% | 25% | 45% |
| History | 46 | 52% | 41% | 13% | 26% | 57% |
| Art and Design | 33 | 37% | 7% | 3% | 24% | 64% |
| Spanish | 33 | 37% | 19% | 12% | 27% | 55% |
| Design and Technology | 22 | 25% | 11% | 0% | 23% | 23% |
| Citizenship Studies | 15 | 17% | 3% | 13% | 19% | 47% |
| Food Preparation and Nutrition | 14 | 16% | 8% | 7% | 21% | 71% |
| Religious Studies | 11 | 12% | 31% | 36% | 32% | 73% |
| Drama | 11 | 12% | 7% | 0% | 27% | 36% |
| Music | 6 | 7% | 5% | 0% | 33% | 0% |
| Portuguese | 2 | 2% | 0% | — | 50% | — |
| Russian | 1 | 1% | 0% | — | 87% | — |
| Arabic | 1 | 1% | 1% | — | 47% | — |
| French | 1 | 1% | 18% | — | 29% | — |
Technical awards and other Key Stage 4 qualifications
| Subject | Entries | Share of cohort | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Health Studies | 30 | — | — |
| Sports / Movement Science | 21 | — | — |
| Computer Appreciation / Introduction | 20 | — | — |
| Multimedia | 12 | — | — |
Other secondary schools in Wigan
Cansfield High School
Community school · 974 pupils
76% stayed in education · Attainment 8 44.4
Dean Trust Rose Bridge
Academy sponsor led · 692 pupils
73% stayed in education · Attainment 8 39.7
Dean Trust Wigan
Academy sponsor led · 715 pupils
74% stayed in education · Attainment 8 33.1
Fred Longworth High School
Academy converter · 1,283 pupils
82% stayed in education · Attainment 8 45.9
Golborne High School
Foundation school · 1,144 pupils
79% stayed in education · Attainment 8 50.1
Sources: Department for Education school and college performance tables 2024/2025 (Key Stage 4 and 16–18 results, subject entries, destination measures for 2023 leavers); Get Information About Schools register as at 19 September 2026; Ofsted management information as at 31 August 2026. Small numbers are suppressed by DfE and shown as “—”. How to read these figures.