Secondary schools

Applying for secondary schools in 2024

If your child will turn 11 between 1 September 2023 and 31 August 2024, they will transfer to secondary school at the start of the new school year in September 2024.

National Allocation Day

On 1st March 2024 offers will be sent to applicants by email and post.

If you have applied online, on 1st March 2024 you will receive an email from 9am and you will be able to view your result on the School Admissions Portal. If you have applied using a paper application form, you will be notified of the result by letter.

If you have applied online and your email shows that you have not got a place at one of your preferred schools, you will receive a letter with details of which criterion your application fell under. Information on how places were allocated, how to appeal and waiting lists can be found further down this page.

Please wait for your letter to arrive. If your letter has not arrived by 8th March 2024, please contact The School Organisation Team on 01942 489013.

How places were allocated

The documents below give details of how places were allocated at each oversubscribed Wigan secondary school. If you have been refused a place at any of these schools, you will be sent a letter with the reason your child was refused a place.

Appeals and waiting lists

If you have been refused a place at a Wigan secondary school you have the right to appeal that decision. Children refused a place at a Wigan secondary school will be added to the school's waiting list which will be kept until 31st December 2024. 

Before submitting your appeal please visit our waiting list and appeals webpage.

Appeal for a place at Wigan community, foundation, academy and Church of England schools

To appeal for a place at Wigan community, foundation, academy and Church of England schools, you will need to:

If you are unable to appeal using the online forms, please contact us on 01942 489013 and we will post the form to you.

Appeal for a place at Wigan Catholic secondary school

To appeal for a place at Wigan Catholic secondary school, you will need to:

Late applications

If you have not yet applied for a secondary school place, or you wish to change your mind about the preferences or the order of preferences after the closing date, you must complete a late application form.

We will only look at late applications and late changes of preference after we have dealt with the applications we received on time. This means that you are less likely to get a place at the school you want.

Please do not use this form to apply for a school transfer. You must apply via the moving schools page to apply for a school transfer.

It is very important that you read the 'Applying for a place at secondary school 2024/25' booklet before making your application as it contains important information about the allocation process.

Church Forms

If any of the schools you want your child to go to is a Wigan voluntary aided high school the governors will need extra information so that they can consider your application against their faith criteria. If you do not give this information your child may be refused a place.

You are strongly advised to complete a supplementary information form for each voluntary aided school you name as a preference. This must be returned to the relevant school.

Parents are responsible for checking that supplementary forms sent by post have been received by the school.

Privacy notice

The Council has a legal responsibility to protect the data it collects. For more information see our privacy notice:

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