Gaskell Community Primary School
Thomas Holden Street, Bolton, BL1 2QG
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Community school
- Ages
- 3 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Headteacher
- Miss Sarah Barlow
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Constituency
- Bolton North East
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 420
- Pupils on roll
- 472
- URN
- 105155
- Local authority
- Bolton
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01204333666
About this school
Gaskell Community Primary School is a community primary school in Bolton. It teaches children aged 3 to 11 and has 472 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Gaskell Community Primary School, and its latest judgement is set out below. Where the Department for Education has published them, its results and pupil characteristics appear below. Seeing a school for yourself shows what no page can, so arrange a visit before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Ofsted did not give an overall grade. Between September 2024 and September 2025 inspections graded each area of a school's work without a single overall judgement, ahead of the move to report cards. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Early years
- Good
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 57 | 56 | 56 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 65% | 71% | 79% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 5% | 7% | 11% |
| Expected standard in reading | 70% | 82% | 89% |
| Expected standard in maths | 81% | 88% | 89% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 82% | 91% | 93% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 103.0 | 104.0 | 106.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 105.0 | 107.0 | 108.0 |
| Reading progress | 0.00 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +1.60 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +2.50 | - | - |
Progress measures ended nationally after the 2022/23 school year, when the key stage 1 assessments they were based on were stopped. Blank progress figures in later years are not missing school data.
Trends over time
How Gaskell Community Primary School has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Bolton average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 65% | 63.5% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 71% | 63.3% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 79% | 63.4% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 5.6% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 3.9% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 3.9% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 461 |
| 2023/24 | 467 |
| 2024/25 | 473 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Gaskell Community Primary School compares
Gaskell Community Primary School ranked 15th of 89 primary schools in Bolton for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 86% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 85% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 79% | 3.9% | 38.9% | 472 | — |
| St Matthew's CofE Primary School, Bolton | 47% | 6.8% | 43.3% | 424 | 0.3 miles |
| Brownlow Fold Primary School | 53% | 4.8% | 35% | 232 | 0.4 miles |
| The Olive School, Bolton | 95% | 3.9% | 18.1% | 422 | 0.5 miles |
| Oxford Grove Primary School | 80% | 4.6% | 61.2% | 449 | 0.5 miles |
| St Joseph's RC Primary School, Halliwell, Bolton | 61% | 6.2% | 42.2% | 220 | 0.6 miles |
Results reflect each school's cohort as much as its teaching, and free school meals share is context, not a judgement. Small gaps between neighbouring schools are rarely meaningful on their own.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 38.94%
- English as an additional language
- 65.5%
- Overall absence
- 3.92%
- Persistent absence
- 10.5%
Location
Nearby schools
-
St Matthew's CofE Primary School, Bolton0.3 miles
Primary · Bolton
-
Brownlow Fold Primary School0.4 miles
Primary · Bolton
-
The Olive School, Bolton0.5 miles
Primary · Bolton
-
Oxford Grove Primary School0.5 miles
Primary · Bolton
-
St Joseph's RC Primary School, Halliwell, Bolton0.6 miles
Primary · Bolton
Other schools in Bolton
Gaskell Community Primary School ranks 16th of the 88 ranked primary schools in Bolton.
- All Saints CofE Primary School Primary
- Beacon Primary School Primary
- Beaumont Primary School Primary
- Bishop Bridgeman CofE Primary School Primary
- Blackrod Anglican/Methodist Primary School Primary
- Blackrod Primary School Primary
- Blackshaw Primary School Primary
- Bolton Parish Church, Church of England Primary School Primary
- Bowness Primary School Primary
- Brandwood Primary School Primary
- Brownlow Fold Primary School Primary
- Castle Hill Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What ages does Gaskell Community Primary School teach?
- Gaskell Community Primary School teaches children aged 3 to 11. It is a primary school in Bolton.
- Who is the headteacher of Gaskell Community Primary School?
- The headteacher of Gaskell Community Primary School is Miss Sarah Barlow, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Gaskell Community Primary School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Gaskell Community Primary School, and its latest judgement is set out in the inspection section on this page, with the framework and the date it was made.
- How many pupils are at Gaskell Community Primary School?
- Gaskell Community Primary School has 472 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 11.
- Is Gaskell Community Primary School full?
- Gaskell Community Primary School has capacity for 420 pupils and 472 on roll (112%), so it is at or above its published capacity. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is Gaskell Community Primary School a faith school?
- No. Gaskell Community Primary School has no designated religious character.
- Does Gaskell Community Primary School have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records Gaskell Community Primary School as having nursery classes.
- How have Gaskell Community Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 65% in 2022/23 and 79% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Gaskell Community Primary School compare with other schools in Bolton?
- Gaskell Community Primary School ranked 15th of 89 primary schools in Bolton for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 86% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 85% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Gaskell Community Primary School's absence rate?
- Gaskell Community Primary School's overall absence rate is 3.9% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Gaskell Community Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Gaskell Community Primary School's key stage results are shown in the results section on this page, with the last three years so you can see the trend rather than a single year.
School details come from the Department for Education's Get Information About Schools register. Inspection outcomes come from Ofsted, and exam results from the Department for Education's school performance service. This page was last updated on 29 June 2026.