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Discover L40West Lancashire

L40 is mostly in West Lancashire (90% of its 572 postcodes), with the rest in Chorley (10%). Figures are for the council area, not for L40 alone

Wards in L40

Burscough Bridge & Rufford 34% of L40
Burscough Town 29% of L40
Rural West 12% of L40
Croston, Mawdesley & Euxton South 10% of L40
Rural South 8% of L40
Ormskirk West 4% of L40
Rural North East 3% of L40

Figures for

Council area

Map of schools in West Lancashire

The map needs JavaScript. The figures below do not.

Schools are coloured by their last Ofsted grade, or by results compared with England schools of the same type in the same year: reading, writing and maths at the end of primary school, and Attainment 8 at GCSE. Special, alternative provision, independent, nursery, 16 to 19 and all-through schools are not compared. Behind them, neighbourhoods are coloured by the education, skills and training measure of the English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (England only). Sources: Department for Education, Ofsted, MHCLG. Open Government Licence v3.0. This map outlines West Lancashire and its wards. Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors.

Schools and results

How schools here are spread and how pupils are doing. There are no league tables on this page.

Schools in the area

Oct 2026 · aggregated

Pupils on roll

16,806

2025/26 · aggregated

Graded schools rated Good or Outstanding

89.2%

as at 31 Aug 2026 · aggregated

2 percentage points lower than England

North West 89.7%England 91.2%

KS2 reading, writing and maths at expected standard

62.2%

2024/25 · aggregated

0.6 percentage points lower than England

North West 61.1%England 62.8%

KS4 Attainment 8 score

42.5

2024/25 · aggregated

6% lower than England

North West 44.3England 45.3

Schools opened in the last two years

Oct 2024 to Sep 2026 · aggregated

How do we know these figures?

Figure	Source	Period	Geography	Method and limits
Schools in the area Open schools (excluding children's centres) with a postcode in the area.	Department for Education (Get Information about Schools) via WhatSchool data Establishment records, pupil numbers, FSM, SEN, absence; Ofsted outcomes Licence: Open Government Licence v3.0 (DfE Get Information about Schools and Ofsted data, via WhatSchool)	Oct 2026	West Lancashire (Council area)	aggregated, high quality
Pupils on roll Pupils on roll at schools in the area (January 2026 census where reported). Pupils may live elsewhere.	Department for Education (Get Information about Schools) via WhatSchool data Establishment records, pupil numbers, FSM, SEN, absence; Ofsted outcomes Licence: Open Government Licence v3.0 (DfE Get Information about Schools and Ofsted data, via WhatSchool)	2025/26	West Lancashire (Council area)	aggregated, high quality
Graded schools rated Good or Outstanding Share of schools with a 1-4 Ofsted grade that are Outstanding or Good.	Department for Education (Get Information about Schools) via WhatSchool data Establishment records, pupil numbers, FSM, SEN, absence; Ofsted outcomes Licence: Open Government Licence v3.0 (DfE Get Information about Schools and Ofsted data, via WhatSchool)	as at 31 Aug 2026	West Lancashire (Council area)	aggregated, high quality
KS2 reading, writing and maths at expected standard Pupil-weighted share of year 6 pupils meeting the expected standard in all of reading, writing and maths (2024/25).	Department for Education (compare school performance) Key stage 2 and key stage 4 school-level performance tables extract Licence: Open Government Licence v3.0	2024/25	West Lancashire (Council area)	aggregated, high quality Pupil-weighted mean of school percentages (eligible pupils). From 54 schools. Schools are counted where they are located, not where pupils live.
KS4 Attainment 8 score Cohort-weighted mean of school Attainment 8 scores (2024/25).	Department for Education (compare school performance) Key stage 2 and key stage 4 school-level performance tables extract Licence: Open Government Licence v3.0	2024/25	West Lancashire (Council area)	aggregated, high quality Cohort-weighted mean of school Attainment 8 scores. From 13 schools. Schools are counted where they are located, not where pupils live.
Schools opened in the last two years New schools (not academy conversions, relaunches or mergers) with an opening date Oct 2024 - Sep 2026.	Department for Education (GIAS) Establishment open and close dates Licence: Open Government Licence v3.0	Oct 2024 to Sep 2026	West Lancashire (Council area)	aggregated, medium quality

