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Bolton St Catherine's Academy

All-through · Bolton · BL2 4HU

Data updated

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Requires improvement

SchoolFacts estimate: Ofsted awarded no overall grade at this inspection

We show the lowest of the four areas Ofsted did judge, listed below. Why some schools have no overall grade →

Quality of education: Requires improvementBehaviour & attitudes: GoodPersonal development: GoodLeadership & management: GoodSafeguarding effective: Yes

Inspected 11 March 2025

Read the Ofsted report ↗

At a glance

1,003 pupils · 89% of 1,130 capacity (January 2026 census)

School type
Academy converter
Age range
2–16
Gender
Mixed
Religious character
Church of England
Free school meals
52.7% of pupils (January 2026)
English as additional language
20.8% of pupils (2024/2025)
SEN support
22.4% of pupils (2024/2025)
EHC plan
5.4% of pupils (2024/2025)
Nursery
Yes
Website
https://www.boltonstcatherinesacademy.org.uk/
URN
145314

In figures

For September 2026 entry, 109 families named it first for 134 Year 7 places, 0.81 first choices per place. We hold 5 Year 7 admissions rounds for it, 2022 to 2026; none was decided by a published distance. At its inspection on 11 March 2025 Ofsted awarded no overall grade; the lowest of the four areas it judged was Requires improvement. In the 2025/26 autumn and spring terms its pupils missed 9.6% of sessions, against 6.6% across England.

Admissions demand: Reception entry, September 2026

0.64 first-choice applications per place

28 places offered · 18 first-choice applications · usually has places

First-choice applications per place, by entry year

19/20
20/21
21/22
22/23
23/24
24/25
25/26
26/27

Source: DfE applications and offers on national offer day · how demand is measured

Admissions demand: Year 7 entry, September 2026

0.81 first-choice applications per place

134 places offered · 109 first-choice applications · usually has places

First-choice applications per place, by entry year

19/20
20/21
21/22
22/23
23/24
24/25
25/26
26/27

Source: DfE applications and offers on national offer day · how demand is measured

Catchment area

Catchment area: not named in the council's figures. Every applicant was offered a place for 2026 entry, so distance was not needed to decide places.

Admissions cutoff distance: Reception

Every applicant was offered a place for 2026 entry, so distance was not needed to decide places.

How safe is a place here? Check your postcode

One free check a month, no account needed. No cutoff distance applied in 2026, so there is no boundary for your address to be inside of. The check shows how far you live from the school and how many rounds running it has placed every applicant. Premium adds unlimited checks, the nearby schools that do ration places by distance and whether you are inside them, and the address check across every school at once.

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Source: the admissions authority's published figures · how cutoffs work

Admissions cutoff distance: Year 7

Every applicant was offered a place for 2026 entry, so distance was not needed to decide places.

How safe is a place here? Check your postcode

One free check a month, no account needed. No cutoff distance applied in 2026, so there is no boundary for your address to be inside of. The check shows how far you live from the school and how many rounds running it has placed every applicant. Premium adds unlimited checks, the nearby schools that do ration places by distance and whether you are inside them, and the address check across every school at once.

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Source: the admissions authority's published figures · how cutoffs work

Key stage 2 results (2024/2025)

32 pupils at the end of key stage 2 in 2024/2025

Reaching the expected standard in reading, writing & maths
34%
England 62%
Reaching the higher standard
6%
England 8%
Average scaled score (reading)
100
England 106
Average scaled score (maths)
103
England 105

GCSE results (2024/2025)

138 pupils at the end of key stage 4 in 2024/2025

Attainment 8 score
34.3
England 46.1
Grade 4 or above in English & maths GCSEs
45.7%
England 64.8%
Grade 5 or above in English & maths GCSEs
18.8%
England 45.4%
EBacc average point score
2.9
England 4.1

Progress 8 is suspended nationally for 2024/25 and 2025/26. These cohorts sat no key stage 2 tests (COVID), so there is no baseline to measure progress from.

Source: DfE performance tables 2024/2025 · what “suppressed” means

Schools with a similar intake

Attainment 8, 2024/2025

This school34.3
Median of its 12 closest peers38.4
Bolton average46.7
England46.1

On attainment 8, this school is behind the schools that teach a comparable intake.

They are matched on intake, not location, so most are not local: see nearby schools for those you could apply to.

SchoolOfstedAttainment 8
Haggerston SchoolLondon · 172 miles awayGood52.7
Hillside High SchoolBootle · 26 miles awayGood39.8
Grace Academy DarlastonWednesbury · 72 miles awayExpected standard41.2
Woodlands Community CollegeSouthampton · 190 miles awayGood35.5
The Grange SchoolRuncorn · 22 miles awayNeeds attention36.4
Dixons Fazakerley AcademyLiverpool · 24 miles awayRequires improvement33.4
Raynes Park High SchoolLondon · 176 miles awayGood (2019)45.3
St Anne's Church of England AcademyManchester · 8 miles awayGood44.1
Oasis Academy BrightstoweBristol · 146 miles awayRequires improvement38.2
Wodensborough Ormiston AcademyWednesbury · 74 miles awayNeeds attention38.6
Oasis Academy WintringhamGrimsby · 95 miles awayGood35.9
The Westleigh SchoolLeigh · 8 miles awayGood36.4

It is not a ranking. Source: DfE performance tables 2024/2025 · how the matching works

Special educational needs

Needs this school records that it caters for, in the order it lists them.

