Community Links
We are a community high school and believe our young people should develop a good appreciation of their heritage and take pride in the local area.
We have a good working relationship with nearby primary schools who visit us regularly to use our facilities or take part in events. WHS also has close links local groups, businesses and voluntary organisations and in return our students take part in competitions, initiatives and help out with events.
WHS has a strong performing arts department for example and each year we stage two large productions and bus pensioner groups in to see the performance. Our students have lunch with the visitors and it has become a firm favourite in the school calendar.
We support a range of charities each year and have recently held bake sales, non-uniform days and food collections to raise funds and awareness for the likes of Children in Need, Jeans for Genes and Bolton Urban Outreach.
Closer to home WHS works with neighbouring secondary schools and has wide ranging contacts within the community. We play an active part in local civic events and value our work with the local ‘Rotary Club’ which in turn supports the school on a variety of levels.
School and Local Area
Our School
We are a mixed community comprehensive school situated close to the centre of the growing town of Westhoughton. We educate 11 to 16 year olds from Westhoughton, Blackrod, Bolton, Atherton and Hindley. We are a non-selective and inclusive school.
Our Facilities
Much of the school buildings date back to the 1930s. There are five buildings in total, the most recently built and opened in 2020. There has been strategic investment in school facilities in recent years to ensure that all developments improve the learning environment. Our emphasis has been on refurbishment and redesign and students have recognised how the learning environment has significantly improved.
There has been significant investment in digital projectors and interactive whiteboards and approximately three quarters of our rooms are now equipped with this technology. All teaching rooms have a digital projector. We actively invest in technology that when used effectively will promote learning.
Our Staff
Our students need and deserve positive and enthusiastic teachers with high expectations form them and who are willing to be innovative and creative in their approaches to learning and teaching. Our staff are very supportive of each other and collectively we have a strong commitment to Continuous Professional Development (CPD) in the school. We support the Schools Direct Programme for NQTs and are part of the Dean Teaching School Alliance based in Trafford, which provides additional opportunities for our staff.
We are part of a collaboration of the four secondary schools in west Bolton which again provides many opportunities for staff at all levels to benefit from both strategic development and support via this working positive partnership. This is delivered through a wide range of activities, shared CPD and curriculum provision. Overall, this is underpinned by a strong collective moral purpose and a belief that more can be achieved by working together.
Our Local Area
Westhoughton is a growing town between Bolton and Wigan. It is an integral part of the borough of Bolton and the wider Greater Manchester conurbation. It is well placed for shopping, cultural and recreational activities and has excellent access to the motorway network, the M61 is less than one km away. Housing is readily available in Westhoughton itself and the surrounding areas and recent years have seen a significant investment in local facilities to serve the local community and Bolton town centre is only a ten minute drive away. Access to the West Pennine Moors, with facilities for walking, sailing, riding and other outdoor activities, is equally close.
