FAQs

We pride ourselves on the care and support given to all our students. You will get support from your teachers and teaching assistants, personal tutors and senior tutors, students services, the progression and welfare manager, careers advisor, the Nurture Room, the counselling service, the cross-College study support in the library and your network of family and friends. 

We start at 9.00am and end at 16:00pm each day. Lunch is from 12.40pm to 15.00pm but catering facilities can be accessed throughout most of the day. You will have lessons every day and there are also study periods on each day. All subjects will set you regular homework and you will have timetabled study periods in College. You are free to choose whether to spend your study periods at home or College. During your induction period, we’ll help you make the right time management decisions for you to ensure you get the most out of College life. There are likely to be some days when students will start their first lesson a bit later and other days when they go home earlier.

The answer is yes, but there are a couple of restrictions. You can’t take English Language & Literature with any other English but you can take English Language and English Literature separately. You can’t take Medieval History and Modern History but you can do Ancient History and either Modern or Medieval.

If you want to choose just one science subject, then Applied Science is the one for you. Students are advised to not take single science A-level but need to combine it with another science. For example, A-level Biology should be taken with A-level Chemistry or A-level Maths.

Most students study three subjects because this constitutes a full-time course. There may be very good reasons why you want to take four subjects and we’d like to discuss these with you to make sure there’s no risk that you’re spreading yourself too thinly – it’s better to achieve three A grades than four B grades for example.

It is more likely that we’ll agree that studying four subjects is the right decision if you achieve 8s and 9s in your GCSEs or if one of your options is Further Maths.

The demand for places at Winstanley College is extremely high. As a college we must always ensure that we have a fair process for allocating those places. The College reviews our entry policy annually to ensure that we can guarantee every student who meets the entry requirements a place with us at Winstanley. A full list of entry requirements will be published before the end of September.

Only in science, maths, English, Spanish and French do you have to have a GCSE in that subject. None of the other subjects expect you to have studied them before at GCSE, however, you are expected to have a Grade 5 theory to study A-level Music.

You can change your mind right up until enrolment in August and even up until the end of September if you decide you’d like to change your choices we can usually do that for you if there is space in the subject you want to move into. 

Unlike school, where some subjects are compulsory, you are choosing the subjects that suit you best. What you find stimulating another student may find ‘hard’ and that may be why they have chosen not to do it. So no, all subjects carry an equal challenge it’s just that some students prefer some subjects to others – that’s why they choose them!

The prospectus includes a section on transport, and detailed information is available on our Transport Pages. Transport information is also provided at all our open evenings. The process for reserving a seat on a private coach can be found on the Transport Pages.

New applicants

In Summer 2025, you’ll receive an invitation by email to reserve a seat on our private coach service.  You must complete the form BEFORE enrolment, even if you’re unsure whether you’ll be joining us.

Bus pass payment is requested only after enrolment.  If you’re applying for a bursary to cover the cost, this can also be done after enrolment.  However, it’s important to complete the seat reservation form before enrolment to secure your place.  Temporary passes will be provided while we process your bursary application.

Travel on Taster Day and Induction Day

Students can travel for FREE on the private coach services on their Taster Day and their Induction day.

Bee Network services to College will run on Taster Day and fares will be payable to the driver but will be capped at £2 per journey.  More information about the transport on Taster Day will be shared closer to the time - please keep a check on your emails. 

Students should be in possession of their GM Our Pass by their induction day and therefore travel will be free using that.

You can apply for a GM Our Pass usually in the May before you enrol Get Our Pass - Our Pass.  Students not entitled to an Our Pass, should explore the System One Pass System One Travel - Unlimited travel on any bus, train or tram across Greater Manchester  or Arriva Travel Passes Bus Passes for Students | Student Travel | Arriva Bus .

We receive funds each year to help students from low-income families to meet the costs associated with attending College. For more information visit financial support.

There is no student parking on our College site for lower sixth students, upper sixth students can buy a permit for £10 a month.

There is no uniform however clothes need to be appropriate to the working environment. Students are encouraged to express themselves within reason.

We are located in Billinge, Wigan below the old Billinge hospital site where many of your family members were born. We have bus transport available from across Greater Manchester, Cheshire, Lancashire, and Merseyside. Orrell train station is just a 12-minute walk away. For more information on how to find us, please visit the contact page.

We enrol over 1000 students from over 70 schools around the North West. We know that not all students offered a place will actually come: some fail to get the grades, others choose to stay at their own school sixth form or go elsewhere. So, we offer more places than we actually have.

The College is funded directly by the government and is free to UK citizens and citizens that have applied for the EU settlement scheme or have settled status.