Method: Schools in an area

Each open school is located by the postcode of its GIAS record, so it belongs to exactly one postcode district, ward, built-up area, constituency, council and so on. A school is counted where it is, not where its pupils live; pupils often cross boundaries. Children's centres are excluded. Phase and type are the GIAS labels grouped for display.

Method: Pupil-weighted school measures

FSM, SEN and absence percentages are school-level figures averaged with school roll (January 2026 census) as the weight; KS2 and KS4 measures are averaged with the number of eligible pupils (KS2) or the KS4 cohort as the weight. This equals the share of pupils in the area's schools, not of pupils living in the area. The England value uses the same method on the same files and is the comparator. Suppressed school values are skipped, so coverage differs by measure (the number of schools used is in the notes). Ofsted outcomes are the latest overall grade on record at 31 August 2026; schools inspected under the new report-card framework may carry no single grade.

Method: Change events

Events are dated records from public registers: company insolvency notices in The Gazette (loaded from July 2025, so the window is under 24 months), charity registrations and removals (Charity Commission register events), and school opening and closing dates (GIAS), where academy conversions, relaunches and mergers are labelled separately from genuine new schools and closures. They are located at the registered office, registered address or school premises, which is not necessarily where an organisation operates or where affected people live. Each council shows only its most recent events per type (cap per type); wards show all loaded events. The Gazette feed carries insolvency notices only, not planning, licensing or other notices. A notice is an event on the register, not a judgement about the organisation. No individuals' names are stored.

Latest Ofsted judgements

Outstanding14.5%
Good69.6%
Requires improvement5.8%
Inadequate4.3%
Not judged5.8%

This place England

Share of schools by latest overall judgement. Inspection frameworks have changed over time, so older and newer judgements are not like for like. as at 31 Aug 2026.

How do we know this?

Figure	Source	Period	Geography	Method and limits
Ofsted grades of schools Latest overall Ofsted grade of schools in the area as at 31 Aug 2026 (distribution).	Department for Education (Get Information about Schools) via WhatSchool data Establishment records, pupil numbers, FSM, SEN, absence; Ofsted outcomes Licence: Open Government Licence v3.0 (DfE Get Information about Schools and Ofsted data, via WhatSchool)	as at 31 Aug 2026	West Lancashire (Council area)

Method: Pupil-weighted school measures

Schools by phase

Primary74.3%
Other or not recorded13.5%
Secondary9.5%
All-through1.4%
Nursery1.4%

This place England

Share of schools. Oct 2026.

How do we know this?

Figure	Source	Period	Geography	Method and limits
Schools by phase Open schools by phase of education (distribution).	Department for Education (Get Information about Schools) via WhatSchool data Establishment records, pupil numbers, FSM, SEN, absence; Ofsted outcomes Licence: Open Government Licence v3.0 (DfE Get Information about Schools and Ofsted data, via WhatSchool)	Oct 2026	West Lancashire (Council area)

Method: Schools in an area

Schools by type

Local authority maintained74.3%
Academies12.2%
Special schools (La)8.1%
Independent2.7%
Free schools1.4%
Universities1.4%

This place England

Share of schools. Oct 2026.

How do we know this?

