Bedford Hall Methodist Primary School
Academy converter in Leigh, WN7 3DJ, taking ages 2 to 11, 255 on roll.
Homes you looked at
Each measured from its postcode's centre against the 0.29 miles Wigan published for 2025/26, as the checker measures.
Opened on this device and kept on it only: just their postcodes are sent, to this site, to measure them.
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Will an address get in?
In 2025/26, the furthest child offered a place lived 0.29 miles away.
Applying for September 2027? Primary applications close 15 January 2027; offers on 16 April 2027.
How this compares: every Wigan school's distance, tightest first →
The circle is 0.29 miles, the distance the school admitted from in 2025/26.
Bedford Hall Methodist Primary School: 0.29 miles, 2025/26 St Michael's CofE Primary School, Howe Bridge: 0.26 miles, 2025/26, published by Wigan
How to read this
Most English schools do not have a catchment area. When Bedford Hall Methodist Primary School is oversubscribed, places go outward from the school until they run out, so the distance moves each year with how many families applied and where they lived.
Distances are measured from the postcode's centre, not a front door; a postcode covers a few houses. Siblings, looked-after children and faith criteria come before distance, so a school can fill before distance counts at all.
Real admission areas are not circular: the circle is the distance, not a boundary.
The address on the closing date is the one the council uses. How admissions work.
One published year so far: 2025/26, from Wigan. With two or more, the map can draw any of them.
Source: Wigan, published admission distances, 2025/26
Where Bedford Hall Methodist Primary School and St Michael's CofE Primary School, Howe Bridge are both in reach
Both distances are drawn on the map above. St Michael's CofE Primary School, Howe Bridge admitted from 0.26 miles in 2025/26, published by Wigan. Its own page has the rest of its figures.
No postcode district has its centre inside both distances. The two schools admit from 0.29 and 0.26 miles, and the ground those circles share holds no district centre, which is a fact about where the centres fall rather than about any one address. The map above shows both, and the postcode checker answers for both.
Sign up to save both schools and be told when either council republishes the distance these answers rest on.
Drop St Michael's CofE Primary School, Howe Bridge and go back to one school.
If the answer is no, you can appeal. In Wigan, 30 of 192 secondary appeals succeeded in 2025 (15.6%; England 19.9%), counted for all the council's schools together. How every council compares.
Other schools nearby with a published distance
The closest schools to Bedford Hall Methodist Primary School that also have a council-published admission distance, nearest first.
| School | Phase | Admitted from | Away |
|---|---|---|---|
| Leigh Central Primary School Both in reach | Primary | 0.38 mi 2025/26 | 1.3 mi |
| Gilded Hollins Community School Both in reach | Primary | 0.78 mi 2025/26 | 1.8 mi |
| Lowton Church of England High School Both in reach | Secondary | 1.1 mi 2025/26 | 2.1 mi |
| Newton Westpark Primary School Both in reach | Primary | 0.86 mi 2025/26 | 2.2 mi |
| St Michael's CofE Primary School, Howe Bridge Both in reach | Primary | 0.26 mi 2025/26 | 2.2 mi |
| Atherton High School Both in reach | Secondary | 1.03 mi 2025/26 | 2.3 mi |
The distance as a picture
What kind of school this is
| Religious character | Methodist |
| Sixth form | Does not have a sixth form |
| How full | 255 pupils in 210 places (121% full, over capacity) |
| Trust | EPWORTH EDUCATION TRUST |
| Local authority | Wigan |
Department for Education register (GIAS).
How the school is doing
| Ofsted | Good, inspected 26 January 2023 |
| Meeting the expected standard | 57.0% in reading, writing and maths (2024/25) |
| Year | Meeting the expected standard |
|---|---|
| 2024/25 | 57.0% |
| 2023/24 | 61.0% |
| 2022/23 | 61.0% |
Ofsted, and the Department for Education's published performance data.
Who goes to Bedford Hall Methodist Primary School
| Girls and boys | 40.8% girls, 59.2% boys |
| English as an additional language | 3.5% of pupils |
| Free school meals | 34.5% of pupils eligible |
DfE school census, most recent published year.
Getting to Bedford Hall Methodist Primary School by bus
Best-served stop: Hope Carr Road, 132 yd away, with 2.1 buses an hour on weekday daytimes; first bus 06:36, last 23:46.
Every stop within 600 m
| Stop | From the school | Weekday daytime, an hour | Evening | Sunday | Routes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hope Carr Road | 132 yd | 2.1 | 1.0 | 0.9 | 19, 28 |
| Hope Carr Road | 143 yd | 2.1 | 1.0 | 0.9 | 19, 28, 28A |
| Archer Street | 0.2 mi | 2.1 | 1.0 | 0.9 | 19, 28 |
These are scheduled departures, not buses observed running. Two stops on opposite sides of a road are two rows.
Source: operators' timetables on the Bus Open Data Service (Department for Transport), week of 8 Sep 2026
The fee-paying alternative
Weighing Bedford Hall Methodist Primary School against the independent sector? Every fee-paying school around WN7: ages, selection, and how full each one is → What it costs to live at WN7 3DJ, by the school: council tax, energy, prices, rent, stamp duty →
Checking the house as well as the school
The full report checks one address against every nearby school, with sold prices, flood risk and crime.
Common questions
What is the catchment area for Bedford Hall Methodist Primary School?
Bedford Hall Methodist Primary School does not have one in the sense most people mean. Like most English schools, an oversubscribed year offers places outward from the school until they run out. The nearest thing to an answer: the furthest child admitted in 2025/26 lived 0.29 miles away, per Wigan.
How close do I need to live to get a place at Bedford Hall Methodist Primary School?
Nobody can say in advance, and anyone who does is guessing. 0.29 miles was enough in 2025/26, and at 121% full the school has little slack. The distance moves every year with the number of applications, so treat last year's figure as evidence, not a promise.
Does buying a house near Bedford Hall Methodist Primary School guarantee a place?
No. Admission criteria usually put looked-after children, siblings and faith criteria ahead of distance, so places can be filled before distance is reached. Councils also check that the address is genuinely where the child lives.
Every Wigan school's distance
All Wigan schools with a published admission distance, tightest first →
How school admissions actually work, and what the distance means →
Put Bedford Hall Methodist Primary School's figure on your own site
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Admission distance published by Wigan. School details from the Department for Education's register, ratings from Ofsted. Read how every figure on this site is sourced on the methodology page. If something here looks wrong, tell us and it goes on the accuracy log.