Birtenshaw School Bolton
Darwen Road, Bromley Cross, Bolton, BL7 9AB
- Phase
- Special schools
- School type
- Non-maintained special school
- Ages
- 3 to 19
- Gender
- Mixed
- Headteacher
- Caroline Turner
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- SEN provision
- ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder, SLD - Severe Learning Difficulty
- Constituency
- Bolton North East
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 140
- Pupils on roll
- 137
- URN
- 105280
- Local authority
- Bolton
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01204304230
About this school
Birtenshaw School Bolton is a special school in Bolton. It teaches children aged 3 to 19 and has 137 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Birtenshaw School Bolton, and its latest judgement is set out 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
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 18 November 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 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 2 | 9 | 9 |
| Attainment 8 score | - | - | - |
| Progress 8 score | - | - | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | - | - | - |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | - | - | - |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | - | - | - |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | - | - | - |
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 Birtenshaw School Bolton has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 8.6% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 13.2% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 11.6% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 87 |
| 2023/24 | 103 |
| 2024/25 | 129 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 37.21%
- English as an additional language
- 13.2%
- Overall absence
- 11.64%
- Persistent absence
- 27.36%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Madrasatul Imam Muhammad Zakariya1.3 miles
Independent schools · Bolton
-
Firwood High School1.7 miles
Academies · Bolton
-
Youth Challenge Pru1.8 miles
Academies · Bolton
-
LifeBridge ASEND1.9 miles
Other types · Bolton
-
Al-Huda Primary School1.9 miles
Independent schools · Bolton
Other schools in Bolton
- Birtenshaw College Other types
- Breightmet School Special schools
- Cumberland School Special schools
- EdStart Schools Bolton Special schools
- Firwood High School Academies
- Forwards Centre Academies
- Green Fold School Special schools
- Ladywood School Academies
- Lever Park School Academies
- LifeBridge ASEND Other types
- Park School Teaching Service Academies
- Raise Education and Wellbeing School Special schools
Common questions
- What ages does Birtenshaw School Bolton teach?
- Birtenshaw School Bolton teaches children aged 3 to 19. It is a special school in Bolton.
- Who is the headteacher of Birtenshaw School Bolton?
- The headteacher of Birtenshaw School Bolton is Caroline Turner, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Birtenshaw School Bolton been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Birtenshaw School Bolton, 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 Birtenshaw School Bolton?
- Birtenshaw School Bolton has 137 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 19.
- Is Birtenshaw School Bolton full?
- Birtenshaw School Bolton has capacity for 140 pupils and 137 on roll (98%), 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 Birtenshaw School Bolton a faith school?
- No. Birtenshaw School Bolton has no designated religious character.
- What SEN provision does Birtenshaw School Bolton have?
- The schools register lists Birtenshaw School Bolton's special educational needs provision as: ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder; SLD - Severe Learning Difficulty. Contact the school to discuss how it would support a particular child.
- What is Birtenshaw School Bolton's absence rate?
- Birtenshaw School Bolton's overall absence rate is 11.6% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Birtenshaw School Bolton's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Birtenshaw School Bolton'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 6 July 2026.