Minister's praise for Wigan school's turnaround

St Catharine’s CE Primary School in Scholes has received a letter from the Minister of State for Education to congratulate teachers and pupils on their achievements in key stage 2 tests taken at the end of last year.

Nick Gibb MP commended the school for achieving progress scores of 7.6, 5.1 and 9.7 in English reading, writings and maths respectively.

He wrote: “I would like to congratulate you, your staff and your pupils on the very high level of progress that pupils in your school have made in their reading, writing and mathematics.

“Your school is amongst the top two per cent of schools in England in terms of the progress your pupils make between key stage one and the end of key stage two.

“We want to ensure that every child has the necessary fluency in reading, writing and mathematics to prepare them for a successful secondary education and beyond, and your school has provided this.”

Head Nicola Goulding said: “I am so proud to receive the letter: the second we have received as last year we were also acknowledged as being in the top three per cent of schools in England for our progress in reading, writing and maths. This is down to the hard work, dedication and commitment of our fantastic team of staff and governors. Everyone works tirelessly every day to give our children the best possible chance to succeed.”

In 2013 the school was criticised for “not enough pupils” making good progress in the “three Rs”.