Schools in Bolton
141 schools in the Bolton local authority.
Schools
141
Open schools
Pupils
57,057
2025–26 census
Good or better
95%
105 of 110 graded
Academic Performance
5.7
out of 10 · 131 schools
Ofsted ratings
- Outstanding
- 17 15%
- Good
- 88 80%
- Requires improvement
- 5 5%
- Inadequate
- 0 0%
12 inspected since 2024, no overall grade22 superseded by a report card19 not judged
5.7
Academic PerformanceAveraged over 131 of 141 schools that can be scored
Pupils
57,057
pupils on roll
Boys 51%49% Girls
Roll from 140 of 141 schools (57,057 pupils). Independent schools report roll and sex only.
Ethnicity
White
53%Asian
29%Black
9%Mixed
5%Chinese
<1%Any other group
3%Unclassified
<1%Ethnicity from 128 of 141 schools (53,802 pupils). Independent schools report roll and sex only.
Pupil characteristics
- Free school meals
- 29.0%
- First language not English
- 31.5%
- Young carers
- <1%
15,618 of 53,802 pupils · 128 of 141 schools
16,947 of 53,802 pupils · 128 of 141 schools
63 of 53,545 pupils · 126 of 141 schools
Schools by phase
- Primary
- 99
- Secondary
- 20
- All-through
- 2
- Special
- 9
- Nursery
- 2
- PRU
- 3
- Not recorded
- 6
Top primary schools in Bolton
The 20 highest-scoring primary schools here on Academic Performance, which combines the Ofsted judgement with DfE attainment.
- 1.Oxford Grove Primary SchoolBolton · Primary9.9/10Outstanding
- 2.The Olive School, BoltonBolton · Primary9.9/10Outstanding
- 3.The Valley Community Primary SchoolBolton · Primary9.9/10Outstanding
- 4.Blackrod Primary SchoolBolton · Primary9.8/10Outstanding
- 5.Eatock Primary SchoolBolton · Primary9.7/10Outstanding
- 6.Prestolee Primary SchoolBolton · Primary9.7/10Outstanding
- 7.Sacred Heart R.C. Primary SchoolBolton · Primary9.7/10Outstanding
- 8.St Mary's CofE Primary School, DeaneBolton · Primary9.6/10Outstanding
- 9.Moorgate Primary SchoolBolton · Primary9.5/10Outstanding
- 10.St Peter's CofE Primary SchoolBolton · Primary9.5/10Outstanding
- 11.Lostock Primary SchoolBolton · Primary9.4/10Outstanding
- 12.Beaumont Primary SchoolBolton · Primary9.0/10
- 13.Masefield Primary SchoolBolton · Primary8.9/10Good
- 14.Egerton Primary SchoolBolton · Primary8.8/10Good
- 15.Our Lady of Lourdes RC Primary SchoolBolton · Primary8.8/10
- 16.Spindle Point Primary SchoolBolton · Primary8.7/10Good
- 17.The Oaks Primary SchoolBolton · Primary8.7/10Good
- 18.St Thomas CofE Primary SchoolBolton · Primary8.6/10Good
- 19.Markland Hill Primary SchoolBolton · Primary8.5/10
- 20.St Maxentius CofE Primary SchoolBolton · Primary8.4/10Good
Top secondary schools in Bolton
The 20 highest-scoring secondary schools here on Academic Performance, which combines the Ofsted judgement with DfE attainment.
- 1.Eden Boys' School, BoltonBolton · Secondary9.7/10Outstanding
- 2.Bolton Muslim Girls SchoolBolton · Secondary8.6/10
- 3.Sharples SchoolBolton · Secondary8.4/10Good
- 4.Canon Slade SchoolBolton · Secondary8.3/10
- 5.St James's Church of England High SchoolBolton · Secondary8.1/10Good
- 6.Kearsley AcademyBolton · Secondary7.9/10Good
- 7.Essa AcademyBolton · Secondary7.8/10Good
- 8.Rivington and Blackrod High SchoolBolton · Secondary7.2/10Good
- 9.Little Lever SchoolBolton · Secondary6.6/10Good
- 10.St Joseph's RC High SchoolBolton · Secondary6.4/10
- 11.King's Leadership Academy BoltonBolton · Secondary6.0/10Good
- 12.Thornleigh Salesian CollegeBolton · Secondary5.8/10
- 13.Harper Green SchoolBolton · Secondary3.1/10Good
- 14.Turton SchoolBolton · Secondary3.1/10Good
- 15.Ladybridge High SchoolBolton · Secondary2.7/10Good
- 16.University Collegiate SchoolBolton · Secondary2.0/10
- 17.Bolton St Catherine's AcademyBolton · Secondary1.4/10
- 18.Mount St Joseph RC High School a Voluntary AcademyBolton · Secondary0.6/10Requires improvement
- 19.Westhoughton High SchoolBolton · Secondary0.3/10Requires improvement
- 20.Smithills SchoolBolton · Secondary0.1/10Requires improvement
Browse all 141 schools in Bolton — filter by phase or Ofsted rating.
About schools in Bolton
- How many schools are there in Bolton?
- Bolton has 141 open schools — 99 primary, 20 secondary, 9 special, 2 nursery, teaching 57,057 pupils in total.
- How many schools in Bolton are rated Good or Outstanding?
- 105 of the 110 schools holding an Ofsted grade — 95% — are rated Good or Outstanding, including 17 rated Outstanding. That share is measured against graded schools, not all 141: a school inspected since September 2024 has no overall grade at all.
- What is the average Academic Performance in Bolton?
- 5.7 out of 10, averaged across the 131 schools here that can be scored, where 5 is the national average. Academic Performance combines the Ofsted judgement with DfE attainment and is ranked against comparable schools, so it is neither figure on its own.
- Why do some Bolton schools have no Ofsted rating?
- 31 schools in Bolton currently hold no overall grade. Ofsted stopped awarding single-word judgements in September 2024 and moved to a report card of separately graded areas, so schools inspected since then have no overall rating whatever the inspection found. Their profiles show the report card instead.
- What does Bolton local authority do?
- A local authority is the body responsible for state education in its area — the level most admissions and school-place decisions are made at. Bolton covers 141 schools and sits in the North West region. It does not run academies or independent schools directly, though it still coordinates admissions for most of them.
- How many pupils in Bolton are eligible for free school meals?
- 29.0% — 15,618 of 53,802 pupils at the 128 schools that report it. Independent schools file a return with roll and sex only, so they are outside this figure rather than counted as zero.
Part of the North West region.