Figure	Source	Period	Geography	Method and limits
Schools by type Open schools by establishment type group (distribution).	Department for Education (Get Information about Schools) via WhatSchool data Establishment records, pupil numbers, FSM, SEN, absence; Ofsted outcomes Licence: Open Government Licence v3.0 (DfE Get Information about Schools and Ofsted data, via WhatSchool)	Oct 2026	West Lancashire (Council area)

Method: Schools in an area

Pupils and attendance

Pupils eligible for free school meals

23.2%

2025/26 · aggregated

1.6 percentage points lower than England

North West 28.5%England 24.8%

Pupils on SEN support

13.9%

2025/26 · aggregated

0.9 percentage points lower than England

North West 15.2%England 14.8%

Pupils with an EHC plan

7.8%

2025/26 · aggregated

1.8 percentage points higher than England

North West 6.9%England 6%

Overall absence rate

7.4%

2024/25 · aggregated

0.7 percentage points higher than England

North West 6.8%England 6.7%

Persistent absence

20.1%

2024/25 · aggregated

2.2 percentage points higher than England

North West 17.9%England 17.8%

How do we know these figures?

Figure	Source	Period	Geography	Method and limits
Pupils eligible for free school meals Pupil-weighted share of pupils eligible for free school meals (2025/26).	Department for Education (Get Information about Schools) via WhatSchool data Establishment records, pupil numbers, FSM, SEN, absence; Ofsted outcomes Licence: Open Government Licence v3.0 (DfE Get Information about Schools and Ofsted data, via WhatSchool)	2025/26	West Lancashire (Council area)	aggregated, high quality Share of pupils at schools in the area; pupil-weighted. From 72 schools. Schools are counted where they are located, not where pupils live.
Pupils on SEN support Pupil-weighted share of pupils receiving SEN support (2025/26).	Department for Education (Get Information about Schools) via WhatSchool data Establishment records, pupil numbers, FSM, SEN, absence; Ofsted outcomes Licence: Open Government Licence v3.0 (DfE Get Information about Schools and Ofsted data, via WhatSchool)	2025/26	West Lancashire (Council area)	aggregated, high quality Share of pupils at schools in the area; pupil-weighted. From 73 schools. Schools are counted where they are located, not where pupils live.
Pupils with an EHC plan Pupil-weighted share of pupils with an education, health and care plan (2025/26).	Department for Education (Get Information about Schools) via WhatSchool data Establishment records, pupil numbers, FSM, SEN, absence; Ofsted outcomes Licence: Open Government Licence v3.0 (DfE Get Information about Schools and Ofsted data, via WhatSchool)	2025/26	West Lancashire (Council area)	aggregated, high quality Share of pupils at schools in the area; pupil-weighted. From 73 schools. Schools are counted where they are located, not where pupils live.
Overall absence rate Pupil-weighted share of sessions missed for any reason (2024/25).	Department for Education (Get Information about Schools) via WhatSchool data Establishment records, pupil numbers, FSM, SEN, absence; Ofsted outcomes Licence: Open Government Licence v3.0 (DfE Get Information about Schools and Ofsted data, via WhatSchool)	2024/25	West Lancashire (Council area)	aggregated, high quality Pupil-weighted mean of school rates. From 67 schools. Schools are counted where they are located, not where pupils live.
Persistent absence Pupil-weighted share of pupils missing 10% or more of sessions (2024/25).	Department for Education (Get Information about Schools) via WhatSchool data Establishment records, pupil numbers, FSM, SEN, absence; Ofsted outcomes Licence: Open Government Licence v3.0 (DfE Get Information about Schools and Ofsted data, via WhatSchool)	2024/25	West Lancashire (Council area)	aggregated, high quality Pupil-weighted mean of school rates. From 60 schools. Schools are counted where they are located, not where pupils live.

Method: Pupil-weighted school measures

Pupil characteristics describe who attends local schools, not how good the schools are. Absence and special educational needs rates differ for many reasons beyond the school.

Adult qualifications

What residents have studied, from the census.

Adults with no qualifications

17.8%

2021

About the same as England

England 18%

Adults with a degree-level qualification or above

30%

2021

4 percentage points lower than England

England 34%

How do we know these figures?

