St Thomas of Canterbury RC School
Primary · Voluntary aided school · Ages 4–11 · 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 🔒
St Thomas of Canterbury RC School is a primary school in Bolton for ages 4–11 (voluntary aided school). Its latest Ofsted outcome is School remains Good, from the inspection on 5 October 2023. Bolton has published a last distance offered for this school for Reception 2022 to 2026 entry.
St Thomas of Canterbury RC 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 applicant was offered a place in 2026, but places ran out in 2024 and 2025, when the last distance offered swung sharply, most from 2024 to 2025.
- In 2024/25, 52% met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths, lowest of this one and the 7 of the 8 nearest primary schools in Bolton that have results.
- For Reception 2026 there were 36 first-choice applications for 47 offers; every first-choice family was offered a place and 11 offers went to families who ranked it second or lower.
- 17.3% of pupils are eligible for free school meals, with 25.3 pupils per teacher, against middle figures of 28% and 19.8 across the 8 nearest primary schools in Bolton.
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
- Eastbourne Grove, Heaton, Bolton, BL1 5LH
- Type
- Voluntary aided school
- Phase
- Primary
- Ages
- 4–11
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Council
- Bolton
- Pupils on roll
- 410 January 2026 school census
- Free school meals
- 17.3% of pupils eligible
- Pupils per teacher
- 25.3
Official record: Get Information about Schools · as at 15 September 2026
Ofsted
School remains Good Inspected 5 October 2023
Strengths
- “Warm and positive relationships permeate this happy, thriving school.”
- “Visitors and new arrivals to the school are enthusiastically welcomed by pupils who are eager to make new friends.”
- “Staff expect pupils to succeed.”
To improve
- “However, some of the books that pupils use to practise their reading do not match the sounds that they have learned.”
- “From time to time this hinders some pupils, particularly those who find reading the most difficult, from developing fluency and accuracy in reading as quickly as they should.”
Safeguarding: Effective
Quoted from the Ofsted report published 27 November 2023 (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) | 52% | 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: 36 first-preference applications, 47 offers in total, 36 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.
- Devonshire Road Primary School 0.2 mi Good Last distance published
- Church Road Primary School 0.5 mi Standards maintained Last distance published
- Markland Hill Primary School 0.6 mi Not judged Last distance published
- Oxford Grove Primary School 0.7 mi Outstanding Last distance published
- St Joseph's RC Primary School, Halliwell, Bolton 0.7 mi Standards maintained Last distance published
- Johnson Fold Community Primary School 0.8 mi No Ofsted grade Last distance published
- Gilnow Primary School 0.9 mi School remains Good Last distance published
- Brownlow Fold Primary School 0.9 mi No Ofsted grade Last distance published