Provision type: Resourced provision and SEN unit.

SEN unit
250 of 300 places taken places may be available
Resourced provision
18 of 18 places taken full, or over capacity

Unit places come from the school census and describe the position when it was taken, not today. Confirm with the local authority before relying on them.

Pupils by ethnicity (January 2026)

White British 60% (Bolton 53%, England 59%) · Black African 12% (Bolton 8%, England 5%) · Asian Pakistani 6% (Bolton 15%, England 5%) · Any other White background 6% (Bolton 3%, England 7%) · Any other ethnic group 5% (Bolton 3%, England 3%) · Mixed White and Black Caribbean 2% (Bolton 1%, England 2%) · Any other Asian background 2% (Bolton 2%, England 3%) · Any other Black background 2% (Bolton 1%, England 1%) · Any other Mixed background 2% (Bolton 2%, England 3%) · Mixed White and Black African 1% (Bolton 1%, England 1%) · Mixed White and Asian 1% (Bolton 2%, England 2%) · other groups together 2%

Source: DfE schools, pupils and their characteristics, January 2026 census · how to read these figures

Attendance (2025/26 autumn and spring terms)

Sessions missed (overall absence)
9.6%
England 6.6%
Pupils missing 10%+ of sessions (persistent absence)
28.8%
England 17.5%

Suspensions and permanent exclusions (2024/25)

61.57 suspensions per 100 pupils and 10 permanent exclusions · England, secondary schools: 21.24 suspensions and 0.23 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils · Bolton: 31.53 suspensions and 0.29 permanent exclusions per 100 pupils

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Source: DfE pupil absence data, autumn and spring terms, and DfE suspensions and permanent exclusions, school-level file · how absence is measured · how to read exclusions

Staffing

Pupils per qualified teacher
16.1
England 18.5

Full-time-equivalent, 2025/26.

Teacher retention (2024/25)

80% of teachers stayed at the school the following year · 13% moved to another state school · 7% left the state-funded sector

Vacancies (November 2025)

0% of teaching posts vacant, 1.58% filled temporarily · England, secondary academies: 0.45% vacant, 0.33% temporary

Teacher sickness absence (reported in the November 2024 census)

50% of teachers took sickness absence, 12.2 days each on average · England, all state-funded schools: 61.8%, 8.1 days

Teacher pay (November 2025)

Mean salary of full-time qualified teachers £54,538; 15.4% on the leadership pay range · England, secondary schools: £53,766, 11.3%

Vacancies, sickness and pay, last three years Premium

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Source: DfE School Workforce Census · how these figures are counted

Spending per pupil (2024-25)

This school£8,829
Typical all-through school£7,789

Where the money went (2024-25)

Share of spending, with the median for all-through schools in brackets: Staff 78% (78%) · premises 5% (5%) · occupation (energy, rates, cleaning) 10% (8%) · supplies and services 8% (9%) · educational supplies 4% (6%) · bought-in professional services 1% (1%) · catering 6% (4%)

Reserves (2024-25)

Revenue reserve £595,000; in-year balance +£626,000

Spending and reserves, last three years Premium

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Higher spending is not a measure of quality. Source: academy finance return, 2024-25, DfE · how spending is compared

Where pupils go after GCSEs

In sustained education, work or training
78%
Continuing in education
73%
Apprenticeship
2%
Employment
3%

Destinations measured the year after leaving, DfE destination measures in the 2024/2025 performance tables.

Inspection history since 2015

Source: Ofsted management information · ungraded visits and the two inspection systems

The area around the school

Child poverty (IDACI)
3/10more deprived than most of England
Overall deprivation (IMD)
4/10more deprived than most of England
Census 2021This areaEngland
Adults with a degree or higher25.5%33.9%
Adults with no qualifications18.5%18.1%
In managerial or professional work29.3%33.2%
Households deprived in two or more ways20.2%18.1%
Residents in very good health43.5%48.5%
Homes owned by the occupier76%62.3%
Social housing16.6%17.1%
Privately rented7.4%20.5%
Detached houses23.1%22.9%
Flats2.6%22.2%
Homes with four or more bedrooms15.3%21.1%
Households with no car or van17.3%23.5%

These figures describe the area, not the pupils. Source: Census 2021 (ONS) and English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG) for small area E01004785 · how to read area figures

What homes cost nearby

Median sale price
£240,000282 sales within 1 km, January 2024 to September 2026
Typical range
£180,000–£300,000the middle half of sales
England median
£300,000all sales over the same period
Detached (93)£314,000
Semi-detached (136)£220,000
Terraced (50)£159,000

Homes around this school are cheaper than most school neighbourhoods in England, comparing the median within 1 km across every state school.

Source: HM Land Registry sales within 1 km since January 2024 · how sales are counted. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. This data is licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Postcodes located with OS Code-Point Open: contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026; contains Royal Mail data © Royal Mail copyright and database right 2026; contains National Statistics data © Crown copyright and database right 2026.

Roads around the school

Child pedestrian casualties
5an urban school averages 2.0
Collisions at school-run times
2an urban school averages 5.7
All reported collisions
10an urban school averages 30.5
Of those, serious or fatal
5an urban school averages 6.1

A high count usually reflects traffic, not an unsafe school. Source: DfT road casualty statistics (STATS19), collisions within 500 m, 2021–2025 · what is counted

Nearby schools