Sharples Primary School
Primary · Community school · Ages 3–11 · Bolton
Last distance offered · Reception 2026
Every applicant was offered a place
From Bolton Council · offers on 16 April 2026
2022–2025 trend 🔒
Nearby schools' earlier years 🔒
Sharples Primary School is a primary school in Bolton for ages 3–11 (community school). Its latest Ofsted outcome is Standards maintained, from the inspection on 12 February 2025. Bolton has published a last distance offered for this school for Reception 2022 to 2026 entry.
Sharples Primary School catchment area: last distance offered
Parents often call this the catchment area: it's how far from the school the last child offered a place lived. It changes every year.
| Entry | Last distance offered |
|---|---|
| Reception 2026 | Every applicant was offered a place |
| Reception 2025 | 🔒 With a pass |
| Reception 2024 | 🔒 With a pass |
| Reception 2023 | 🔒 With a pass |
| Reception 2022 | 🔒 With a pass |
What the pass includes · How to read it: one past year, not a catchment
What the figures show
- Every Reception 2026 applicant was offered a place, though places ran out in all 3 earlier years, when the last distance swung sharply, most of all from 2023 to 2024.
- Reception 2026 drew 19 first-choice applications for 24 offers (0.8 first choices per offer, 13th lowest of 90 Bolton primary schools); every first-choice family was offered a place.
- In 2024/25, 66% of pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (England 62%), and 6% reached the higher standard (England 8%).
Worked out by Catchmently from the published figures on this page and those for other Bolton schools. Distances are as published; how they were measured differs between admission authorities.
Key facts
- Address
- Hugh Lupus Street, Bolton, BL1 8RU
- Type
- Community school
- Phase
- Primary
- Ages
- 3–11
- Council
- Bolton
- Pupils on roll
- 245 January 2026 school census
- Free school meals
- 20% of pupils eligible
- Pupils per teacher
- 20.4
Official record: Get Information about Schools · as at 15 September 2026
Ofsted
Standards maintained Inspected 12 February 2025
Strengths
- “Pupils thrive at this happy and harmonious school.”
- “The school has high aspirations for all pupils.”
- “Pupils typically achieve well.”
To improve
- “The school’s work to develop pupils’ writing is at an earlier stage.”
- “Some pupils’ writing is not as fluent as it could be, which affects how easily they are able to record their ideas.”
- “This is because, at times, teachers do not provide sufficient support for pupils who have not developed letter formation skills well enough.”
Safeguarding: Effective
Quoted from the Ofsted report published 20 March 2025 (read the report). Crown copyright, Open Government Licence v3.0.
Exam results
| Measure | School | England |
|---|---|---|
| Key stage 2 · reading, writing and maths, expected standard (2024/25) | 66% | 62% |
Department for Education school performance data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Applications and offers
- 2026 Reception entry: 19 first-preference applications, 24 offers in total, 19 offers to first-preference applicants.
Department for Education, school-level applications and offers, figures on national offer day. Earlier years are in the pass.
Nearby primary schools
Straight-line distance, in Bolton.
- The Oaks Primary School 0.3 mi Good Last distance published
- High Lawn Primary School 0.5 mi Not judged Last distance published
- St Columba's RC Primary School 0.6 mi Good
- St Paul's CofE Primary School, Astley Bridge 0.6 mi Not judged Last distance published
- Holy Infant and St Anthony RC Primary School 0.7 mi No Ofsted grade Last distance published
- St John the Evangelist RC Primary School, Bromley Cross, Bolton 0.8 mi School remains Good Last distance published
- Eagley Junior School 0.8 mi Not judged
- Eagley Infant School 0.9 mi School remains Good Last distance published