St James' Catholic Primary School Orrell
Orrell, WN5 7AA · Wigan local authority
Orrell’s School Grade A− better than 77% of towns in England
What stands out about St James' Catholic Primary School Orrell
- Its own letter, A+: Key Stage 2 results better than 95% of England’s primary schools
- 83% meet the expected standard in reading, writing and maths, 21 points above England’s schools
- 10% of pupils are eligible for free school meals (fewer than England’s 25%)
- Ofsted report card, June 2026: achievement expected standard, safeguarding met (shown, not graded)
- 85% of families who put it first got a place for September 2026 (46 of 54)
- Homes in its postcode sector (WN5 7) sold for a median £235,000; Orrell’s is £219,750
Results
DfE · Key Stage 2Reading, writing and maths 83%
Met the expected standard, DfE’s 3-year average 2023–2025 · higher than 95% of England’s 14,979 graded primaries · Wigan avg 65%
Each subject, 2025
Met the expected standard; the mark is England’s schools · average scaled score: reading 110, maths 109 (100 = the expected standard)
England’s figures are of its graded mainstream state schools, each school counted once; grammar schools are included, which is why the right-hand tail is long. Small cohorts are suppressed.
How hard is it to get a place at St James' Catholic Primary School Orrell?
85% of the families who put it first got a place for September 2026.
Years when some first choices missed out: 2026 (8). The council runs the coordinated admissions; each school’s rules (siblings, distance, faith) decide who gets in. DfE doesn’t publish the furthest distance offered, so check the council’s admissions booklet for that. The school’s governing body sets the admissions rules. Apply through Wigan council’s coordinated admissions.
Outline = places offered · green = families who put it first · striped = more first choices than places
85% got their first choice
Orrell and Wigan, side by side
2023–2025All 98 graded primaries in Wigan. Schools with more pupils on free school meals usually score lower, so a school above the crowd for its free school meals is doing better than its intake predicts. Orrell’s schools are coloured by their letter.
Show as a table
| School | Letter | Free school meals | KS2 expected standard |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nicol Mere School | A+ | 23% | 97% |
| Gilded Hollins Community School | A+ | 7% | 97% |
| Orrell Newfold Community Primary School | A+ | 10% | 91% |
| Woodfield Primary School | A+ | 6% | 88% |
| Holy Family RC Primary School, New Springs, Wigan | A+ | 16% | 88% |
| St Luke's CofE Primary School | A+ | 6% | 87% |
| Our Lady's RC Primary School Wigan | A+ | 16% | 87% |
| Orrell Holgate Academy | A+ | 19% | 87% |
| Standish St Wilfrid's Church of England Primary Academy | A+ | 10% | 85% |
| St James' Catholic Primary School Orrell | A+ | 10% | 83% |
| St Marie's Catholic Primary School Standish | A+ | 12% | 83% |
| St Benedict's Catholic Primary School Hindley | A+ | 34% | 83% |
| Wood Fold Primary School | A | 12% | 81% |
| St Aidan's Catholic Primary School, Wigan | A | 5% | 81% |
| Golborne Community Primary School | A | 31% | 81% |
| Garrett Hall Primary School | A | 4% | 78% |
| Hindsford CofE Primary School | A | 44% | 77% |
| St Michael's CofE Primary School, Howe Bridge | A | 21% | 77% |
| Tyldesley Primary School | A | 6% | 77% |
| Marus Bridge Primary School | A | 18% | 77% |
| St Ambrose Barlow Catholic Primary School | A | 9% | 76% |
| St Mary and St John Catholic Primary School | A− | 13% | 75% |
| Aspull Church Primary School | A− | 13% | 75% |
| St Patrick's Catholic Primary School | A− | 37% | 74% |
| St Gabriel's Catholic Primary School | A− | 51% | 73% |
| St Catherine's Catholic Primary School, Lowton | A− | 13% | 73% |
| St Philip's CofE Primary School, Atherton | A− | 16% | 73% |
| Leigh St John's CofE Primary | A− | 21% | 72% |
| Orrell Lamberhead Green Academy | A− | 40% | 72% |
| St John's CofE Primary School | A− | 40% | 71% |
| St Richard's Roman Catholic Primary School Atherton | A− | 36% | 71% |
| Tyldesley St George's Central CofE Primary School and Nursery | A− | 32% | 71% |
