St Joseph's RC High School
Sefton Lane, Bolton, BL6 6HW
1,047 pupils · 100% of 1,050 capacity
- Phase
- Secondary
- Type
- Voluntary aided school
- Ages
- 11–16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Admissions
- Non-selective
- Local authority
- Bolton
- Free school meals
- 21.5%
Ofsted
No overall grade (2025) — Inspected 2024–2025 — no overall grade under the interim framework
This school has not yet been inspected under the report-card system introduced in November 2025. When it is, this section will show a grade for each area — Ofsted says the new grades do not map onto the old ones, so we do not predict them.
Inspected 18 March 2025, published 8 May 2025. Read the full Ofsted report
England has three coexisting inspection systems — how we translate them into one signal.
Exam results
| Measure | 2024/25 |
|---|---|
| Attainment 8 score | 44.8 |
| Grade 5 or above in English & maths (strong pass) | 49.8% |
| Grade 4 or above in English & maths (standard pass) | 70% |
| Entering the English Baccalaureate | 41.1% |
Progress 8 is not published nationally for 2024/25 and 2025/26 while KS2 baselines are missing (no SATs in 2020/21). It returns from 2026/27.
“Not published (small cohort)” means the DfE suppressed the figure to protect small cohorts — it is not a zero.
Will my child get in?
Roughly one first choice per place — 1.06 first-choice applications per place (Sept 2026 entry)
| Entry | Places | 1st preferences | Total preferences | Offers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sept 2026 entry | 205 | 218 | 529 | 205 |
| Sept 2025 entry | 212 | 209 | 516 | 211 |
| Sept 2024 entry | 205 | 205 | 475 | 205 |
| Sept 2023 entry | 210 | 228 | 568 | 210 |
| Sept 2022 entry | 206 | 195 | 504 | 206 |
| Sept 2021 entry | 207 | 188 | 448 | 207 |
| Sept 2020 entry | 206 | 172 | 471 | 206 |
| Sept 2019 entry | 204 | 179 | 466 | 204 |
First-choice demand varies year to year, and the school’s admission criteria — not demand — decide who is offered a place. Use this as a rough signal, never a prediction.
Nearby alternatives
- Rivington and Blackrod High School 3 km · Good (2023) · previous system
- Ladybridge High School 4.2 km · Good (2022) · previous system
- Westhoughton High School 4.3 km · Most areas: Needs attention (2026)
- Smithills School 5 km · Most areas: Needs attention (2026)
- Thornleigh Salesian College 5.8 km · No overall grade (2024)
- University Collegiate School 6 km · No overall grade (2024)
Straight-line distance — not travel time, and not a catchment. Same phase, open schools only.
Data from DfE and Ofsted open data (OGL v3) — sources. School record updated 10 July 2026. Report incorrect data.