Expanse Learning Wigan School

Other independent special school · Mixed · ages 11–16Wigan, Wigan WN3school website

A special school in Wigan for ages 11–16: the Department for Education has not published destination figures for it, so this page relies on the school’s own results and subjects.

Ofsted
—
Places
—
Pupils
89

Ofsted: Not covered by Ofsted school inspections. Places: the last distance at which places were offered is not on file (it comes from Wigan’s allocation statistics). Pupils: of 90 places.

GCSE · Year 11 · 2025

How do GCSE results compare?

13.1Attainment 8 score, out of 90
This school13.1
Wigan43.4
England46.1

Attainment 8 — average GCSE points across eight subjects, English and maths counted twice; grade 5 in everything scores 50.

DfE performance tables 2024/2025 · 12 pupils in Year 11

8% got grade 5 or above in both English and maths (Wigan 39%, England 45%).

Grade 5 — a “strong pass”; grade 4 is a “standard pass”. Progress 8 is not published for 2025: this cohort had no Key Stage 2 tests in 2020–21, so there is no baseline.

All GCSE measures10
MeasureThis schoolWiganEngland
Attainment 8 (average points per pupil)13.143.446.1
Grade 5 or above in English and maths8%39%45%
Grade 4 or above in English and maths8%61%65%
Entered the English Baccalaureate subjects0%30%41%
EBacc average point score0.813.734.09
Disadvantaged pupils in the cohort—28%28%
Attainment 8 — disadvantaged pupils—33.534.9
Attainment 8 — other pupils—47.250.4
Pupils with high prior attainment (Key Stage 2)———
English as an additional language—8%19%
Subjects · 2025

What do pupils study?

33.18%of the Key Stage 3 and GCSE curriculum mapped by the subjects taken here

Mapped — the share of the 2,029 learning outcomes the Department for Education sets for these stages that the subjects taken here cover, weighted by how many pupils take each.

DfE subject entries 2025 · curriculum catalogue by sch.today

Language & Communication19%
Mathematics & Statistics18%
Arts & Humanities13%
Social & Cultural Skills6%
Transversal Skills6%

Fields of knowledge — twelve fields the curriculum catalogue sorts every learning outcome into; the bars show the GCSE and A level ring.

GCSE subjects7

Entries 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.

SubjectEntriesShare of cohortEnglandGrades 7–9EnglandGrades 4–9
Mathematics867%88%0%22%13%
English Language867%89%25%20%25%
Sociology758%4%14%21%29%
English Literature758%86%14%21%29%
History650%41%17%26%33%
Art and Design650%7%0%24%50%
Statistics217%5%—20%—
Fields of knowledge, all stages12
Language & Communication37%
Mathematics & Statistics27%
Arts & Humanities21%
Transversal Skills21%
Natural Sciences19%
Green & Sustainability18%
Health & Safety18%
Digital & ICT Skills16%
Social & Cultural Skills11%
Law & Public Administration11%
Engineering & Manufacturing8%
Business & Administration7%

Ideas pupils meet most, weighted by the share of the cohort taking the subjects that teach them:

fraction 12.7percentage 8.0vocabulary 7.0power 6.8ratio 6.0translation 5.7grammar 5.6equation 5.5root 5.0formulae 5.0gradient 5.0particle model 5.0context 4.8evidence 4.8audience 4.7observation 4.1linear functions 4.0reflection 4.0area 4.0congruence 4.0pythagoras' theorem 4.0photosynthesis 4.0change of state 4.0purpose 3.8

Coverage counts a subject’s outcomes in proportion to the share of the cohort entered for it; Combined Science counts as two thirds of the three separate sciences. Levels follow ISCED 2011 as UNESCO maps it for the UK: Key Stage 3 is ISCED 2; GCSE and A level are both ISCED 3. Methodology: about the data.

Careers

Which jobs use what’s taught here?

12apprenticeship standards closely match the subjects pupils take

A match of what’s taught, not of entry requirements: the standards whose knowledge and skills share the most ideas with the GCSEs and A levels taken here, weighted by how many pupils take each subject.

Level 3 / Level 6 — England’s qualification levels: 3 is A level standard, 4–5 are higher apprenticeships, 6 is a bachelor’s degree.

Skills England apprenticeship standards (Open Government Licence v3.0) · ESCO occupations, © European Union, matched by sch.today · how the match works

Water industry asset maintenance technicianLevel 3 (advanced) apprenticeship · engineering and manufacturing · uses data collection, pythagoras' theorem, ratio from Mathematics, Computing, Design and Technology and 2 more · jobs: consumer electronics repair technician, industrial electrician, electrician
Process industry manufacturing technicianLevel 3 (advanced) apprenticeship · engineering and manufacturing · uses graph, pressure, solution from Mathematics, Sociology, Design and Technology and 2 more · jobs: chemical engineering technician, chemical manufacturing quality technician, chemical production manager
Science manufacturing technician 2023Level 3 (advanced) apprenticeship · engineering and manufacturing · uses graph, pressure, unit conversion from Mathematics, Sociology, Mathematics and 1 more · jobs: pharmaceutical engineer, chemical manufacturing quality technician, pharmacy technician
More apprenticeships9
Geoscientist (integrated degree)Level 6 degree apprenticeship · health and science · uses data collection, conduct field work, climate change from Statistics, Computing, Geography and 1 more · jobs: geologist, geological engineer, exploration geologist
Data technicianLevel 3 (advanced) apprenticeship · digital · uses mean, integer, data structure from English Language, Mathematics, Sociology and 3 more · jobs: data analyst, database administrator, data scientist
Production assistant - screen and audioLevel 3 (advanced) apprenticeship · creative and design · uses spelling, punctuation, grammar from English Literature, English, Modern Foreign Language · jobs: factory hand, supply chain assistant, management assistant
Junior visual effects - VFX artist or assistant technical director - ATDLevel 4 (higher) apprenticeship · creative and design · uses data collection, scale, computer systems from Art and Design, Computing, Design and Technology and 2 more · jobs: 3D modeller, technical director, animation layout artist
Content creatorLevel 3 (advanced) apprenticeship · creative and design · uses spelling, punctuation, grammar from English Literature, English, Modern Foreign Language · jobs: communication manager, online community manager, web content manager
Storyboard artistLevel 7 degree apprenticeship · creative and design · uses presentation, interpretation, summarising from Art and Design, English Language, History and 2 more · jobs: storyboard artist
ScientistLevel 6 degree apprenticeship · health and science · uses sampling technique, conclusion, data interpretation from Mathematics, Statistics, Science · jobs: physicist, analytical chemist, geneticist
Peer workerLevel 3 (advanced) apprenticeship · health and science · uses power, modelling, online safety from Mathematics, Sociology, Computing and 2 more · jobs: social work assistant
Battery manufacturing technicianLevel 3 (advanced) apprenticeship · engineering and manufacturing · uses area, volume, unit conversion from Mathematics, Mathematics, Science · jobs: battery test technician
Admissions

How do you get a place?

Places at special schools are allocated through an Education, Health and Care plan with Wigan, not by distance.

  1. Any timeAsk Wigan’s SEND team to name the school in the child’s EHC plan; the school is consulted before a place is offered
Wigan

Compare with nearby schools

Stayed in education at 16 · Attainment 8 · pupils

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.