Sunning Hill Primary School
Goldsmith Street, Bolton, BL3 6TR
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Community school
- Ages
- 2 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Headteacher
- Miss Claire Whalley
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Constituency
- Bolton South and Walkden
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 531
- Pupils on roll
- 526
- URN
- 105163
- Local authority
- Bolton
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01204333588
About this school
Sunning Hill Primary School is a community primary school in Bolton. It teaches children aged 2 to 11 and has 526 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Sunning Hill 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. Numbers and a report only go so far, so visit in person 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
- Outstanding
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Early years
- Outstanding
- 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 | 60 | 59 | 62 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 78% | 68% | 74% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 12% | 19% | 16% |
| Expected standard in reading | 85% | 69% | 84% |
| Expected standard in maths | 93% | 80% | 87% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 87% | 76% | 90% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 106.0 | 105.0 | 107.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 108.0 | 108.0 | 108.0 |
| Reading progress | +1.60 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +2.90 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +4.90 | - | - |
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 Sunning Hill 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 | 78% | 63.5% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 68% | 63.3% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 74% | 63.4% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 5.3% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 4.3% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 3.7% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 523 |
| 2023/24 | 540 |
| 2024/25 | 536 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Sunning Hill Primary School compares
Sunning Hill Primary School ranked 26th of 89 primary schools in Bolton for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 76% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 89% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 74% | 3.7% | 24.3% | 526 | — |
| The Olive Tree Primary School Bolton | 75% | 4.9% | 22.7% | 418 | 0.2 miles |
| Brandwood Primary School | 56% | 4.5% | 44.3% | 463 | 0.3 miles |
| Clarendon Primary School | 63% | 4.2% | 37.1% | 454 | 0.4 miles |
| St Ethelbert's Roman Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy | 62% | 6.3% | 38.4% | 207 | 0.5 miles |
| Bishop Bridgeman CofE Primary School | 61% | 7.3% | 33.3% | 484 | 0.5 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)
- 24.3%
- English as an additional language
- 68.5%
- Overall absence
- 3.74%
- Persistent absence
- 4.84%
Location
Nearby schools
-
The Olive Tree Primary School Bolton0.2 miles
Primary · Bolton
-
Brandwood Primary School0.3 miles
Primary · Bolton
-
Clarendon Primary School0.4 miles
Primary · Bolton
-
St Ethelbert's Roman Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy0.5 miles
Primary · Bolton
-
Bishop Bridgeman CofE Primary School0.5 miles
Primary · Bolton
Other schools in Bolton
Sunning Hill Primary School ranks 27th 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 Sunning Hill Primary School teach?
- Sunning Hill Primary School teaches children aged 2 to 11. It is a primary school in Bolton.
- Who is the headteacher of Sunning Hill Primary School?
- The headteacher of Sunning Hill Primary School is Miss Claire Whalley, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Sunning Hill Primary School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Sunning Hill 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 Sunning Hill Primary School?
- Sunning Hill Primary School has 526 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 2 to 11.
- Is Sunning Hill Primary School full?
- Sunning Hill Primary School has capacity for 531 pupils and 526 on roll (99%), so it is close to full. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is Sunning Hill Primary School a faith school?
- No. Sunning Hill Primary School has no designated religious character.
- Does Sunning Hill Primary School have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records Sunning Hill Primary School as having nursery classes.
- How have Sunning Hill Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 78% in 2022/23 and 74% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Sunning Hill Primary School compare with other schools in Bolton?
- Sunning Hill Primary School ranked 26th of 89 primary schools in Bolton for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 76% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 89% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Sunning Hill Primary School's absence rate?
- Sunning Hill Primary School's overall absence rate is 3.7% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Sunning Hill Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Sunning Hill 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.