St Joseph's RC High School
Sefton Lane, Horwich, Bolton, BL6 6HW
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Voluntary aided school
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Headteacher
- Mr A McCabe
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Diocese
- Diocese of Salford
- Constituency
- Bolton West
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,050
- Pupils on roll
- 1,047
- URN
- 105262
- Local authority
- Bolton
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01204697456
About this school
St Joseph's RC High School is a Roman Catholic voluntary aided secondary school in Bolton. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 1,047 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected St Joseph's RC High 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
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 203 | 212 | 207 |
| Attainment 8 score | 47.8 | 45.9 | 44.8 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.11 -0.31 to +0.09 | -0.14 -0.34 to +0.06 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 51% | 52.8% | 49.8% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 69% | 73.6% | 70% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 47% | 37.7% | 41.1% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.2 | 4.0 | 4.0 |
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 St Joseph's RC High 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 | 47.8 | 39.7 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 45.9 | 41.1 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 44.8 | 39.7 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 8.4% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 8.1% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 7.2% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,034 |
| 2023/24 | 1,045 |
| 2024/25 | 1,051 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St Joseph's RC High School compares
St Joseph's RC High School ranked 12th of 19 secondary schools in Bolton for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 56% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 23% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 44.8 | 7.2% | 22.3% | 1,047 | — |
| Rivington and Blackrod High School | 49.2 | 7.5% | 26.7% | 1,626 | 1.9 miles |
| Ladybridge High School | 41.7 | 7.9% | 37% | 1,136 | 2.6 miles |
| Westhoughton High School | 44.4 | 11.1% | 24.5% | 1,342 | 2.7 miles |
| Smithills School | 36.5 | 9.4% | 42.4% | 1,203 | 3.1 miles |
| Thornleigh Salesian College | 45.7 | 8.5% | 29.6% | 1,574 | 3.6 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)
- 22.26%
- English as an additional language
- 18.5%
- Overall absence
- 7.21%
- Persistent absence
- 21.28%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Rivington and Blackrod High School1.9 miles
Secondary · Bolton
-
Ladybridge High School2.6 miles
Secondary · Bolton
-
Westhoughton High School2.7 miles
Secondary · Bolton
-
Smithills School3.1 miles
Secondary · Bolton
-
Thornleigh Salesian College3.6 miles
Secondary · Bolton
Other schools in Bolton
St Joseph's RC High School ranks 12th 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 ages does St Joseph's RC High School teach?
- St Joseph's RC High School teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in Bolton.
- Who is the headteacher of St Joseph's RC High School?
- The headteacher of St Joseph's RC High School is Mr A McCabe, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has St Joseph's RC High School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St Joseph's RC High 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 St Joseph's RC High School?
- St Joseph's RC High School has 1,047 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is St Joseph's RC High School full?
- St Joseph's RC High School has capacity for 1,050 pupils and 1,047 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 Joseph's RC High School a faith school?
- Yes. St Joseph's RC High School is designated Roman Catholic, in the Diocese of Salford.
- Is St Joseph's RC High School a selective school?
- No. St Joseph's RC High School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- How have St Joseph's RC High School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 47.8 in 2022/23 and 44.8 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 Joseph's RC High School compare with other schools in Bolton?
- St Joseph's RC High School ranked 12th of 19 secondary schools in Bolton for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 56% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 23% 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 Joseph's RC High School's absence rate?
- St Joseph's RC High School's overall absence rate is 7.2% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are St Joseph's RC High School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St Joseph's RC High 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.