A SCHOOL in Leigh has featured in The Times' list of the top 500 primary schools in England.
Parents across the country found which school their child was accepted into this week, with choosing the right school and waiting for acceptance often an anxious time for families.
To let parents know which schools are the top-performers in their area, The Times' Parent Power list ranks the country's top 500 primary schools from the results and expected grades of pupils' SATS in 2023.
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In Leigh, only Gilded Hollins Community School made the Times' top 500 list.
There were another eight schools that made the list across the borough, however, including Hindley Junior and Infant School and St Luke's CofE in Lowton.
Nicol Mere School, Woodfield Primary, Orrell St James, Ince CofE, Orrell Newfold, and St Wilfrid's were other schools that made the cut across Wigan.
With more than 16,000 primary schools in England, more than two-thirds of the top performing institutions were in the south of the country, with Gilded Hollins and Hindley Junior and Infant School both new entries for 2024.
The Times explains that schools are ranked from an average score of 100, which represents the expected standard children should achieve by the end of Year 6. A score of 110 or above in any of the three measures indicates children working at a “higher” level of attainment.
Gilded Hollins was ranked 222nd thanks to an English score of 111, a Grammar score of 110, and a Maths score of 110 from their previous cohort of Year 6 pupils.
Hindley Junior and Infant School was ranked 226th in the top 500 list, with an English score of 112, Grammar score of 111, and a Maths score of 108 in the school's latest SATS scores.
A previous feature on the Times' list, St Luke's was ranked 306th with an English score of 110, Grammar score of 111, and a Maths score of 109.
The Times further explains that the league table highlights how well some schools have helped the so-called “lost generation” to recover after Covid, as teachers grappled with falling attendance, a mental health crisis, overweight and screen-addicted children and even pupils turning up to school in nappies.
Techniques to boost reading and make learning more creative have been pivotal to increasing engagement in some classrooms, with a top headteacher saying that primary school should be more fun to help bridge the attainment gap following the pandemic.
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