Kearsley Academy
Springfield Road, Kearsley, Bolton, BL4 8HY
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- NORTHERN EDUCATION TRUST
- Principal
- Mr Ryan Baxter
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Religious ethos
- None
- Sponsor
- Northern Education Trust
- Constituency
- Bolton South and Walkden
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 950
- Pupils on roll
- 768
- URN
- 136135
- Local authority
- Bolton
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01204332555
About this school
Kearsley Academy is a secondary academy in Bolton. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 768 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Kearsley Academy, 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
Overall judgement at the last full inspection
This inspection took place under the previous framework, which gave a single overall grade. Ofsted now publishes report cards instead, so newer inspections of other schools will look different. 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 | 139 | 142 | 143 |
| Attainment 8 score | 48.1 | 51.4 | 51.8 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.24 -0.01 to +0.49 | +0.55 +0.30 to +0.80 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 50% | 57% | 59.4% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 69% | 71.8% | 72.7% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 52% | 43.7% | 34.3% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 4.3 | 4.6 | 4.5 |
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 Kearsley 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 | 48.1 | 39.7 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 51.4 | 41.1 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 51.8 | 39.7 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 9.6% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 9.1% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 9.6% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 730 |
| 2023/24 | 765 |
| 2024/25 | 780 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Kearsley Academy compares
Kearsley Academy ranked 7th of 19 secondary schools in Bolton for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 81% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 9% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 51.8 | 9.6% | 42.7% | 768 | — |
| Harper Green School | 42.8 | 8.6% | 47.1% | 1,070 | 1.3 miles |
| St James's Church of England High School | 53.5 | 6.5% | 21.8% | 1,053 | 1.4 miles |
| The Lowry Academy | 44.7 | 10% | 57.7% | 884 | 1.5 miles |
| Star Salford Academy | — | 10.4% | 61.2% | 389 | 1.5 miles |
| Little Lever School | 46.2 | 10.3% | 30.8% | 1,085 | 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.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 42.69%
- English as an additional language
- 17.8%
- Overall absence
- 9.63%
- Persistent absence
- 29.34%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Harper Green School1.3 miles
Secondary · Bolton
-
St James's Church of England High School1.4 miles
Secondary · Bolton
-
The Lowry Academy1.5 miles
Secondary · Manchester
-
Star Salford Academy1.5 miles
Secondary · Worsley
-
Little Lever School1.6 miles
Secondary · Bolton
Other schools in Bolton
Kearsley Academy ranks 7th 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
- 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 Kearsley Academy teach?
- Kearsley Academy teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in Bolton.
- Who is the principal of Kearsley Academy?
- The principal of Kearsley Academy is Mr Ryan Baxter, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Kearsley Academy been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Kearsley 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 Kearsley Academy?
- Kearsley Academy has 768 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is Kearsley Academy full?
- Kearsley Academy has capacity for 950 pupils and 768 on roll (81%), 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 Kearsley Academy a faith school?
- No. Kearsley Academy has no designated religious character.
- Is Kearsley Academy a selective school?
- No. Kearsley Academy is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is Kearsley Academy part of an academy trust?
- Kearsley 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 Kearsley Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 48.1 in 2022/23 and 51.8 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Kearsley Academy compare with other schools in Bolton?
- Kearsley Academy ranked 7th of 19 secondary schools in Bolton for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 81% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 9% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Kearsley Academy's absence rate?
- Kearsley Academy's overall absence rate is 9.6% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Kearsley Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Kearsley 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.