Figure	Source	Period	Geography	Method and limits
Adults with no qualifications Share of usual residents aged 16 and over with no qualifications (Census 2021).	Office for National Statistics Census 2021 bulk tables via Nomis: TS054 tenure, TS045 cars, TS044 accommodation type, TS017 household size, TS052 occupancy rating (bedrooms), TS037 general health, TS067 highest qualification Licence: Open Government Licence v3.0	2021	West Lancashire (Council area)	direct, high quality
Adults with a degree-level qualification or above Share of usual residents aged 16 and over whose highest qualification is Level 4 (degree level) or above (Census 2021).	Office for National Statistics Census 2021 bulk tables via Nomis: TS054 tenure, TS045 cars, TS044 accommodation type, TS017 household size, TS052 occupancy rating (bedrooms), TS037 general health, TS067 highest qualification Licence: Open Government Licence v3.0	2021	West Lancashire (Council area)	direct, high quality

Method: Census 2021 housing, health and qualifications for Wales

Wales held its census on the same day as England (21 March 2021) with the same questions, so the figures are directly comparable. For Wales we use the published local authority tables. Tenure counts shared ownership with owners; "private rented" includes people who live rent free, as in the England figures. Overcrowding is an occupancy rating of -1 or less for bedrooms. Qualifications are for people aged 16 and over; "no qualifications" and "Level 4 or above" (degree level and above) are shares of all those people. Counts are rounded by random adjustment, so tiny differences from other tables are expected. Wales households per local authority are not split to small areas here.

Highest qualification of people aged 16 and over, Census 2021 (21 March 2021). Level 4 is degree level and above. Older adults are less likely to hold formal qualifications, so areas with more older residents show higher shares with none.

Local schools (73)

Listed alphabetically. Each links to its own page, with its Ofsted record, results and governors.

