Atherton High School
Free schools · 561 pupils
89% stayed in education · Attainment 8 39.3
Academy sponsor led
The Westleigh School
- Pupils on roll
- 976of 1,050 places
- Free school meals
- 44.1%
- Year 11 cohort 2025
- 189
- Ofsted
- Good, 8 November 2022Read the Ofsted report
Results below include those reported under the school’s previous registration: Westleigh High School (URN 106524, until 30 June 2018).
What the data says
The Westleigh School has no sixth form. Of the 160 pupils who finished Year 11 there in 2023, 14% moved to a sixth form college, 61% to a further education college and 3% started an apprenticeship.
12% of leavers were not in sustained education, employment or training six months on, compared with 6% nationally.
GCSE results in 2025 were well below the national picture: Attainment 8 of 36.4 against 46.1 across England and 43.4 in Wigan, with 21% of pupils getting grade 5 or above in both English and maths (England 45%).
Languages are a small part of the curriculum here: entries in French and Spanish and German add up to 14% of the year group, and 13% of pupils entered the full EBacc set of subjects (England 41%).
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 | The Westleigh School | Wigan | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils in the cohort | 160 | 3,620 | 607,348 |
| Any sustained destination | 84% | 91% | 92% |
| Stayed in education | 79% | 82% | 86% |
| — school sixth form | 2% | 6% | 34% |
| — sixth form college | 14% | 33% | 13% |
| — further education college | 61% | 41% | 37% |
| — other education | 1% | 2% | 2% |
| Apprenticeship | 3% | 5% | 3% |
| Employment | 3% | 4% | 3% |
| No sustained destination | 12% | 7% | 6% |
| Destination unknown | 4% | 2% | 3% |
GCSE results 2025
| Measure | The Westleigh School | Wigan | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Attainment 8 (average points per pupil) | 36.4 | 43.4 | 46.1 |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 21% | 39% | 45% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 43% | 61% | 65% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate subjects | 13% | 30% | 41% |
| EBacc average point score | 3.09 | 3.73 | 4.09 |
| Disadvantaged pupils in the cohort | 42% | 28% | 28% |
| Attainment 8 — disadvantaged pupils | 31.4 | 33.5 | 34.9 |
| Attainment 8 — other pupils | 40.1 | 47.2 | 50.4 |
| Pupils with high prior attainment (Key Stage 2) | — | — | — |
| English as an additional language | 16% | 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mathematics | 188 | 99% | 88% | 7% | 22% | 61% |
| Combined Science | 188 | 99% | 65% | 3% | 9% | 51% |
| English Language | 188 | 99% | 89% | 7% | 20% | 47% |
| English Literature | 188 | 99% | 86% | 3% | 21% | 45% |
| History | 91 | 48% | 41% | 5% | 26% | 34% |
| Geography | 89 | 47% | 41% | 4% | 25% | 43% |
| Religious Studies | 24 | 13% | 31% | 4% | 32% | 38% |
| French | 23 | 12% | 18% | 9% | 29% | 52% |
| Design and Technology | 18 | 10% | 11% | 0% | 23% | 17% |
| Art and Design | 17 | 9% | 7% | 0% | 24% | 59% |
| Business Studies | 16 | 8% | 18% | 6% | 20% | 63% |
| Spanish | 3 | 2% | 19% | — | 27% | — |
| Chinese | 3 | 2% | 1% | — | 75% | — |
| Persian | 2 | 1% | 0% | — | 77% | — |
| Polish | 2 | 1% | 1% | — | 84% | — |
| German | 1 | 1% | 5% | — | 33% | — |
| Modern Greek | 1 | 1% | 0% | — | 33% | — |
| Portuguese | 1 | 1% | 0% | — | 50% | — |
| Italian | 1 | 1% | 0% | — | 53% | — |
| Russian | 1 | 1% | 0% | — | 87% | — |
| Statistics | 1 | 1% | 5% | — | 20% | — |
| Urdu | 1 | 1% | 1% | — | 42% | — |
Technical awards and other Key Stage 4 qualifications
| Subject | Entries | Share of cohort | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Health Studies | 67 | — | — |
| Sports Studies | 53 | — | — |
| Engineering Studies | 31 | — | — |
| Hospitality / Catering Studies | 30 | — | — |
| Computer Appreciation / Introduction | 24 | — | — |
| Speech and Drama | 24 | — | — |
| Music performance: Group | 23 | — | — |
| Dance: General | 18 | — | — |
| Additional Mathematics FSMQ | 1 | — | — |
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
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
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.