The Gates Primary School
Bristle Hall Way, Westhoughton, Bolton, BL5 3QA
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Community school
- Ages
- 3 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Headteacher
- Mr Sean Doherty
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Constituency
- Bolton West
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 311
- Pupils on roll
- 290
- URN
- 133926
- Local authority
- Bolton
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01942634734
About this school
The Gates Primary School is a community primary school in Bolton. It teaches children aged 3 to 11 and has 290 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
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 21 September 2023, 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 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 42 | 44 | 45 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 74% | 73% | 84% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 19% | 14% | 7% |
| Expected standard in reading | 86% | 80% | 93% |
| Expected standard in maths | 86% | 80% | 93% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 86% | 80% | 89% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 106.0 | 106.0 | 108.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 107.0 | 106.0 | 109.0 |
| Reading progress | +1.00 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +1.10 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +2.40 | - | - |
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 The Gates Primary 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 | 74% | 63.5% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 73% | 63.3% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 84% | 63.4% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 4.8% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 5.5% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 4.4% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 317 |
| 2023/24 | 311 |
| 2024/25 | 294 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How The Gates Primary School compares
The Gates Primary School ranked 7th of 89 primary schools in Bolton for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 93% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 76% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 84% | 4.4% | 20.3% | 290 | — |
| Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Primary School | 74% | 4.5% | 8.9% | 417 | 0.3 miles |
| St Bartholomew's CofE Primary School | 63% | 3.9% | 12.7% | 210 | 0.6 miles |
| St Thomas CofE Primary School | 78% | 3.9% | 7.5% | 239 | 0.9 miles |
| Washacre Primary Academy | — | 7.7% | 44.1% | 170 | 1.0 miles |
| Eatock Primary School | 70% | 4.9% | 20.2% | 238 | 1.2 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)
- 20.3%
- English as an additional language
- 7.5%
- Overall absence
- 4.38%
- Persistent absence
- 11.46%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Primary School0.3 miles
Primary · Bolton
-
St Bartholomew's CofE Primary School0.6 miles
Primary · Bolton
-
St Thomas CofE Primary School0.9 miles
Primary · Bolton
-
Washacre Primary Academy1.0 miles
Primary · Bolton
-
Eatock Primary School1.2 miles
Primary · Bolton
Other schools in Bolton
The Gates Primary School ranks 8th 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 The Gates Primary School teach?
- The Gates Primary School teaches children aged 3 to 11. It is a primary school in Bolton.
- Who is the headteacher of The Gates Primary School?
- The headteacher of The Gates Primary School is Mr Sean Doherty, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was The Gates Primary School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected The Gates Primary 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 The Gates Primary School?
- The Gates Primary School has 290 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 11.
- Is The Gates Primary School full?
- The Gates Primary School has capacity for 311 pupils and 290 on roll (93%), so it has space against 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 The Gates Primary School a faith school?
- No. The Gates Primary School has no designated religious character.
- Does The Gates Primary School have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records The Gates Primary School as having nursery classes.
- How have The Gates Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 74% in 2022/23 and 84% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does The Gates Primary School rank locally?
- The Gates Primary School ranked 7th of 89 primary schools in Bolton for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 93% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 76% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is The Gates Primary School's absence rate?
- The Gates Primary School's overall absence rate is 4.4% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are The Gates Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, The Gates Primary 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 1 July 2026.