| R L Hughes Primary School | B+ | 20% | 70% |
| Lowton West Primary School | B+ | 14% | 70% |
| Winstanley Community Primary School | B+ | 11% | 69% |
| Beech Hill Community Primary School | B | 45% | 67% |
| St Jude's Catholic Primary School Wigan | B | 47% | 67% |
| Holy Family Catholic Academy | B | 42% | 67% |
| Mab's Cross Primary School | B | 20% | 66% |
| Platt Bridge Community School | B | 47% | 66% |
| St Peter's Church of England Primary School, Hindley | B | 34% | 66% |
| Holy Family Catholic Primary School | B | 12% | 65% |
| Highfield St Matthew's Church of England Primary School | B | 24% | 65% |
| St David Haigh and Aspull CofE Primary School | B | 25% | 65% |
| Bryn St Peter's CofE Primary School | B− | 44% | 64% |
| Castle Hill St Philip's CofE Primary School | B− | 42% | 64% |
| Lowton St Mary's CofE (Voluntary Aided) Primary School | B− | 14% | 64% |
| St Joseph's Catholic Primary School Leigh | B− | 23% | 63% |
| Twelve Apostles Catholic Primary School | B− | 33% | 63% |
| St Wilfrids Catholic Primary School | B− | 19% | 63% |
| Lowton Junior and Infant School | B− | 33% | 62% |
| St John's CofE Primary School Mosley Common | B− | 18% | 62% |
| All Saints Catholic Primary School, Golborne, Wigan | B− | 20% | 62% |
| St Bernadette's Catholic Primary School | B− | 14% | 62% |
| Hindley All Saints CofE Primary School | B− | 42% | 61% |
| Ince CofE Primary School | B− | 55% | 61% |
| St Stephen's CofE Primary School | B− | 16% | 61% |
| Canon Sharples Church of England Primary School and Nursery | B− | 44% | 61% |
| Shevington Vale Primary School | C+ | 8% | 60% |
| Bedford Hall Methodist Primary School | C+ | 32% | 60% |
| Millbrook Primary School | C+ | 10% | 59% |
| Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School | C+ | 30% | 59% |
| St Oswald's Catholic Primary School | C+ | 19% | 59% |
| Atherton St George's CofE Primary School | C+ | 52% | 59% |
| Britannia Bridge Primary School | C+ | 42% | 58% |
| Chowbent Primary School | C+ | 36% | 58% |
| St Thomas CofE Primary School | C+ | 24% | 58% |
| Hindley Green Community Primary School | C+ | 29% | 58% |
| Meadowbank Primary School | C | 52% | 57% |
| Sacred Heart RC Primary School | C | 39% | 57% |
| St John's Church of England Primary School, Abram | C | 22% | 57% |
| St John's Church of England Primary School, Hindley Green | C | 28% | 57% |
| Leigh CofE Primary School | C | 44% | 57% |
| Westleigh St Paul's CofE Primary School | C | 55% | 56% |
| St Cuthbert's Catholic Primary School Wigan | C | 47% | 56% |
| Standish Lower Ground St Anne's CofE Primary School | C | 39% | 55% |
| St Thomas CofE Junior and Infant School | C | 33% | 55% |
| Parklee Primary School | C | 22% | 55% |
| St Mary's CofE Primary School | C | 51% | 54% |
| Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School, Hindley Green | C | 14% | 54% |
| Leigh St Peter's CofE Primary School | C | 51% | 54% |
| St Paul's Church of England Primary School | C | 22% | 54% |
| Newton Westpark Primary School | C− | 57% | 53% |
| Wigan Worsley Mesnes Community Primary School | C− | 36% | 52% |
| Christ Church CofE Primary School, Pennington | C− | 38% | 52% |
| St Catharine's CofE Primary School | C− | 53% | 51% |
| St James' Church of England Primary School | C− | 59% | 51% |
| St Thomas' CofE Primary School, Leigh | C− | 28% | 50% |
| Leigh St Mary's CofE Primary School | C− | 28% | 49% |
| St William's Catholic Primary School | C− | 43% | 48% |
| Leigh Westleigh Methodist Primary School | C− | 30% | 48% |
| Wigan St Andrew's CofE Junior and Infant School | D | 21% | 46% |
| St Mark's CofE Primary School | D | 46% | 46% |
| Leigh Central Primary School | D | 45% | 45% |
| Westfield Community School | D | 56% | 45% |
| Bickershaw CofE Primary School | D | 38% | 44% |
| Sacred Heart Catholic Primary School Leigh | D | 32% | 44% |
| Marsh Green Primary School | D | 59% | 41% |
Who goes here
DfE school census, January 2025371 pupils. SEN support is extra help in school for a special educational need; an EHC plan is the council’s legal plan for pupils who need more.
