A council (local authority) in the North West
In short: Most primary schools here are rated Good or better, about the same as across England. Results at 11 are close to England, and results at 16 were close to England in 2026. Attendance is close to the England figure.
Bolton at a glance
How Bolton's schools compare with England, area by area.
Primary and secondary schools are ranked by Eduscope score, which weighs up results, inspections, attendance and more. Nurseries, special and independent schools aren't ranked. A high score isn't everything: always visit.
97 mainstream schools in Bolton, best first
Results well above the England average.
65 first choices, 60 offers made
Met the standard at 1183%
England 62%
Results well above the England average.
108 first choices, 60 offers made
Met the standard at 1195%
England 62%
Results well above the England average.
44 first choices, 45 offers made
Met the standard at 1178%
England 62%
19 mainstream schools in Bolton, best first
Results well above the England average.
228 first choices, 177 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1656.5
England 46.2
Results well above the England average.
192 first choices, 116 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1657.0
England 46.2
Results well above the England average.
294 first choices, 293 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1654.0
England 46.2
77 in Bolton, highest Ofsted grade first
Bolton, BL1 4QB · Nursery
Nurseries don't sit tests, so there are no results to compare.
Bolton, BL6 7BT · Nursery
Nurseries don't sit tests, so there are no results to compare.
Bolton, BL7 9DE · Nursery
Nurseries don't sit tests, so there are no results to compare.
14 in Bolton, by the school's Eduscope score
Results well above the England average.
192 first choices, 116 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1657.0
England 46.2
Results well above the England average.
294 first choices, 293 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1654.0
England 46.2
Results close to the England average.
280 first choices, 278 offers made
Attainment 8 at 1645.4
England 46.2
14 in Bolton. Eduscope doesn't rank these.
Bolton, BL4 0NS · Special · Primary · Ages 4 to 11
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
Bolton, BL3 1NG · Academy · Primary · Ages 4 to 11
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
Bolton, BL3 4TP · Special · Secondary · Ages 11 to 19
Specialist provision. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
13 in Bolton. Eduscope doesn't rank these.
Bolton, BL1 3EH · Independent · Primary · Ages 2 to 11
Independent school. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
Bolton, BL3 2AW · Independent · Secondary · Ages 11 to 16 · Girls
Independent school. Results close to the England average.
Attainment 8 at 1647.0
England 46.2
Bl1 4pa · Independent · Primary · Ages 0 to 7
Independent school. Results aren't published in the same way.
Results
Not published for this kind of school.
Each dot is a school or nursery, coloured by its latest Ofsted grade. Point at a dot to see its name, or use the list.
Apply through the council where you live, even for a school in another council's area. Independent schools take applications directly.
Bolton is a metropolitan borough in the North West with 97 mainstream primary schools and 19 mainstream secondary schools. Towns with the most schools include Bolton, Farnworth and Westhoughton. 87.1% got their first-choice secondary school, against 83.6% across England.
From Bolton council's website, checked 7 November 2026. Check the council's pages before you apply.
School admissions team: admissions@bolton.gov.uk · 01204 332 191
If a date falls on a weekend or bank holiday, offers go out the next working day.
89.5%got their first-choice primary school in Bolton in 2026. England: 92.4%. Ranked 120 of 151 councils. 96.8% got one of their top three.1.3% were offered a primary school in another council. England: 3.6%.
87.1%got their first-choice secondary school in Bolton in 2026. England: 83.6%. Ranked 62 of 151 councils. 96.8% got one of their top three.1.2% were offered a secondary school in another council. England: 8.0%.
Source: DfE applications and offers, 2026. A low rate shows high demand, not poor schools.
11 of 113 primary appeals heard in Bolton succeeded in 2025. 73 of 288 secondary appeals heard in Bolton succeeded in 2025.
| Term | Starts | Half term | Ends |
|---|---|---|---|
| Autumn | 1 Sept | 26 Oct to 30 Oct | 18 Dec |
| Spring | 4 Jan | 15 Feb to 19 Feb | 25 Mar |
| Summer | 12 Apr | 31 May to 4 Jun | 23 Jul |
For schools that follow the council's dates. Academies, faith and foundation schools can set their own, and schools add training days. Source, checked 6 November 2026.
Pick a stage to see every Bolton school for that age, with filters for type, faith and Ofsted grade.
Ages 0 to 4
9 Outstanding, 58 Good, 1 need to improve.
77nurseries
Ages 4 to 11
98% Good or better. 64% met the standard at 11.
