St Mary's Catholic High SchoolAtherton High School
Inspection, results, pupils and attendance side by side.
Summary of the comparison
St Mary's Catholic High School and Atherton High School are secondary schools.
St Mary's Catholic High School scores 56 out of 100 (grade C, average) and Atherton High School scores 56 out of 100 (grade C, average). Our score is the same for each of them on the data available.
St Mary's Catholic High School was judged Good and Atherton High School was judged Good.
On GCSE Attainment 8, the latest published figures are 47.1 for St Mary's Catholic High School and 46.2 for Atherton High School.
GCSE Attainment 8 has held broadly level at St Mary's Catholic High School (47.4 in 2021-22, 47.1 in 2025-26) and has risen at Atherton High School (42.5 in 2021-22, 46.2 in 2025-26).
Side-by-side comparison
| Measure | ManchesterSt Mary's Catholic High School | AthertonAtherton High School | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| Overview | |||
| Our score | C56/100 | C56/100 | |
| Local ranking | 7th of 19 in Wigan | 7th of 19 in Wigan | |
| Inspection | Ofsted: Good | Ofsted: Good | |
| School type | Voluntary aided school | Free schools | |
| Phase | Secondary | Secondary | |
| Age range | 11-18 | 11-16 | |
| Gender | Mixed | Mixed | |
| Pupils on roll | 1,537 | 561 | |
| Capacity | 1,569 | 550 | |
| Location | Manchester, M29 7EE | Atherton, M46 0AY | |
| GCSE results | |||
| Attainment 8 | 47.1 Stronger figure | 46.2 | 46.2 |
| Grade 5+ in English & maths | 45.8% Stronger figure | 38.2% | 46.3% |
| Grade 4+ in English & maths | 70.4% Stronger figure | 63.7% | 64.8% |
| Cohort | 253 | 102 | |
| A-level results | |||
| A-level entries | 89 | Not reported | |
| A-level average points | 30.1 | Not reported | 35.0 |
| A-level average grade | C | Not reported | |
| Best 3 A-levels points | 33.4 | Not reported | 35.8 |
| AAB+ incl. facilitating subjects | 20.0% | Not reported | 17.5% |
| Pupils | |||
| Pupils in the census | 1,561 | 547 | |
| Free school meals (ever 6) | 20.0% | 47.2% | |
| English as an additional language | 10.0% | 4.9% | |
| SEN support | 9.9% | 16.3% | |
| SEN with an EHC plan | 2.1% | 3.7% | |
| Attendance | |||
| Overall absence | 8.7% Stronger figure | 8.9% | 6.2% |
| Persistent absence | 21.4% Stronger figure | 26.1% | 15.8% |
marks the stronger figure on measures with a clear direction. Rows describing a school's intake, such as free school meals, English as an additional language and SEN, carry no marker: they describe who a school serves, not how well it serves them.
Historical trends
Each solid line is one school; the dashed line is the national average.
GCSE Attainment 8
GCSE Progress 8
Overall absence
Free school meal eligibility (ever 6)
Pupils on roll
Ethnicity over time
One panel per school: the largest groups across this comparison, one colour per group, on a shared scale.
St Mary's Catholic High School
Atherton High School
Full profiles: St Mary's Catholic High School · Atherton High School