Thornleigh Salesian College
Sharples Park, Astley Bridge, Bolton, BL1 6PQ
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Voluntary aided school
- Ages
- 11 to 18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Headteacher
- Mr Michael Fitzsimons
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Diocese
- Diocese of Salford
- Constituency
- Bolton North East
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,650
- Pupils on roll
- 1,574
- URN
- 105264
- Local authority
- Bolton
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01204301351
About this school
Thornleigh Salesian College is a Roman Catholic voluntary aided secondary school in Bolton. It teaches children aged 11 to 18 and has 1,574 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Thornleigh Salesian College, 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
- Requires improvement
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Requires improvement
- 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 | 256 | 267 | 263 |
| Attainment 8 score | 47.3 | 44.8 | 45.7 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.07 -0.25 to +0.11 | -0.22 -0.40 to -0.05 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 41% | 44.6% | 41.1% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 68% | 63.7% | 68.4% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 29% | 20.2% | 27% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.1 | 3.9 | 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 Thornleigh Salesian College 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 | 47.3 | 39.7 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 44.8 | 41.1 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 45.7 | 39.7 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 9% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 9.4% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 8.5% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,590 |
| 2023/24 | 1,570 |
| 2024/25 | 1,576 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Thornleigh Salesian College compares
Thornleigh Salesian College ranked 10th of 19 secondary schools in Bolton for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 60% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 13% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 45.7 | 8.5% | 29.6% | 1,574 | — |
| Smithills School | 36.5 | 9.4% | 42.4% | 1,203 | 0.5 miles |
| Eden Boys' School, Bolton | 53 | 4.6% | 33.4% | 621 | 0.7 miles |
| Sharples School | 55.6 | 5.5% | 29.3% | 1,214 | 0.9 miles |
| Canon Slade School | 53.9 | 6% | 16.8% | 1,724 | 1.4 miles |
| Turton School | 43.7 | 10.1% | 23.1% | 1,596 | 1.6 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)
- 29.59%
- English as an additional language
- 9.8%
- Overall absence
- 8.52%
- Persistent absence
- 24.01%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Smithills School0.5 miles
Secondary · Bolton
-
Eden Boys' School, Bolton0.7 miles
Secondary · Bolton
-
Sharples School0.9 miles
Secondary · Bolton
-
Canon Slade School1.4 miles
Secondary · Bolton
-
Turton School1.6 miles
Secondary · Bolton
Other schools in Bolton
Thornleigh Salesian College ranks 10th 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 Thornleigh Salesian College teach?
- Thornleigh Salesian College teaches children aged 11 to 18. It is a secondary school in Bolton.
- Who is the headteacher of Thornleigh Salesian College?
- The headteacher of Thornleigh Salesian College is Mr Michael Fitzsimons, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Thornleigh Salesian College been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Thornleigh Salesian College, 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 Thornleigh Salesian College?
- Thornleigh Salesian College has 1,574 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 18.
- Is Thornleigh Salesian College full?
- Thornleigh Salesian College has capacity for 1,650 pupils and 1,574 on roll (95%), 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 Thornleigh Salesian College a faith school?
- Yes. Thornleigh Salesian College is designated Roman Catholic, in the Diocese of Salford.
- Is Thornleigh Salesian College a selective school?
- No. Thornleigh Salesian College is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- How have Thornleigh Salesian College's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 47.3 in 2022/23 and 45.7 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Thornleigh Salesian College compare with other schools in Bolton?
- Thornleigh Salesian College ranked 10th of 19 secondary schools in Bolton for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 60% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 13% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Thornleigh Salesian College's absence rate?
- Thornleigh Salesian College's overall absence rate is 8.5% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Thornleigh Salesian College's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Thornleigh Salesian College'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.