St James's Church of England High School
Secondary · Academy converter · Ages 11–16 · Bolton
Last distance offered · Year 7 2026
Every applicant was offered a place
From Bolton Council · offers on 2 March 2026
Nearby schools' earlier years 🔒
St James's Church of England High School is a secondary school in Bolton for ages 11–16 (academy converter). Its latest Ofsted outcome is Good, from the inspection on 2 November 2022. Bolton has published a last distance offered for this school for Year 7 2026 entry.
St James's Church of England High 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 |
|---|---|
| Year 7 2026 | Every applicant was offered a place |
What the pass includes · How to read it: one past year, not a catchment
What the figures show
- 20.1% of pupils are eligible for free school meals; the middle figure across the 8 nearest secondary schools in Bolton is 43%.
- Year 7 entry in 2026 drew 315 first-choice applications for 197 offers, 1.6 first choices per offer and the 2nd highest of 17 Bolton secondary schools.
- Of the 2026 Year 7 offers, 193 went to first-choice families, and 122 first-choice families (39%) were not offered a place.
- In 2024/25, 58% of pupils got grade 5 or above in GCSE English and maths (England 45%), and the Attainment 8 score was 53.5 (England 46).
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
- Lucas Road, Farnworth, Bolton, BL4 9RU
- Type
- Academy converter
- Phase
- Secondary
- Ages
- 11–16
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Religious character
- Church of England
- Council
- Bolton
- Pupils on roll
- 1,053 January 2026 school census
- Free school meals
- 20.1% of pupils eligible
- Pupils per teacher
- 16.2
Official record: Get Information about Schools · as at 15 September 2026
Ofsted
Good Inspected 2 November 2022
Strengths
- “Leaders and staff at St James Church of England High School have extremely high expectations for pupils’ behaviour and achievement.”
- “Pupils get the care and support they need to overcome challenges and strive for excellence.”
- “Pupils are motivated to work hard by teachers.”
To improve
- “Elsewhere, some pupils are yet to benefit from this new, more refined curriculum.”
- “In these cases, pupils learn well but they are not as consistently secure in what they know and remember as they are in other subjects.”
- “However, this is not fully implemented across all year groups in all subjects.”
Safeguarding: Effective
Quoted from the Ofsted report published 13 December 2022 (read the report). Crown copyright, Open Government Licence v3.0.
Exam results
| Measure | School | England |
|---|---|---|
| GCSE English and maths, grade 5 or above (2024/25) | 58% | 45% |
| Attainment 8 score (2024/25) | 53.5 | 46 |
Department for Education school performance data. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Applications and offers
- 2026 Year 7 entry: 315 first-preference applications, 197 offers in total, 193 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 secondary schools
Straight-line distance, in Bolton.
- Harper Green School 0.4 mi Good Last distance published
- Mount St Joseph RC High School a Voluntary Academy 0.7 mi No Ofsted grade Last distance published
- King's Leadership Academy Bolton 1.1 mi Good Last distance published
- Kearsley Academy 1.4 mi Good Last distance published
- Essa Academy 1.4 mi No Ofsted grade Last distance published
- Bolton Muslim Girls School 1.7 mi Not judged Last distance published
- Little Lever School 1.8 mi No Ofsted grade Last distance published
- University Collegiate School 2.1 mi Not judged Last distance published