Harper Green School
Harper Green Road, Farnworth, Bolton, BL4 0DH
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- LEVERHULME ACADEMY CHURCH OF ENGLAND AND COMMUNITY TRUST
- Headteacher
- Ms Sally Heppenstall
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Constituency
- Bolton South and Walkden
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,250
- Pupils on roll
- 1,070
- URN
- 143772
- Local authority
- Bolton
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01204572941
About this school
Harper Green School is a secondary academy in Bolton. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 1,070 pupils on roll.
Ofsted has inspected Harper Green 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
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 | 286 | 210 | 214 |
| Attainment 8 score | 40.3 | 42.9 | 42.8 |
| Progress 8 score | -0.22 -0.40 to -0.05 | -0.11 -0.32 to +0.09 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 33% | 35.2% | 36% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 53% | 57.6% | 58.4% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 12% | 22.4% | 30.4% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.4 | 3.7 | 3.7 |
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 Harper Green 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 | 40.3 | 39.7 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 42.9 | 41.1 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 42.8 | 39.7 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 11.2% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 9.6% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 8.6% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,224 |
| 2023/24 | 1,132 |
| 2024/25 | 1,126 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Harper Green School compares
Harper Green School ranked 15th of 19 secondary schools in Bolton for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 48% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 13% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 42.8 | 8.6% | 47.1% | 1,070 | — |
| St James's Church of England High School | 53.5 | 6.5% | 21.8% | 1,053 | 0.4 miles |
| Mount St Joseph RC High School a Voluntary Academy | — | 10.2% | 36.3% | 895 | 0.5 miles |
| King's Leadership Academy Bolton | 45.4 | 7.5% | 33.9% | 910 | 1.2 miles |
| Kearsley Academy | 51.8 | 9.6% | 42.7% | 768 | 1.3 miles |
| Little Lever School | 46.2 | 10.3% | 30.8% | 1,085 | 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)
- 47.07%
- English as an additional language
- 35.6%
- Overall absence
- 8.62%
- Persistent absence
- 25.51%
Location
Nearby schools
-
St James's Church of England High School0.4 miles
Secondary · Bolton
-
Mount St Joseph RC High School a Voluntary Academy0.5 miles
Secondary · Bolton
-
King's Leadership Academy Bolton1.2 miles
Secondary · Bolton
-
Kearsley Academy1.3 miles
Secondary · Bolton
-
Little Lever School1.4 miles
Secondary · Bolton
Other schools in Bolton
Harper Green School ranks 15th 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
- 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
- Smithills School Secondary
Common questions
- What ages does Harper Green School teach?
- Harper Green School teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in Bolton.
- Who is the headteacher of Harper Green School?
- The headteacher of Harper Green School is Ms Sally Heppenstall, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- Has Harper Green School been inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Harper Green 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 Harper Green School?
- Harper Green School has 1,070 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is Harper Green School full?
- Harper Green School has capacity for 1,250 pupils and 1,070 on roll (86%), 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 Harper Green School a faith school?
- No. Harper Green School has no designated religious character.
- Is Harper Green School a selective school?
- No. Harper Green School is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Is Harper Green School part of an academy trust?
- Harper Green School is part of LEVERHULME ACADEMY CHURCH OF ENGLAND AND COMMUNITY TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Harper Green School's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 40.3 in 2022/23 and 42.8 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Harper Green School compare with other schools in Bolton?
- Harper Green School ranked 15th of 19 secondary schools in Bolton for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 48% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 13% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Harper Green School's absence rate?
- Harper Green School's overall absence rate is 8.6% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Harper Green School's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Harper Green 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 10 July 2026.