Turton School
Bromley Cross Road, Bromley Cross, Bolton, BL7 9LT
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Community school
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Headteacher
- Ms Sam Gorse
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Constituency
- Bolton North East
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,600
- Pupils on roll
- 1,596
- URN
- 105253
- Local authority
- Bolton
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01204333233
About this school
Turton School is a community secondary school in Bolton. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,596 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. Seeing a school for yourself shows what no page can, so arrange a visit before you apply.
Ofsted judgement
Overall judgement at the last full inspection
This inspection took place under the previous framework, which gave a single overall grade. Ofsted now publishes report cards instead, so newer inspections of other schools will look different. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Sixth form
- Good
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 255 | 265 | 253 |
| Attainment 8 score | 46.2 | 48.7 | 43.7 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.19 -0.37 to -0.01 | +0.08 -0.09 to +0.25 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 40% | 43.8% | 31.2% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 61% | 67.2% | 56.9% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 52% | 48.3% | 45.1% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.1 | 4.3 | 3.9 |
Progress 8 is paused nationally for the 2024/25 and 2025/26 school years. Those pupils sat no key stage 2 tests during the Covid pandemic, so there is no starting point to measure progress from. A blank figure here is not missing school data.
Trends over time
How Turton 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 | 46.2 | 39.7 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 48.7 | 41.1 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 43.7 | 39.7 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 6.8% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 8.5% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 10.1% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,612 |
| 2023/24 | 1,619 |
| 2024/25 | 1,606 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Turton School compares
Turton School ranked 14th of 19 secondary schools in Bolton for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 51% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 8% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 43.7 | 10.1% | 23.1% | 1,596 | — |
| Sharples School | 55.6 | 5.5% | 29.3% | 1,214 | 0.7 miles |
| Canon Slade School | 53.9 | 6% | 16.8% | 1,724 | 0.9 miles |
| Thornleigh Salesian College | 45.7 | 8.5% | 29.6% | 1,574 | 1.6 miles |
| Eden Boys' School, Bolton | 53 | 4.6% | 33.4% | 621 | 1.8 miles |
| Smithills School | 36.5 | 9.4% | 42.4% | 1,203 | 2.1 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)
- 23.12%
- English as an additional language
- 2.7%
- Overall absence
- 10.07%
- Persistent absence
- 29.24%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Sharples School0.7 miles
Secondary · Bolton
-
Canon Slade School0.9 miles
Secondary · Bolton
-
Thornleigh Salesian College1.6 miles
Secondary · Bolton
-
Eden Boys' School, Bolton1.8 miles
Secondary · Bolton
-
Smithills School2.1 miles
Secondary · Bolton
Other schools in Bolton
Turton School ranks 14th of the 19 ranked secondary schools in Bolton.
- Bolton Muslim Girls School Secondary
- Canon Slade School Secondary
- Eden Boys' School, Bolton Secondary
- Essa Academy Secondary
- Harper Green School Secondary
- Kearsley Academy Secondary
- King's Leadership Academy Bolton Secondary
- Ladybridge High School Secondary
- Little Lever School Secondary
- Mount St Joseph RC High School a Voluntary Academy Secondary
- Rivington and Blackrod High School Secondary
- Sharples School Secondary
Common questions
- What year groups does Turton School teach?
- Turton School teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Bolton.
- Who is the headteacher of Turton School?
- The headteacher of Turton School is Ms Sam Gorse, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Turton School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Turton 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 big is Turton School?
- Turton School has 1,596 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is Turton School full?
- Turton School has capacity for 1,600 pupils and 1,596 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 Turton School a faith school?
- No. Turton School has no designated religious character.
- Is Turton School a selective school?
- No. Turton School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- How have Turton School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 46.2 in 2022/23 and 43.7 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Turton School rank locally?
- Turton School ranked 14th of 19 secondary schools in Bolton for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 51% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 8% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Turton School's absence rate?
- Turton School's overall absence rate is 10.1% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Turton School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Turton 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.