University Collegiate School
85 Deane Road, The Stoller Building, Bolton, BL3 5AG
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- University technical college
- Ages
- 11 to 19
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Trust
- QUEST (A CHURCH OF ENGLAND SCHOOLS TRUST)
- Headteacher
- Mr Ian Barry
- Sponsor
- The Keys Federation
- Constituency
- Bolton South and Walkden
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 840
- Pupils on roll
- 683
- URN
- 141941
- Local authority
- Bolton
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01204928700
About this school
University Collegiate School is a secondary school in Bolton. It teaches children aged 11 to 19 and has 683 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. 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
- Good
- Behaviour and attitudes
- Good
- Personal development
- Good
- Leadership and management
- Good
- Sixth form
- Good
- Safeguarding
- Effective
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 51 | 30 | 91 |
| Attainment 8 score | 33.7 | 35.2 | 36.7 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.87 -1.33 to -0.40 | -0.98 -1.61 to -0.34 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 27% | 30% | 30.8% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 53% | 50% | 40.7% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 4% | 6.7% | 11% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 2.9 | 3.0 | 3.1 |
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 University Collegiate 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 | 33.7 | 39.7 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 35.2 | 41.1 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 36.7 | 39.7 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 10.4% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 8.4% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 9% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 491 |
| 2023/24 | 542 |
| 2024/25 | 604 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How University Collegiate School compares
University Collegiate School ranked 17th of 19 secondary schools in Bolton for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 30% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 11% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 36.7 | 9% | 50.3% | 683 | — |
| Bolton Muslim Girls School | 54.7 | 6.2% | 39% | 774 | 0.5 miles |
| Essa Academy | 53 | 7.6% | 46.8% | 1,055 | 1.2 miles |
| King's Leadership Academy Bolton | 45.4 | 7.5% | 33.9% | 910 | 1.2 miles |
| Eden Boys' School, Bolton | 53 | 4.6% | 33.4% | 621 | 1.3 miles |
| Mount St Joseph RC High School a Voluntary Academy | — | 10.2% | 36.3% | 895 | 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.
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 50.27%
- English as an additional language
- 57.8%
- Overall absence
- 9.01%
- Persistent absence
- 26.14%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Bolton Muslim Girls School0.5 miles
Secondary · Bolton
-
Essa Academy1.2 miles
Secondary · Bolton
-
King's Leadership Academy Bolton1.2 miles
Secondary · Bolton
-
Eden Boys' School, Bolton1.3 miles
Secondary · Bolton
-
Mount St Joseph RC High School a Voluntary Academy1.4 miles
Secondary · Bolton
Other schools in Bolton
University Collegiate School ranks 17th 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
- 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
Common questions
- What year groups does University Collegiate School teach?
- University Collegiate School teaches children aged 11 to 19. It is a secondary school in Bolton.
- Who is the headteacher of University Collegiate School?
- The headteacher of University Collegiate School is Mr Ian Barry, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was University Collegiate School last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected University Collegiate 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 big is University Collegiate School?
- University Collegiate School has 683 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 19.
- Is University Collegiate School full?
- University Collegiate School has capacity for 840 pupils and 683 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 University Collegiate School a faith school?
- No. University Collegiate School has no designated religious character.
- Who runs University Collegiate School?
- University Collegiate School is part of QUEST (A CHURCH OF ENGLAND SCHOOLS TRUST). Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have University Collegiate School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 33.7 in 2022/23 and 36.7 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does University Collegiate School rank locally?
- University Collegiate School ranked 17th of 19 secondary schools in Bolton for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 30% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 11% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is University Collegiate School's absence rate?
- University Collegiate School's overall absence rate is 9% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are University Collegiate School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, University Collegiate 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 2 July 2026.