St Thomas C of E Primary School, Halliwell
Eskrick Street, Bolton, BL1 3JB
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Voluntary aided school
- Ages
- 3 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Church of England
- Headteacher
- Mrs Abigail Fielden
- Diocese
- Diocese of Manchester
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Constituency
- Bolton North East
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 367
- Pupils on roll
- 366
- URN
- 105218
- Local authority
- Bolton
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01204333193
About this school
St Thomas C of E Primary School, Halliwell is a Church of England voluntary aided primary school in Bolton. It teaches children aged 3 to 11 and has 366 pupils on roll.
You can read Ofsted's latest judgement for the school 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 no longer gives schools a single overall grade. Each area of the school's work is graded on a five-point scale, and safeguarding is judged separately.
- Inclusion
- Strong standard
- Curriculum and teaching
- Strong standard
- Achievement
- Expected standard
- Attendance and behaviour
- Strong standard
- Personal development and wellbeing
- Strong standard
- Leadership and governance
- Strong standard
- Early years
- Strong standard
- Safeguarding
- Met
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 41 | 43 | 42 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 54% | 44% | 50% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 10% | 5% | 2% |
| Expected standard in reading | 59% | 67% | 71% |
| Expected standard in maths | 71% | 72% | 71% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 63% | 63% | 67% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 103.0 | 103.0 | 104.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 104.0 | 104.0 | 103.0 |
| Reading progress | -1.90 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +0.40 | - | - |
| Maths progress | 0.00 | - | - |
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 St Thomas C of E Primary School, Halliwell 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 | 54% | 63.5% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 44% | 63.3% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 50% | 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 | 6.1% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 5.6% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 360 |
| 2023/24 | 369 |
| 2024/25 | 365 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St Thomas C of E Primary School, Halliwell compares
St Thomas C of E Primary School, Halliwell ranked 80th of 89 primary schools in Bolton for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 21% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 45% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 50% | 5.6% | 31.9% | 366 | — |
| Brownlow Fold Primary School | 53% | 4.8% | 35% | 232 | 0.2 miles |
| St Joseph's RC Primary School, Halliwell, Bolton | 61% | 6.2% | 42.2% | 220 | 0.2 miles |
| Oxford Grove Primary School | 80% | 4.6% | 61.2% | 449 | 0.3 miles |
| St Matthew's CofE Primary School, Bolton | 47% | 6.8% | 43.3% | 424 | 0.5 miles |
| Gaskell Community Primary School | 79% | 3.9% | 38.9% | 472 | 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.
Inspection history
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 31.86%
- English as an additional language
- 62.2%
- Overall absence
- 5.64%
- Persistent absence
- 16.08%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Brownlow Fold Primary School0.2 miles
Primary · Bolton
-
St Joseph's RC Primary School, Halliwell, Bolton0.2 miles
Primary · Bolton
-
Oxford Grove Primary School0.3 miles
Primary · Bolton
-
St Matthew's CofE Primary School, Bolton0.5 miles
Primary · Bolton
-
Gaskell Community Primary School0.6 miles
Primary · Bolton
Other schools in Bolton
St Thomas C of E Primary School, Halliwell ranks 79th 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 year groups does St Thomas C of E Primary School, Halliwell teach?
- St Thomas C of E Primary School, Halliwell teaches children aged 3 to 11. It is a primary school in Bolton.
- Who is the headteacher of St Thomas C of E Primary School, Halliwell?
- The headteacher of St Thomas C of E Primary School, Halliwell is Mrs Abigail Fielden, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was St Thomas C of E Primary School, Halliwell last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St Thomas C of E Primary School, Halliwell, and its latest judgement is set out in the inspection section on this page, with the framework and the date it was made.
- How big is St Thomas C of E Primary School, Halliwell?
- St Thomas C of E Primary School, Halliwell has 366 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 11.
- Is St Thomas C of E Primary School, Halliwell full?
- St Thomas C of E Primary School, Halliwell has capacity for 367 pupils and 366 on roll (100%), 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 St Thomas C of E Primary School, Halliwell a faith school?
- Yes. St Thomas C of E Primary School, Halliwell is designated Church of England, in the Diocese of Manchester.
- Does St Thomas C of E Primary School, Halliwell have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records St Thomas C of E Primary School, Halliwell as having nursery classes.
- How have St Thomas C of E Primary School, Halliwell's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 54% in 2022/23 and 50% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does St Thomas C of E Primary School, Halliwell rank locally?
- St Thomas C of E Primary School, Halliwell ranked 80th of 89 primary schools in Bolton for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 21% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 45% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is St Thomas C of E Primary School, Halliwell's absence rate?
- St Thomas C of E Primary School, Halliwell's overall absence rate is 5.6% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are St Thomas C of E Primary School, Halliwell's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St Thomas C of E Primary School, Halliwell'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.