110schools
Ages 11 to 16
1 Outstanding, 7 Good, 1 need to improve. 47% got grade 5 in English and maths.
37schools
3 Outstanding, 7 Good, 2 need to improve. About 5 pupils per teacher.
14schools
Here's how Bolton's schools break down by type, faith and more.
The blue bar is the average Eduscope score of the primary schools in each town. The black line is the Bolton average, 55.
Average primary score
64Bolton 55
Average primary score
55Bolton 55
Some areas, like parts of a bigger town, are easiest to find by postcode.
Inspections, exam results and attendance, next to the figure for England where we have it.
BoltonEngland
Primaries rated Good or Outstanding
Latest Ofsted grade, 60 primaries with one.
98%
England 96%
Close to England
Secondaries rated Good or Outstanding
8 of the 9 with a grade.
89%
England 93%
Close to England
Met the expected standard at 11
Reading, writing and maths.
64%
England 62%
Close to England
Grade 5 or above in English and maths
At GCSE.
47%
Pupils who miss a lot of school
Missed 1 in 10 days or more. Lower is better.
18%
England 18%
Close to England
Primary pupils on free school meals
A sign of family income, not of school quality.
28%
Latest graded inspection for the 90 schools that have one.
94%
Good or Outstanding
Bolton in blue. There were no tests in 2020 and 2021 because of Covid.
The latest published year for each measure. Sources and years are on our data sources page.
| Measure | Bolton | England |
|---|---|---|
| Good or Outstanding (Ofsted) | 94% | 95% |
| Met the expected standard at 11 (KS2) | 64% | 62% |
| Attainment 8 | 45.3 | 46.2 |
| Persistent absence | 18% | 18% |
| Pupils per teacher | 17.8:1 | 17.9:1 |
| Spending per pupil | £8,010 | £8,120 |
| In education or work after 16 | 90% | 91% |
| Went on to higher education | 52% | 56% |
| Pupils with special educational needs | 19% | 21% |
| Pupils with English as an additional language | 31% | 22% |
| Pupils on free school meals | 29% | 27% |
DfE local authority code 350, ONS code E08000001.
Bolton has 220 schools and nurseries across 6 towns and villages, the biggest being Bolton, Farnworth, Westhoughton and Horwich.
There are 8% more pupils than in 2018.
28% of primary pupils here get free school meals. Schools get extra money for each of them.
Pupils in Bolton's state schools each January.
Up 8% since 2018. More children can mean popular schools fill up faster.
Out of every 10 primary pupils, how many get free school meals. It's a sign of family income, not of school quality.
Bolton28%
Follow any school and we'll email you when it gets a new Ofsted report or new results are out. Nothing else.
Bolton has 220 schools, including 110 primary schools, 37 secondary schools, 77 nurseries, 13 independent schools, 14 special schools. Some count in more than one group. You can browse each category using the filters on Eduscope.
The highest-ranked schools in Bolton on Eduscope are The Valley Community Primary School, The Olive School, Bolton, Blackrod Primary School. We rank each state school against schools of the same phase across England on its Ofsted inspection, results and attendance. Independent, special and nursery schools aren't ranked.
94% of inspected schools in Bolton hold a Good or Outstanding Ofsted rating, which is below the England average of 94.8%. This includes 16 schools rated Outstanding and 69 rated Good.
Across primary schools in Bolton, 64% of pupils meet the expected standard in reading, writing, and maths at Key Stage 2. This is based on the latest published results from the Department for Education.
The average pupil-teacher ratio across schools in Bolton is 17.8:1. While not a direct measure of class size, this indicates the level of teaching resource available per pupil. Across England it is 17.9:1.
The persistent absence rate across schools in Bolton is 18.3%. A pupil is classed as persistently absent if they miss 10% or more of school sessions. Across England it is 18.1%.
There are 54,010 pupils enrolled across schools in Bolton, with 30,352 in primary and 23,401 in secondary. 29.1% of pupils are eligible for free school meals.
There are 13 independent schools in Bolton. Fees vary by school and age group, with day school fees typically ranging from £10,000 to £20,000 per year. You can compare all private schools in Bolton on Eduscope, including ISI inspection ratings where available.
Start by considering your child's age, your location, and whether you prefer a state or independent school. Use Eduscope to compare 220 schools in Bolton by Ofsted ratings, exam results, and distance. Filter by school type, gender, religious character, and admissions policy to narrow your options.
Sources: DfE school performance tables, DfE school census and workforce, DfE pupil absence, Ofsted. Photos are stand-ins.