Girls and boys
St James' Catholic Primary School Orrell’s letter
Its own results against England’s schools, not the town’s School Grade.
How school letters are worked out
Each school’s measure is compared with every graded school in England of the same phase: for primaries, the share of pupils meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (DfE’s three-year average); for secondaries, Attainment 8 and the share with grade 5 or above in English and maths, each turned into a z-score against England’s schools and averaged. The letter comes from the share of those schools it beats, in the same bands as every grade on the site. The same method gives U.S. schools their letters, against their own state.
Graded: England’s open mainstream state schools with published results (grammar schools included, which select by test). Not graded: special schools, alternative provision, nurseries, 16–19 colleges, UTCs and studio schools, Welsh schools. Ofsted plays no part.
Ofsted inspections
Shown, not graded: Ofsted is never part of a letter or the School Grade.
Report card, inspection starting June 2026.
Before the report card: Ungraded inspection: School remains Good, February 2022.
Living near St James' Catholic Primary School Orrell
For families thinking of moving: what homes cost around the school, and the other schools close by.
Home prices in WN5 7, the school’s postcode sector
Orrell property prices →Median sale price each year, 2010 to 2025
By type, the 36 months to August 2026
Homes in WN5 7 sell for a little over Orrell’s typical price. HM Land Registry Price Paid, standard sales. Catchments aren’t published, so the postcode sector stands in for “around the school”.
Schools within 1.6 miles
10 state schoolsLocation
Directions ↗Orrell, WN5 7AA
St James' Catholic Primary School Orrell: common questions
Is St James' Catholic Primary School Orrell a good school?
By its published results, well above average: its Key Stage 2 results are better than 95% of England’s primary schools (its letter is A+), with 83% of pupils meeting the expected standard in reading, writing and maths, against 62% for England’s schools. Ofsted: a report card in June 2026.
How hard is it to get into St James' Catholic Primary School Orrell?
For September 2026, 54 families put St James' Catholic Primary School Orrell first and 46 of them were offered a place; 46 places were offered in all.
What is St James' Catholic Primary School Orrell’s Ofsted rating?
Its latest inspection (June 2026) gave a report card: achievement expected standard, safeguarding met. Ofsted stopped giving one-word overall grades in September 2024.
How much do houses cost near St James' Catholic Primary School Orrell?
Homes in its postcode sector, WN5 7, sold for a median £235,000 over the 36 months to August 2026 (427 sales).
Sources: DfE Get Information about Schools (16 October 2026), Key Stage 2 performance tables (2023–2025, three-year average) and Key Stage 4 (2025/26, provisional); Ofsted state-funded school inspections as at 30 September 2026. All under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Also: DfE Key Stage 4 performance, schools data (2023/24 and 2024/25 final, 2025/26 provisional) and Key Stage 2 performance tables 2024/25 by subject; DfE school census, January 2025; DfE school-level applications and offers, September 2019 to 2026 entry; HM Land Registry Price Paid by postcode sector, 2010 to August 2026.
A school’s letter is our own summary of its published results against England’s schools of the same phase; Orrell’s School Grade is a separate grade, built from the results of the schools in and around the town against other towns. Map: © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 (ONS boundaries). Northern Ireland: Source: NISRA; contains Land & Property Services data and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland information, © Crown copyright, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Scotland: contains National Records of Scotland data, Registers of Scotland data and SEPA data, © Crown copyright / © SEPA 2025, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.