Bolton Muslim Girls School
Academy converter · 774 pupils
90% stayed in education · Attainment 8 54.7
Academy sponsor led
Essa Academy
- Pupils on roll
- 1,055of 990 places
- Free school meals
- 49.0%
- Year 11 cohort 2025
- 200
- Ofsted
- Report card, 20 January 2026Read the Ofsted report
Curriculum and teaching Strong standardAchievement Strong standardAttendance and behaviour Strong standardPersonal development and wellbeing Strong standardInclusion Strong standardLeadership and governance Strong standardPost-16 provision Not applicableSafeguarding Met
Results below include those reported under the school’s previous registration: Hayward School (URN 105258, until 5 January 2009).
What the data says
Of the 211 pupils who finished Year 11 at Essa Academy in 2023, 55% moved to a sixth form college and 35% to a further education college.
Sixth form colleges are the main next step: 55% of leavers went to one, roughly three times the England rate of 13%.
Photography is unusually popular at GCSE: 25% of the year group took it, against 6% of pupils across England.
GCSE results in 2025 were above the national picture: Attainment 8 of 53.0 against 46.1 across England and 45.7 in Bolton, with 54% of pupils getting grade 5 or above in both English and maths (England 45%).
Where pupils went after Year 11
Destinations of the 2023 Year 11 leavers, measured the following year: the share in a sustained place for at least two terms. Compared with all state-funded schools in Bolton and England.
School sixth formSixth form collegeFurther education collegeOther educationApprenticeshipEmploymentNo sustained destination
| Measure | Essa Academy | Bolton | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils in the cohort | 211 | 3,886 | 607,348 |
| Any sustained destination | 93% | 90% | 92% |
| Stayed in education | 91% | 84% | 86% |
| — school sixth form | 1% | 12% | 34% |
| — sixth form college | 55% | 25% | 13% |
| — further education college | 35% | 45% | 37% |
| — other education | 1% | 2% | 2% |
| Apprenticeship | — | 3% | 3% |
| Employment | 1% | 3% | 3% |
| No sustained destination | 4% | 7% | 6% |
| Destination unknown | 3% | 3% | 3% |
GCSE results 2025
| Measure | Essa Academy | Bolton | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Attainment 8 (average points per pupil) | 53.0 | 45.7 | 46.1 |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 54% | 44% | 45% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 75% | 65% | 65% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate subjects | 20% | 33% | 41% |
| EBacc average point score | 4.43 | 3.95 | 4.09 |
| Disadvantaged pupils in the cohort | 42% | 32% | 28% |
| Attainment 8 — disadvantaged pupils | 50.6 | 36.6 | 34.9 |
| Attainment 8 — other pupils | 54.7 | 49.8 | 50.4 |
| Pupils with high prior attainment (Key Stage 2) | — | — | — |
| English as an additional language | 67% | 29% | 19% |
Progress 8 is not available for 2025 and 2026: these cohorts had no Key Stage 2 tests in 2020 and 2021, so there is no baseline. Attainment 8 shows results without taking pupils’ starting points into account.
Subjects taken at GCSE
Entries in 2025 as a share of the Year 11 cohort, and the share of entries graded 7–9 and 4–9, compared with all entries in England.
| Subject | Entries | Share of cohort | England | Grades 7–9 | England | Grades 4–9 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| English Literature | 199 | 100% | 86% | 46% | 21% | 93% |
| Mathematics | 199 | 100% | 88% | 21% | 22% | 76% |
| English Language | 199 | 100% | 89% | 28% | 20% | 85% |
| Combined Science | 171 | 86% | 65% | 11% | 9% | 70% |
| History | 100 | 50% | 41% | 31% | 26% | 77% |
| Graphic Communication | 74 | 37% | 1% | 28% | 23% | 99% |
| Religious Studies | 70 | 35% | 31% | 26% | 32% | 83% |
| Geography | 69 | 35% | 41% | 22% | 25% | 51% |
| Business Studies | 61 | 31% | 18% | 8% | 20% | 59% |
| Computer Science | 58 | 29% | 13% | 21% | 30% | 72% |
| Fine Art | 50 | 25% | 9% | 30% | 28% | 88% |
| Photography | 49 | 25% | 6% | 27% | 19% | 96% |
| Spanish | 28 | 14% | 19% | 36% | 27% | 79% |
| Chemistry | 28 | 14% | 23% | 64% | 47% | 100% |
| Physics | 28 | 14% | 23% | 61% | 46% | 96% |
| Biology | 28 | 14% | 23% | 71% | 45% | 100% |
| Drama | 15 | 8% | 7% | 0% | 27% | 27% |
| French | 9 | 5% | 18% | 44% | 29% | 89% |
| Music | 9 | 5% | 5% | 0% | 33% | 67% |
| Urdu | 8 | 4% | 1% | 75% | 42% | 100% |
| Italian | 4 | 2% | 0% | — | 53% | — |
| Portuguese | 1 | 1% | 0% | — | 50% | — |
| Arabic | 1 | 1% | 1% | — | 47% | — |
| Polish | 1 | 1% | 1% | — | 84% | — |
Technical awards and other Key Stage 4 qualifications
| Subject | Entries | Share of cohort | England |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sports Studies | 47 | — | — |
| Hospitality / Catering Studies | 29 | — | — |
| Dance: General | 6 | — | — |
Other secondary schools in Bolton
Bolton St Catherine's Academy
Academy converter · 1,003 pupils
73% stayed in education · Attainment 8 34.3
Canon Slade School
Academy converter · sixth form · 1,724 pupils
91% stayed in education · Attainment 8 53.9
Eden Boys' School, Bolton
Free schools · 621 pupils
94% stayed in education · Attainment 8 53.0
Harper Green School
Academy converter · 1,070 pupils
77% stayed in education · Attainment 8 42.8
Kearsley Academy
Academy sponsor led · 768 pupils
80% stayed in education · Attainment 8 51.8
Sources: Department for Education school and college performance tables 2024/2025 (Key Stage 4 and 16–18 results, subject entries, destination measures for 2023 leavers); Get Information About Schools register as at 19 September 2026; Ofsted management information as at 31 August 2026. Small numbers are suppressed by DfE and shown as “—”. How to read these figures.