Harwood Meadows Primary School
Orchard Gardens, Harwood, Bolton, BL2 3PS
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 3 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- HARWOOD MEADOWS COMMUNITY PRIMARY SCHOOL
- Headteacher
- Mr Julian Bevan
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Constituency
- Bolton North East
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 236
- Pupils on roll
- 224
- URN
- 137991
- Local authority
- Bolton
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01204333702
About this school
Harwood Meadows Primary School is a primary academy in Bolton. It teaches children aged 3 to 11 and has 224 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Harwood Meadows Primary School, 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
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
- Expected standard
- Curriculum and teaching
- Expected standard
- Achievement
- Expected standard
- Attendance and behaviour
- Expected standard
- Personal development and wellbeing
- Expected standard
- Leadership and governance
- Expected standard
- Early years
- Expected standard
- Safeguarding
- Met
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 29 | 27 | 29 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 79% | 59% | 62% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 7% | 4% | 0% |
| Expected standard in reading | 86% | 70% | 76% |
| Expected standard in maths | 93% | 81% | 79% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 90% | 85% | 83% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 107.0 | 103.0 | 107.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 106.0 | 103.0 | 105.0 |
| Reading progress | +1.50 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +2.00 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +1.90 | - | - |
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 Harwood Meadows 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 | 79% | 63.5% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 59% | 63.3% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 62% | 63.4% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 5.6% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 5.7% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 5.3% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 223 |
| 2023/24 | 226 |
| 2024/25 | 217 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Harwood Meadows Primary School compares
Harwood Meadows Primary School ranked 55th of 89 primary schools in Bolton for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 45% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 54% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 62% | 5.3% | 20.3% | 224 | — |
| Hardy Mill Primary School | 69% | 4.1% | 9.9% | 316 | 0.3 miles |
| St Brendan's RC Primary School, Harwood, Bolton | 55% | 2.8% | 12.8% | 199 | 0.5 miles |
| Red Lane Primary School | 63% | 7.4% | 62.8% | 475 | 0.7 miles |
| St Maxentius CofE Primary School | 61% | 4.9% | 15% | 185 | 1.0 miles |
| Christ Church Ainsworth Church of England Primary School | — | — | — | — | 1.0 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)
- 20.3%
- English as an additional language
- 6.5%
- Overall absence
- 5.29%
- Persistent absence
- 15.3%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Hardy Mill Primary School0.3 miles
Primary · Bolton
-
St Brendan's RC Primary School, Harwood, Bolton0.5 miles
Primary · Bolton
-
Red Lane Primary School0.7 miles
Primary · Bolton
-
St Maxentius CofE Primary School1.0 miles
Primary · Bolton
-
Christ Church Ainsworth Church of England Primary School1.0 miles
Primary · Bolton
Other schools in Bolton
Harwood Meadows Primary School ranks 55th 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 ages does Harwood Meadows Primary School teach?
- Harwood Meadows Primary School teaches children aged 3 to 11. It is a primary school in Bolton.
- Who is the headteacher of Harwood Meadows Primary School?
- The headteacher of Harwood Meadows Primary School is Mr Julian Bevan, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Harwood Meadows Primary School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Harwood Meadows 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 many pupils are at Harwood Meadows Primary School?
- Harwood Meadows Primary School has 224 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 3 to 11.
- Is Harwood Meadows Primary School full?
- Harwood Meadows Primary School has capacity for 236 pupils and 224 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 Harwood Meadows Primary School a faith school?
- No. Harwood Meadows Primary School has no designated religious character.
- Does Harwood Meadows Primary School have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records Harwood Meadows Primary School as having nursery classes.
- Is Harwood Meadows Primary School part of an academy trust?
- Harwood Meadows Primary School is part of HARWOOD MEADOWS COMMUNITY PRIMARY SCHOOL. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Harwood Meadows Primary School's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 79% in 2022/23 and 62% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Harwood Meadows Primary School compare with other schools in Bolton?
- Harwood Meadows Primary School ranked 55th of 89 primary schools in Bolton for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 45% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 54% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Harwood Meadows Primary School's absence rate?
- Harwood Meadows Primary School's overall absence rate is 5.3% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Harwood Meadows Primary School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Harwood Meadows 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 15 July 2026.