School Admissions 2026/2027

ST MARY'S CATHOLIC HIGH SCHOOL
ADMISSION POLICY AND ARRANGEMENTS 2026/2027

St Mary’s Catholic High School is a Catholic School under the trusteeship of the Archdiocese of Liverpool. Its purpose is to provide education for children of Catholic families. Whenever there are more applications than places available, priority will be given to Catholic children in accordance with the oversubscription criteria listed below. The school is conducted by its governing body as part of the Catholic Church in accordance with its trust deed and instrument of government, and seeks at all times to be a witness to Our Lord Jesus Christ.

 As a Catholic school, we aim to provide a Catholic education for all our pupils. At a Catholic school, Catholic doctrine and practice permeate every aspect of the school’s activity. It is essential that the Catholic character of the school’s education be fully supported by all families in the school. We therefore hope that all parents will give their full, unreserved and positive support for the aims and ethos of the school. This does not affect the right of an applicant who is not Catholic to apply for, and be admitted to a place at the school, in accordance with these admission arrangements.

 The governing body is the admission authority and has responsibility for admissions to this school. The local authority undertakes the co-ordination of admission arrangements during the normal admission round1 excluding admission to year 12. The admission authority has set the school’s Published Admissions Number (“PAN”) at 260 pupils to year 7 [and 200 for external applicants to year 12] in the school year which begins in September, 2026.

The admission authority will, where logistically possible, admit twins and all siblings from multiple births where one of the children is the last child ranked within the school’s PAN.

 Pupils with an Education, Health and Care Plan

The admission of pupils with an Education, Health and Care Plan is dealt with by a completely separate procedure. Children with an Education, Health and Care Plan that names the school must be admitted. Where this takes place before the allocation of places under these arrangements, this will reduce the number of places available to other children.

 Within each of the categories listed below, the following provisions will be applied in the following order:

• (i) Where evidence is provided at the time of application of an exceptional social, medical or pastoral need of the child which can most appropriately be met at this school, the application will be placed at the top of the category in which the application is made. (see note 9)

• (ii) The attendance of a brother or sister at the school (not including the Sixth Form where there is one) at the time of enrolment will increase the priority of an application within each category so that the application will be placed at the top of the category in which the application is made after children in (i) above (see note 7).

Oversubscription Criteria

Where there are more applications for places than the number of places available, places will be offered according to the following order of priority.

1. Looked after children and previously looked after children.

2. Catholic children who are resident in the parishes of St Edmund Arrowsmith, St John Rigby and St Margaret Clitherow or former parishes of Ambrose Barlow; St Joseph; Sacred Heart, Atherton; Sacred Heart, Leigh; Holy Family; Twelve Apostles; Our Lady of the Rosary; St Richard's and St Gabriel's.

3. Other Catholic children. (see note 3)

4. Children attending one of the following Catholic Partner Primary Schools in the parishes or former parishes named in criterion 2 above:

- Holy Family, Boothstown

- St Gabriel’s Sacred Heart, Atherton

- St Joseph’s

- Sacred Heart, Leigh

- St Richard’s

- St Ambrose Barlow

- Twelve Apostles

5. Members of an Eastern Christian Church not in full communion with Rome . (see notes 4&5)

6. Children of other Christian Ecclesial Communities whose membership is evidenced by a minister of religion. (see note 5)

7. Children of other faiths whose membership is evidenced by a religious leader. (see note 6)

8. Any other children.

Tie Break

Priority will be given to children living closest to the school determined by the shortest distance. Distance will be measured in a straight line from the child’s home address to a central point at the school using Wigan Council’s Geographical Information System (GIS) which is based on ordnance survey. In the event of distances being the same for two or more children where this would determine the last place to be allocated, random allocation will be carried out and supervised by a person independent of the school. All the names will be entered into a hat and the required number of names will be drawn out. This should then be formally minuted by the Admissions Committee for future reference.

Application Procedures and Timetable

To apply for a place at this school in the normal admission round ( This is for admission to the school at the start of the school year in September and not for applications made in-year) , you must complete a Common Application Form excluding admission to year 12 available from the local authority in which you live. You are also requested to complete the Supplementary Information Form if you wish to apply under oversubscription criteria 2 to 3 or 5 to 8. The Supplementary Information Form should be returned in person to Admissions, St Mary’s Catholic High School, Manchester Road, Astley, M29 7EE or by email to supplementaryfaithform@st-maryshigh.wigan.sch.uk by 31st October 2025.

Sixth Form applications for Year 12 should be made directly to school via the link below:

Apply | St Mary's Sixth Form College - Applications

Enquiries regarding mid year applications to Sixth Form should be made by contacting Mr Rayner, Head of Sixth Form at school. sixthformenquiries@st-maryshigh.wigan.sch.uk

You will be advised of the outcome of your application on 1st March 2026 [GCSE and Level 2 Results Day for Sixth Form] or the next working day by the local authority on our behalf. If you are unsuccessful (unless your child gained a place at a school you ranked higher) you will be informed of the reasons, related to the oversubscription criteria listed above, and you have the right of appeal to an independent appeal panel.

If you do not provide the information required in the SIF and return it by the closing date, together with all supporting documentation, your child may not be placed in criteria 1 to 3 or 5 to 7, and this may affect your child’s chance of being offered a place.

All applications which are submitted on time will be considered at the same time and after the closing date for admissions which is 31st October 2025.

 Late Applications

Late applications will be administered in accordance with your home Local Authority Secondary Co-ordinated Admissions Scheme. You are encouraged to ensure that your application is received on time.

Admission of Children outside their Normal Age Group

A request may be made for a child to be admitted outside of their normal age group, for example, if the child is gifted and talented or has experienced problems such as ill health.

 Any such request should be made in writing to Headteacher, St Mary’s Catholic High School, Manchester Road, Astley, Manchester, M29 7EE at the same time as the admission application is made. The admission authority will make its decision about the request based on the circumstances of each case and in the best interests of the child. In addition to taking into account the views of the head teacher, including the head teacher’s statutory responsibility for the internal organisation, management and control of the school, the admission authority will take into account the views of the parents and of appropriate medical and education professionals, including relevant Department for Education, as appropriate.

 Waiting Lists

In addition to their right of appeal, unsuccessful applicants will be offered the opportunity to be placed on a waiting list. This waiting list will be maintained in order of the oversubscription criteria set out above and not in the order in which applications are received or added to the list. Waiting lists for admission will operate throughout the school year. The waiting list will be held open until 31 December 2026.

Inclusion in the school’s waiting list does not mean that a place will eventually become available.

For further information please click the link below to view the full Admissions Policy 

Admissions Policy