Gilnow Primary School
Gilnow Gardens, Bolton, BL1 4LG
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Community school
- Ages
- 3 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Headteacher
- Miss Kate Hesketh
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Constituency
- Bolton North East
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 236
- Pupils on roll
- 221
- URN
- 105198
- Local authority
- Bolton
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01204333724
About this school
Gilnow Primary School is a community primary school in Bolton. It teaches children aged 3 to 11 and has 221 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Gilnow 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
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 8 June 2022, where inspectors confirmed the school remains Good. The school's last full inspection took place before September 2019, so its area grades are not part of Ofsted's current published data. Older reports are on the school's Ofsted page.
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 25 | 28 | 32 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 29% | 36% | 53% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 0% | 0% | 3% |
| Expected standard in reading | 36% | 57% | 72% |
| Expected standard in maths | 38% | 46% | 69% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 56% | 68% | 78% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 99.0 | 101.0 | 104.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 98.0 | 101.0 | 102.0 |
| Reading progress | +2.30 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +5.40 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +2.30 | - | - |
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 Gilnow 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 | 29% | 63.5% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 36% | 63.3% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 53% | 63.4% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 6.7% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 4.5% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 5% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 211 |
| 2023/24 | 220 |
| 2024/25 | 231 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Gilnow Primary School compares
Gilnow Primary School ranked 76th of 89 primary schools in Bolton for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 26% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 59% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 53% | 5% | 27.7% | 221 | — |
| Pikes Lane Primary School | 54% | 4.2% | 40.4% | 512 | 0.2 miles |
| Haslam Park Primary School | 74% | 5.3% | 54.1% | 306 | 0.5 miles |
| St Ethelbert's Roman Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy | 62% | 6.3% | 38.4% | 207 | 0.6 miles |
| Devonshire Road Primary School | 68% | 5.5% | 27.8% | 415 | 0.6 miles |
| Sunning Hill Primary School | 74% | 3.7% | 24.3% | 526 | 0.7 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)
- 27.72%
- English as an additional language
- 90.9%
- Overall absence
- 5.01%
- Persistent absence
- 16.15%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Pikes Lane Primary School0.2 miles
Primary · Bolton
-
Haslam Park Primary School0.5 miles
Primary · Bolton
-
St Ethelbert's Roman Catholic Primary School, a Voluntary Academy0.6 miles
Primary · Bolton
-
Devonshire Road Primary School0.6 miles
Primary · Bolton
-
Sunning Hill Primary School0.7 miles
Primary · Bolton
Other schools in Bolton
Gilnow Primary School ranks 75th 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 Gilnow Primary School teach?
- Gilnow Primary School teaches children aged 3 to 11. It is a primary school in Bolton.
- Who is the headteacher of Gilnow Primary School?
- The headteacher of Gilnow Primary School is Miss Kate Hesketh, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Gilnow Primary School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Gilnow 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 Gilnow Primary School?
- Gilnow Primary School has 221 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 11.
- Is Gilnow Primary School full?
- Gilnow Primary School has capacity for 236 pupils and 221 on roll (94%), so it has space against 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 Gilnow Primary School a faith school?
- No. Gilnow Primary School has no designated religious character.
- Does Gilnow Primary School have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records Gilnow Primary School as having nursery classes.
- How have Gilnow Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 29% in 2022/23 and 53% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Gilnow Primary School compare with other schools in Bolton?
- Gilnow Primary School ranked 76th of 89 primary schools in Bolton for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 26% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 59% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Gilnow Primary School's absence rate?
- Gilnow Primary School's overall absence rate is 5% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Gilnow Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Gilnow 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.