Essa Academy
Lever Edge Lane, Bolton, BL3 3HH
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- NORTHERN EDUCATION TRUST
- Principal
- Mrs Mel Flynn
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sponsor
- Northern Education Trust
- Constituency
- Bolton South and Walkden
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 990
- Pupils on roll
- 1,055
- URN
- 135770
- Local authority
- Bolton
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01204333222
About this school
Essa Academy is a secondary academy in Bolton. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 1,055 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Essa Academy, 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 no longer gives schools a single overall grade. Each area of the school's work is graded on a five-point scale, and safeguarding is judged separately.
- Inclusion
- Strong standard
- Curriculum and teaching
- Strong standard
- Achievement
- Strong standard
- Attendance and behaviour
- Strong standard
- Personal development and wellbeing
- Strong standard
- Leadership and governance
- Strong standard
- Safeguarding
- Met
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 211 | 204 | 200 |
| Attainment 8 score | 45.7 | 47.1 | 53.0 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.25 +0.04 to +0.46 | +0.73 +0.52 to +0.94 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 41% | 40.2% | 54% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 61% | 65.2% | 75% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 27% | 28.4% | 19.5% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.9 | 3.9 | 4.4 |
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 Essa Academy 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 | 45.7 | 39.7 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 47.1 | 41.1 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 53 | 39.7 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 5.4% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 5.4% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 7.6% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,091 |
| 2023/24 | 1,097 |
| 2024/25 | 1,077 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Essa Academy compares
Essa Academy ranked 6th of 19 secondary schools in Bolton for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 83% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 20% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 53 | 7.6% | 46.8% | 1,055 | — |
| King's Leadership Academy Bolton | 45.4 | 7.5% | 33.9% | 910 | 0.3 miles |
| Bolton Muslim Girls School | 54.7 | 6.2% | 39% | 774 | 0.7 miles |
| Mount St Joseph RC High School a Voluntary Academy | — | 10.2% | 36.3% | 895 | 1.0 miles |
| University Collegiate School | 36.7 | 9% | 50.3% | 683 | 1.2 miles |
| Ladybridge High School | 41.7 | 7.9% | 37% | 1,136 | 1.4 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
-
Graded inspection report20 January 2026
- 19 October 2021
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 46.8%
- English as an additional language
- 57.8%
- Overall absence
- 7.58%
- Persistent absence
- 23.24%
Location
Nearby schools
-
King's Leadership Academy Bolton0.3 miles
Secondary · Bolton
-
Bolton Muslim Girls School0.7 miles
Secondary · Bolton
-
Mount St Joseph RC High School a Voluntary Academy1.0 miles
Secondary · Bolton
-
University Collegiate School1.2 miles
Secondary · Bolton
-
Ladybridge High School1.4 miles
Secondary · Bolton
Other schools in Bolton
Essa Academy ranks 6th of the 19 ranked secondary schools in Bolton.
- Bolton Muslim Girls School Secondary
- Canon Slade School Secondary
- Eden Boys' School, Bolton 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
- Smithills School Secondary
Common questions
- What ages does Essa Academy teach?
- Essa Academy teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in Bolton.
- Who is the principal of Essa Academy?
- The principal of Essa Academy is Mrs Mel Flynn, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Essa Academy been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Essa Academy, 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 Essa Academy?
- Essa Academy has 1,055 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is Essa Academy full?
- Essa Academy has capacity for 990 pupils and 1,055 on roll (107%), 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 Essa Academy a faith school?
- No. Essa Academy has no designated religious character.
- Is Essa Academy a selective school?
- No. Essa Academy is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is Essa Academy part of an academy trust?
- Essa Academy is part of NORTHERN EDUCATION TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Essa Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 45.7 in 2022/23 and 53 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Essa Academy compare with other schools in Bolton?
- Essa Academy ranked 6th of 19 secondary schools in Bolton for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 83% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 20% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Essa Academy's absence rate?
- Essa Academy's overall absence rate is 7.6% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Essa Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Essa Academy'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 7 July 2026.