Essa Primary Academy
Lever Edge Lane, Bolton, BL3 3HH
- Phase
- Primary
- School type
- Free schools
- Ages
- 4 to 11
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- NORTHERN EDUCATION TRUST
- Principal
- Mrs Danielle Broadbent
- Sponsor
- Northern Education Trust
- Constituency
- Bolton South and Walkden
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 420
- Pupils on roll
- 387
- URN
- 140973
- Local authority
- Bolton
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01204201310
About this school
Essa Primary Academy is a primary academy in Bolton. It teaches children aged 4 to 11 and has 387 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
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
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Early years
- Good
- 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 | 62 | 64 | 65 |
| Met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths | 35% | 59% | 66% |
| Reached the higher standard in reading, writing and maths | 2% | 5% | 3% |
| Expected standard in reading | 58% | 77% | 75% |
| Expected standard in maths | 55% | 67% | 78% |
| Expected standard in grammar, punctuation and spelling | 66% | 69% | 77% |
| Average scaled score in reading | 101.0 | 104.0 | 103.0 |
| Average scaled score in maths | 100.0 | 103.0 | 104.0 |
| Reading progress | +0.30 | - | - |
| Writing progress | -2.20 | - | - |
| Maths progress | +0.10 | - | - |
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 Essa Primary 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 | 35% | 63.5% | 57.9% |
| 2023/24 | 59% | 63.3% | 58.8% |
| 2024/25 | 66% | 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 | 4.7% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 5.7% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 397 |
| 2023/24 | 409 |
| 2024/25 | 406 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Essa Primary Academy compares
Essa Primary Academy ranked 44th of 89 primary schools in Bolton for KS2 results in 2024/25. Its KS2 result was higher than 55% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 45% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | KS2 RWM (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 66% | 5.7% | 43.8% | 387 | — |
| St Bede Academy | 49% | 5.9% | 27.8% | 610 | 0.3 miles |
| Lever Edge Primary Academy | 63% | 5.5% | 36.4% | 562 | 0.4 miles |
| The Olive Tree Primary School Bolton | 75% | 4.9% | 22.7% | 418 | 0.5 miles |
| St William of York Roman Catholic Primary School | 84% | 4% | 34.2% | 233 | 0.6 miles |
| Brandwood Primary School | 56% | 4.5% | 44.3% | 463 | 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)
- 43.84%
- English as an additional language
- 68.5%
- Overall absence
- 5.66%
- Persistent absence
- 15.61%
Location
Nearby schools
-
St Bede Academy0.3 miles
Primary · Bolton
-
Lever Edge Primary Academy0.4 miles
Primary · Bolton
-
The Olive Tree Primary School Bolton0.5 miles
Primary · Bolton
-
St William of York Roman Catholic Primary School0.6 miles
Primary · Bolton
-
Brandwood Primary School0.7 miles
Primary · Bolton
Other schools in Bolton
Essa Primary Academy ranks 44th 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 Essa Primary Academy teach?
- Essa Primary Academy teaches children aged 4 to 11. It is a primary school in Bolton.
- Who is the principal of Essa Primary Academy?
- The principal of Essa Primary Academy is Mrs Danielle Broadbent, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Essa Primary Academy last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Essa Primary 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 big is Essa Primary Academy?
- Essa Primary Academy has 387 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 4 to 11.
- Is Essa Primary Academy full?
- Essa Primary Academy has capacity for 420 pupils and 387 on roll (92%), 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 Essa Primary Academy a faith school?
- No. Essa Primary Academy has no designated religious character.
- Does Essa Primary Academy have a nursery?
- No. The schools register records Essa Primary Academy as having no nursery classes.
- Who runs Essa Primary Academy?
- Essa Primary 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 Primary Academy's results changed over recent years?
- Its share of pupils reaching the expected standard in reading, writing and maths was 35% in 2022/23 and 66% 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 Primary Academy rank locally?
- Essa Primary Academy ranked 44th of 89 primary schools in Bolton for key stage 2 results. Its KS2 result was higher than 55% of England primary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 45% 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 Primary Academy's absence rate?
- Essa Primary Academy's overall absence rate is 5.7% in the latest published census, at or below the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Essa Primary Academy's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Essa Primary 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.