Secondary schools in Bolton
Where pupils go after Year 11 and after sixth form, school by school, with GCSE results. Destinations are for the 2023 leavers; results are from 2025.
Bolton has 20 state-funded secondary schools. Of the 3,886 pupils who finished Year 11 here in 2023, 84% stayed in education (England 86%): 12% in a school sixth form, 25% at a sixth form college, 45% at a further education college.
3% started an apprenticeship, close to the England rate of 3%.
After sixth form, 31% of students in Bolton went to university (England 37%), and 12% of level 3 students reached one of the most selective universities (England 19%).
GCSE results in 2025: Attainment 8 of 45.7 against 46.1 for England; 44% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in English and maths (England 45%).
After Year 11: Bolton against England
| Measure | Bolton | England |
|---|---|---|
| Pupils in the cohort | 3,886 | 607,348 |
| Stayed in education | 84% | 86% |
| — school sixth form | 12% | 34% |
| — sixth form college | 25% | 13% |
| — further education college | 45% | 37% |
| Apprenticeship | 3% | 3% |
| Employment | 3% | 3% |
| No sustained destination | 7% | 6% |
Where each school’s Year 11 leavers went
One band per school, sorted by the size of its 2023 Year 11 cohort. Band width is pupils; hover a band for the share, click a school for its profile. Counts are worked back from the percentages DfE publishes, so a band can be out by a pupil.
Map of secondary schools in Bolton
Darker blue means a larger share of Year 11 leavers stayed in education. Click a school for details. Basemap © OpenStreetMap contributors.
State-funded secondary schools (20)
Sorted by name. Click a school for its full picture. “Stayed in education” counts school sixth forms, sixth form colleges and FE colleges together.
| School | Pupils | Stayed in education | School sixth form | FE college | Apprenticeship | To university | Attainment 8 | 5+ Eng & maths |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bolton Muslim Girls SchoolAcademy converter | 774 | 90% | 3% | 12% | 1% | — | 54.7 | 60% |
| Bolton St Catherine's AcademyAcademy converter | 1,003 | 73% | 1% | 53% | 2% | — | 34.3 | 19% |
| Canon Slade SchoolAcademy converter · sixth form | 1,724 | 91% | 42% | 34% | 3% | 49% | 53.9 | 57% |
| Eden Boys' School, BoltonFree schools | 621 | 94% | 2% | 26% | 0% | — | 53.0 | 59% |
| Essa AcademyAcademy sponsor led | 1,055 | 91% | 1% | 35% | — | — | 53.0 | 54% |
| Harper Green SchoolAcademy converter | 1,070 | 77% | — | 50% | 3% | — | 42.8 | 36% |
| Kearsley AcademyAcademy sponsor led | 768 | 80% | 0% | 56% | 1% | — | 51.8 | 59% |
| King's Leadership Academy BoltonFree schools | 910 | — | — | — | — | — | 45.4 | 43% |
| Ladybridge High SchoolCommunity school | 1,136 | 87% | 1% | 54% | 4% | — | 41.7 | 33% |
| Little Lever SchoolAcademy converter | 1,085 | 78% | 0% | 50% | 4% | — | 46.2 | 57% |
| Mount St Joseph RC High School a Voluntary AcademyAcademy converter | 895 | 80% | 0% | 56% | 2% | — | 41.0 | 32% |
| Rivington and Blackrod High SchoolAcademy converter · sixth form | 1,626 | 81% | 26% | 44% | 2% | 41% | 49.2 | 53% |
| Sharples SchoolAcademy converter | 1,214 | 89% | 9% | 38% | 1% | — | 55.6 | 62% |
| Smithills SchoolAcademy converter | 1,203 | 78% | 1% | 39% | 4% | — | 36.5 | 20% |
| St James's Church of England High SchoolAcademy converter | 1,053 | 83% | 1% | 58% | 6% | — | 53.5 | 58% |
| St Joseph's RC High SchoolVoluntary aided school | 1,047 | 87% | 3% | 59% | 3% | — | 44.8 | 50% |
| Thornleigh Salesian CollegeVoluntary aided school · sixth form | 1,574 | 87% | 30% | 48% | 4% | 36% | 45.7 | 41% |
| Turton SchoolCommunity school · sixth form | 1,596 | 84% | 50% | 30% | 4% | 44% | 43.7 | 31% |
| University Collegiate SchoolUniversity technical college · sixth form | 683 | 86% | 16% | 39% | 0% | 38% | 36.7 | 31% |
| Westhoughton High SchoolCommunity school | 1,342 | 83% | 1% | 72% | 5% | — | 44.4 | 41% |
Independent schools, colleges and special schools with published data (13)
| School | Pupils | Stayed in education | School sixth form | FE college | Apprenticeship | To university | Attainment 8 | 5+ Eng & maths |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bolton Collegecollege · Further education | — | — | — | — | — | 10% | — | — |
| Bolton Sixth Form Collegecollege · Further education | — | — | — | — | — | 54% | — | — |
| Al Jamiah Al Islamiyyahindependent · Other independent school · sixth form | 70 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — |
| Bolton Islamic Girls Schoolindependent · Other independent school · selective | 115 | — | — | — | — | — | 53.1 | 53% |
| Bolton School Boys' Divisionindependent · Other independent school · sixth form · selective | 1,131 | — | — | — | — | — | 34.3 | 0% |
| Bolton School Girls' Divisionindependent · Other independent school · sixth form · selective | 1,057 | — | — | — | — | — | 55.2 | 0% |
| Lord's Schoolindependent · Other independent school · sixth form | 23 | — | — | — | — | — | 5.3 | 0% |
| Madrasatul Imam Muhammad Zakariyaindependent · Other independent school · sixth form | 122 | — | — | — | — | — | 51.2 | 0% |
| Raise Education and Wellbeing Schoolspecial · Other independent special school | 50 | — | — | — | — | — | 1.1 | 0% |
| Rumworth Schoolspecial · Community special school · sixth form | 361 | 97% | 0% | 6% | 0% | — | 2.2 | 0% |
| Thomasson Memorial Schoolspecial · Community special school | 80 | — | — | — | — | — | 15.3 | 7% |
| Firwood High Schoolstate · Academy special converter · sixth form | 261 | 100% | 0% | 0% | 0% | — | — | — |
| Lever Park Schoolstate · Academy special sponsor led | 99 | 27% | 0% | 20% | 0% | — | 6.1 | 0% |