Atherton High School
Free schools · 561 pupils
89% stayed in education · Attainment 8 39.3
Academy sponsor led
Dean Trust Wigan
- Pupils on roll
- 715of 1,025 places
- Free school meals
- 58.2%
- Year 11 cohort 2025
- 159
- Ofsted
- Requires improvement, 17 October 2023Read the Ofsted report
Results below include those reported under the school’s previous registration: Abraham Guest Academy (URN 137210, until 1 April 2017).
What the data says
Dean Trust Wigan has no sixth form. Of the 137 pupils who finished Year 11 there in 2023, 20% moved to a sixth form college, 52% to a further education college and 6% started an apprenticeship.
GCSE results in 2025 were well below the national picture: Attainment 8 of 33.1 against 46.1 across England and 43.4 in Wigan, with 23% of pupils getting grade 5 or above in both English and maths (England 45%).
11% of leavers were not in sustained education, employment or training six months on, compared with 6% nationally.
Spanish is unusually popular at GCSE: 61% of the year group took it, against 19% of pupils across England.
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 | Dean Trust Wigan | Wigan | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils in the cohort | 137 | 3,620 | 607,348 |
| Any sustained destination | 83% | 91% | 92% |
| Stayed in education | 74% | 82% | 86% |
| — school sixth form | 0% | 6% | 34% |
| — sixth form college | 20% | 33% | 13% |
| — further education college | 52% | 41% | 37% |
| — other education | 1% | 2% | 2% |
| Apprenticeship | 6% | 5% | 3% |
| Employment | 4% | 4% | 3% |
| No sustained destination | 11% | 7% | 6% |
| Destination unknown | 6% | 2% | 3% |
GCSE results 2025
| Measure | Dean Trust Wigan | Wigan | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Attainment 8 (average points per pupil) | 33.1 | 43.4 | 46.1 |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 23% | 39% | 45% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 38% | 61% | 65% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate subjects | 60% | 30% | 41% |
| EBacc average point score | 3.06 | 3.73 | 4.09 |
| Disadvantaged pupils in the cohort | 54% | 28% | 28% |
| Attainment 8 — disadvantaged pupils | 29.4 | 33.5 | 34.9 |
| Attainment 8 — other pupils | 37.2 | 47.2 | 50.4 |
| Pupils with high prior attainment (Key Stage 2) | — | — | — |
| English as an additional language | 11% | 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 | 157 | 99% | 89% | 3% | 20% | 41% |
| Mathematics | 157 | 99% | 88% | 5% | 22% | 52% |
| English Literature | 157 | 99% | 86% | 3% | 21% | 43% |
| Combined Science | 157 | 99% | 65% | 4% | 9% | 48% |
| History | 102 | 64% | 41% | 5% | 26% | 24% |
| Spanish | 97 | 61% | 19% | 3% | 27% | 33% |
| Geography | 56 | 35% | 41% | 9% | 25% | 41% |
| Psychology | 50 | 31% | 3% | 2% | 22% | 16% |
| Business Studies | 49 | 31% | 18% | 2% | 20% | 33% |
| Art and Design | 25 | 16% | 7% | 0% | 24% | 44% |
| Computer Science | 19 | 12% | 13% | 0% | 30% | 26% |
| Religious Studies | 14 | 9% | 31% | 0% | 32% | 0% |
| 3D Design | 12 | 8% | 2% | 0% | 16% | 17% |
| Arabic | 2 | 1% | 1% | — | 47% | — |
| Polish | 1 | 1% | 1% | — | 84% | — |
Technical awards and other Key Stage 4 qualifications
| Subject | Entries | Share of cohort | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hospitality / Catering Studies | 37 | — | — |
| Childcare Skills | 27 | — | — |
| Sports Studies | 26 | — | — |
| Building / Construction Operations (General / Combined) | 25 | — | — |
| Health Studies | 24 | — | — |
| Music performance: Group | 23 | — | — |
| Beauty Care / Services | 6 | — | — |
Other secondary schools in Wigan
Bedford High School
Community school · 1,111 pupils
74% stayed in education · Attainment 8 45.5
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
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.