School	Phase	Type	Pupils
Appley Bridge All Saints Church of England Primary Academy	Primary	Academy converter	138
Aughton Christ Church Church of England Voluntary Controlled Primary School	Primary	Voluntary controlled school	203
Aughton St Michael's Church of England Primary School	Primary	Voluntary controlled school	204
Aughton Town Green Primary School	Primary	Community school	314
Banks Methodist School	Primary	Voluntary controlled school	52
Banks St Stephen's CofE School	Primary	Voluntary controlled school	199
Bickerstaffe CofE Primary School and Nursery	Primary	Voluntary controlled school	90
Bishop Martin Church of England Primary School	Primary	Academy converter	189
Brookfield Park Primary School	Primary	Community school	153
Burscough Bridge Methodist School	Primary	Voluntary controlled school	41
Burscough Bridge St John's Church of England Primary School	Primary	Voluntary controlled school	135
Burscough Lordsgate Township Church of England Primary School	Primary	Voluntary aided school	190
Burscough Priory Academy	Secondary	Academy sponsor led	729
Burscough Village Primary School	Primary	Community school	223
Cobbs Brow School	Primary	Community school	308
Crawford Village Primary School	Primary	Community school	79
Crow Orchard Primary School	Primary	Community school	121
Dalton St Michael's Church of England Primary School	Primary	Voluntary aided school	61
Delph Side Community Primary School	Primary	Community school	251
Downholland-Haskayne Voluntary Aided Church of England Primary School	Primary	Voluntary aided school	20
Edge Hill University	Not applicable	Higher education institutions
Elm Tree Community Primary School	Not applicable	Community special school	150
Halsall St Cuthbert's Church of England Primary School	Primary	Voluntary aided school	190
Hesketh-With-Becconsall All Saints CofE School	Primary	Academy sponsor led	178
Hillside Community Primary School	Primary	Community school	151
Holland Moor Primary School	Primary	Community school	412
Holmeswood Methodist School	Primary	Voluntary controlled school	55
Hope High School	Not applicable	Community special school	108
Kingsbury Primary Special School	Not applicable	Community special school	132
Lathom High School : a Technology College	Secondary	Foundation school	806
Little Digmoor Primary School	Primary	Community school	138
Maharishi Free School	All-through	Free schools	229
Moorgate Nursery School	Nursery	Local authority nursery school	32
Moorside Community Primary Academy School	Primary	Academy converter	256
Moss View School	Not applicable	Other independent special school	1
Newburgh Church of England Primary School	Primary	Voluntary aided school	106
Ormskirk Asmall Primary School	Primary	Community school	152
Ormskirk Church of England Primary School	Primary	Voluntary controlled school	411
Ormskirk Lathom Park Church of England Primary School	Primary	Voluntary controlled school	79
Ormskirk School	Secondary	Academy sponsor led	1,169
Ormskirk St Anne's Catholic Primary School	Primary	Voluntary aided school	363
Ormskirk West End School	Primary	Community school	130
Our Lady and All Saints Roman Catholic Primary School, Parbold	Primary	Voluntary aided school	106
Parbold Douglas Church of England Academy	Primary	Academy converter	191
Pontville School	Not applicable	Other independent special school	121
Richard Durning's Endowed Primary School	Primary	Voluntary controlled school	77
Rufford CofE School	Primary	Voluntary aided school	114
Scarisbrick Hall School	Not applicable	Other independent school	1,039
Scarisbrick St Mark's Church of England Primary School	Primary	Voluntary controlled school	40
St Bede's Catholic High School	Secondary	Voluntary aided school	709
St Edmund's Catholic Primary School	Primary	Voluntary aided school	82
St Francis of Assisi Catholic Primary School	Primary	Voluntary aided school	145
St James' Catholic Primary School, Skelmersdale	Primary	Voluntary aided school	229
St John's Catholic Primary School, Burscough	Primary	Voluntary aided school	94
St John's Catholic Primary School, Skelmersdale	Primary	Voluntary aided school	196
St Joseph's Catholic Primary School, Wrightington	Primary	Voluntary aided school	67
St Mary's Catholic Primary School, Scarisbrick	Primary	Voluntary aided school	56
St Richard's Catholic Primary School, Skelmersdale	Primary	Voluntary aided school	230
St Teresa's Catholic Primary School	Primary	Voluntary aided school	227
St Thomas the Martyr Voluntary Aided Church of England Primary School	Primary	Voluntary aided school	211

Showing the first 60 of 73. Near Me lists schools by distance.

Sources used on this page

Department for Education (compare school performance): Key stage 2 and key stage 4 school-level performance tables extractPeriod: 2024/25 (revised; year inferred from the extract) · Published: Mar 2026 (fetched) · Coverage: England state-funded schools with published results · Licence: Open Government Licence v3.0
Department for Education (Get Information about Schools) via WhatSchool data: Establishment records, pupil numbers, FSM, SEN, absence; Ofsted outcomesPeriod: GIAS 7 Oct 2026; pupils January 2026 census; FSM/SEN 2025/26; absence 2024/25; Ofsted as at 31 Aug 2026 · Published: Oct 2026 · Coverage: England (GIAS); Wales has establishment records without results · Licence: Open Government Licence v3.0 (DfE Get Information about Schools and Ofsted data, via WhatSchool)
Department for Education (GIAS): Establishment open and close datesPeriod: file of 7 Oct 2026 · Published: 7 Oct 2026 · Coverage: England · Licence: Open Government Licence v3.0
Office for National Statistics: Census 2021 bulk tables via Nomis: TS054 tenure, TS045 cars, TS044 accommodation type, TS017 household size, TS052 occupancy rating (bedrooms), TS037 general health, TS067 highest qualificationPeriod: 21 March 2021 · Published: 2023 · Coverage: Local authorities of Wales (22) and Wales; qualifications also for England and its local authorities · Licence: Open Government Licence v3.0

Registered offices are not operating locations. Ranks and deciles are never averaged. Census 2021 figures are labelled 2021.