St Paul's CofE Primary School, Astley Bridge
Newnham Street, Astley Bridge, Bolton, BL1 8QA
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 2 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Church of England
- Trust
- FORWARD AS ONE CHURCH OF ENGLAND MULTI ACADEMY TRUST
- Principal
- Mrs Anna Lister
- Diocese
- Diocese of Manchester
- Nursery provision
- Has Nursery Classes
- Sponsor
- Forward As One Church of England Multi Academy Trust
- Constituency
- Bolton North East
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 210
- Pupils on roll
- 251
- URN
- 138851
- Local authority
- Bolton
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01204333741
About this school
St Paul's CofE Primary School, Astley Bridge is a Church of England primary academy in Bolton. It teaches children aged 2 to 11 and has 251 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected St Paul's CofE Primary School, Astley Bridge, 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 did not give an overall grade. Between September 2024 and September 2025 inspections graded each area of a school's work without a single overall judgement, ahead of the move to report cards. How Ofsted report cards work
- Quality of education
- Outstanding
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Outstanding
- Personal development
- Outstanding
- Leadership and management
- Outstanding
- Early years
- Outstanding
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 2 (end of primary school)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 2 | 32 | 31 | 33 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 69% | 77% | 79% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 13% | 23% | 12% |
| Expected standard in reading | 91% | 84% | 82% |
| Expected standard in maths | 78% | 77% | 85% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 81% | 81% | 88% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 106.0 | 107.0 | 106.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 105.0 | 105.0 | 106.0 |
| Reading progress | +1.80 | - | - |
| Writing progress | +3.00 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +1.10 | - | - |
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 St Paul's CofE Primary School, Astley Bridge 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 | 69% | 63.5% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 77% | 63.3% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 79% | 63.4% | 60.3% |
Department for Education KS2 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 5.3% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 4.4% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 4.2% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 254 |
| 2023/24 | 263 |
| 2024/25 | 264 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How St Paul's CofE Primary School, Astley Bridge compares
St Paul's CofE Primary School, Astley Bridge ranked 13th of 89 primary schools in Bolton for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 86% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 79% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 79% | 4.2% | 30.8% | 251 | — |
| Holy Infant and St Anthony RC Primary School | 52% | 5.1% | 37.3% | 188 | 0.3 miles |
| The Valley Community Primary School | 83% | 3.2% | 19.4% | 538 | 0.5 miles |
| Sharples Primary School | 66% | 4.8% | 21.3% | 245 | 0.6 miles |
| St Thomas C of E Primary School, Halliwell | 50% | 5.6% | 31.9% | 366 | 0.7 miles |
| High Lawn Primary School | 61% | 5.3% | 27.3% | 492 | 0.7 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)
- 30.77%
- English as an additional language
- 63.6%
- Overall absence
- 4.21%
- Persistent absence
- 9.09%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Holy Infant and St Anthony RC Primary School0.3 miles
Primary · Bolton
-
The Valley Community Primary School0.5 miles
Primary · Bolton
-
Sharples Primary School0.6 miles
Primary · Bolton
-
St Thomas C of E Primary School, Halliwell0.7 miles
Primary · Bolton
-
High Lawn Primary School0.7 miles
Primary · Bolton
Other schools in Bolton
St Paul's CofE Primary School, Astley Bridge ranks 14th 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 St Paul's CofE Primary School, Astley Bridge teach?
- St Paul's CofE Primary School, Astley Bridge teaches children aged 2 to 11. It is a primary school in Bolton.
- Who is the principal of St Paul's CofE Primary School, Astley Bridge?
- The principal of St Paul's CofE Primary School, Astley Bridge is Mrs Anna Lister, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has St Paul's CofE Primary School, Astley Bridge been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected St Paul's CofE Primary School, Astley Bridge, 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 St Paul's CofE Primary School, Astley Bridge?
- St Paul's CofE Primary School, Astley Bridge has 251 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 2 to 11.
- Is St Paul's CofE Primary School, Astley Bridge full?
- St Paul's CofE Primary School, Astley Bridge has capacity for 210 pupils and 251 on roll (120%), 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 St Paul's CofE Primary School, Astley Bridge a faith school?
- Yes. St Paul's CofE Primary School, Astley Bridge is designated Church of England, in the Diocese of Manchester.
- Does St Paul's CofE Primary School, Astley Bridge have a nursery?
- Yes. The schools register records St Paul's CofE Primary School, Astley Bridge as having nursery classes.
- Is St Paul's CofE Primary School, Astley Bridge part of an academy trust?
- St Paul's CofE Primary School, Astley Bridge is part of FORWARD AS ONE CHURCH OF ENGLAND MULTI ACADEMY TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have St Paul's CofE Primary School, Astley Bridge's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 69% in 2022/23 and 79% in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does St Paul's CofE Primary School, Astley Bridge compare with other schools in Bolton?
- St Paul's CofE Primary School, Astley Bridge ranked 13th of 89 primary schools in Bolton for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 86% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 79% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is St Paul's CofE Primary School, Astley Bridge's absence rate?
- St Paul's CofE Primary School, Astley Bridge's overall absence rate is 4.2% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are St Paul's CofE Primary School, Astley Bridge's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, St Paul's CofE Primary School, Astley Bridge'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.