Essa Academy

State-Funded School

essa-academy-bolton-north-west

North WestRegion

BoltonLocal Authority

Bolton South and WalkdenConstituency

BL3 3HHPostcode

7.8

Academic Performance

Previous Ofsted

About the School

Essa Academy is a state-funded secondary for pupils aged 11–16, located in Bolton, North West.

Ofsted's most recent inspection is published as a report card rather than a single overall grade. It currently serves 1,055 pupils. Essa Academy is part of NORTHERN EDUCATION TRUST.

Ofsted Report Card

Inspected 20 Jan 2026 · published 16 Mar 2026

Current inspection

Safeguarding standards

Met

Evaluation areas

Inclusion
Strong standard
Curriculum and teaching
Strong standard
Achievement
Strong standard
Attendance and behaviour
Strong standard
Personal development and wellbeing
Strong standard
Leadership and governance
Strong standard

Previous Ofsted Rating

Subject Areas (previous framework)

Leadership &management

Good

Quality ofeducation

Good

Personaldevelopment

Good

Behaviour &attitudes

Good

Academic Performance

Above average

Ranked against secondary schools in England · 2024-25

Attainment 8: 53
Grade 5+ in English & maths: 54%
EBacc average point score: 4.43

Ethnicity

White

14%

Asian

65%

Black

Mixed

Chinese

<1%

Any other group

Unclassified

Pupils

1,055

Total Pupils

55%Boys

45%Girls

Pupil Characteristics

Free school meals

49%

England average

27%

First language not English

58%

England average

22%

Young carers

<1%

England average

0%25%50%75%100%

DfE school census, January 2026.

Key Information

Phase: Secondary
Age range: 11 – 16
Deprivation band: Most deprived
Total pupils: 1,055
IDACI quintile: 5 (Least deprived)
MAT name: NORTHERN EDUCATION TRUST

Inspection history

2 graded inspections published by Ofsted. Ungraded and monitoring visits are not shown.

Report published					Overall
5 Dec 2021	Good	Good	Good	Good	Good
26 Jun 2018	Requires improvement	Not reported in this inspection	Not reported in this inspection	Not reported in this inspection	Requires improvement

A grey dot means Ofsted did not report that judgement in the inspection of the day — the sub-judgements shown here were introduced with the 2019 framework.

Ofsted data as at 31 December 2024. A school may have been inspected since, or had an ungraded visit that does not change its grade — check Ofsted’s own record.