'Outstanding’ Wigan village school set to expand to cope with extra demand

The intake of children at Wood Fold Primary School, in Standish, will rise from 60 to 90 from September 2026 when the £6.6m expansion is complete.

A report to Wigan Council’s cabinet said the school – rated as “outstanding” by Ofsted when it was last inspected 10 years ago – is now “consistently oversubscribed”.

A six-week consultation, which ended on November 19, has taken place and a planning application for the expansion of the school will now be needed.

The report details the results of the consultation when only six responses were in favour of the expansion.

However, it was said that those not in favour of the proposal were “not necessarily against expansion but are largely due to concerns around exacerbating existing transport and environmental issues around the school”.

A letter to the council from the governors of the school said they were “sceptical” about the forecasted increase in pupil numbers, as previous predicted increases “did not materialise”.

“While Standish is experiencing a rising birth rate, this must be considered in the context of an overall declining birth rate in Wigan and the surrounding areas, as well as the existing overcapacity for primary school places in Standish,” it said.

“The governing board’s primary concern is that increases in pupil numbers will impact educational provision as it has the potential to dilute or change our offer to the community.”

The letter said it was “essential” for the council to address concerns related to traffic, parking and access to the school as well as “the increased risk to the safety of those using the roads and pavements around the school”.

It went on: “The infrastructure to support the current number of students on the roll is already straining, with adverse parking, traffic and safety issued occurring on a more frequent basis.”

And it added: “The addition of a class to a bulge year will place a considerable strain on the school resources and staff. Extra resources (books, software etc) will need to bought every year as this extra class moves through school.

“Adequate staffing and resource allocation will be critical to the success of the expansion. We urge the local authority to ensure that sufficient funding and support are in place to recruit and train additional staff and to equip the new facilities appropriately.”

The report to the cabinet said that the expansion at Wood Fold would provide more choice for parents seeking an education for their child at a local non-faith school.

Currently, out of 180 places available at Standish schools, 60 are available at Wood Fold. The other schools are St Marie’s Catholic Primary School (30 places) and St Wilfrid’s CE Academy (90 places).

Wigan’s portfolio holder for children and families Coun Jenny Bullen said: “There is a need for additional places in the Standish area. It’s an opportunity for children to get an outstanding education in that particular area in a very well subscribed school.”