Nicol Mere School
General Information
- Address: Roman Road, Ashton-in-Makerfield, Wigan, WN4 8DF – View on map
- Phone: 01942720871
- Website: Visit school website
- Headteacher: Mrs Stephanie Swift
- Age range: 4-11 years
- Demand for places (Reception, September 2026): 96 families put it first for 60 places – 16 for every 10 places. 61% of them were offered a place. 1 of the 60 places went to families living outside the council area. Children putting it first, for every 10 places: 2023 13 · 2024 12 · 2025 13 · 2026 16
- Sixth form: No
- Intake: Mixed
- Religious character: Does not apply
- Nursery provision: No
Who goes here
- Pupils eligible for free school meals: 98
- % eligible for free school meals: 23.4%
- Pupil mix: 2 in 10 (less mixed than the Wigan average)
- English as an additional language: 5% (England 22%)
Staff
Teachers leaving each year
- Teacher turnover: 14.2% a year (Wigan 12.9%, typical in England 13.9%)
- Where they went: about 34% moved to another school, 66% left state schools altogether (retirement, other careers, independent schools, abroad)
- Data years: 2022/23 to 2024/25 (average of 3 years, DfE school workforce census)
Teachers who moved school or left state schools in the year after each November, as a share of all the school's teachers. Some turnover is healthy – retirements, promotions, moving house.
Behaviour
Awaiting Data
Across Wigan: suspensions by reason
- Suspensions for sexual misconduct: 4 (0.1 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.2)
- Permanent exclusions for sexual misconduct: 0
- Suspensions for bullying: 2 (0.1 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.2)
- Suspensions for abuse against sexual orientation or gender identity: 0 (0.0 per 1,000 pupils; England 0.0)
- Data year: 2024/25 (DfE suspensions and exclusions statistics)
These are figures for all state primary schools in Wigan, not this school's own – the government doesn't publish them school by school. A suspension can have up to three reasons. Most sexual harassment between pupils never leads to a suspension, so these figures show only part of the picture.
Attendance
- Overall absence: 3.4%
- Persistently absent pupils: 3.8%
- Data year: 2024/25
SEN
No dedicated Unit or Resourced Provision
- Pupils on SEN Support: 16.3%
- Pupils with an EHC Plan: 1.9%
- Data year: 2025/26
Most common needs - SEN Support
- Speech, language and communications needs: 38 pupils
- Moderate learning difficulty: 11 pupils
- Social, emotional and mental health: 9 pupils
- Other difficulty or disability: 4 pupils
- Autistic spectrum disorder: 4 pupils
Most common needs - EHC Plan
- Speech, language and communications needs: 4 pupils
- Social, emotional and mental health: 2 pupils
- Multi-sensory impairment: 1 pupil
- Autistic spectrum disorder: 1 pupil
These figures show the makeup of the school.
Educational Attainment
Outstanding 2023 report
Year 6 SATs results
- Met the expected standard in reading, writing & maths: 97% (England 62%)
- Reached the higher standard: 33% (England 8%)
- Compared with the area: 31 percentage points above the Wigan average (66%)
- Compared with schools with similar pupils: Well above (3-year average 97% against an expected 62%)
- 3-year average (expected standard): 97%
- Expected standard by subject: Reading 97% · Writing 97% · Maths 97% · Grammar, punctuation & spelling 97%
- Average test scores: reading 114, maths 112
- Based on: 60 Year 6 pupils, 2024/25
View the School Context Comparator – how this school's SATs results compare with schools teaching similar pupils.
SATs results over time
Year 6 SATs: joint 1st of 97 junior and primary schools in the area
- =1Gilded Hollins Community School97%
- =1Nicol Mere School97%
- =3Orrell Newfold Community Primary School93%
- =3Woodfield Primary School93%
Click to see the full ranking
View full Ofsted inspection report
5th of 75 primary schools in Wigan for Ofsted rating
- #3Holy Family RC Primary School, New Springs, WiganOutstanding
- #4Leigh St John's CofE PrimaryOutstanding
- #5Nicol Mere SchoolOutstanding
- #6Orrell Newfold Community Primary SchoolOutstanding
- #7Our Lady's RC Primary School WiganOutstanding
Click to see the full ranking
Financials
Spending per pupil: £5,902 (2024-25)
80th of 98 primary schools in Wigan for spending per pupil
- #78Hindley Green Community Primary School£5,948
- #79Holy Family Catholic Primary School£5,936
- #80Nicol Mere School£5,902
- #81Orrell Newfold Community Primary School£5,878
- #82Mab's Cross Primary School£5,870
Click to see the full ranking
View on the Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool (GOV.UK)