Carlton Bolling
Undercliffe Lane, Bradford, BD3 0DU
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Trust
- CARLTON ACADEMY TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mr Mohammed Azum
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Sponsor
- Carlton Academy Trust
- Constituency
- Bradford East
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 1,524
- Pupils on roll
- 1,633
- URN
- 147100
- Local authority
- Bradford
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01274633111
About this school
Carlton Bolling is a secondary academy in Bradford. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 1,633 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
Confirmed by a short inspection, not a full one
Ofsted's most recent visit was a short inspection on 11 May 2023, where inspectors confirmed the school remains Outstanding. The school's last full inspection took place before September 2019, so its area grades are not part of Ofsted's current published data. Older reports are on the school's Ofsted page.
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2022/23 | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 317 | 323 | 338 |
| Attainment 8 score | 41.5 | 43.0 | 44.4 |
| Progress 8 score | +0.06 -0.10 to +0.22 | +0.27 +0.11 to +0.43 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 32% | 38.7% | 44.7% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 51% | 55.1% | 63.9% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 2% | 40.6% | 46.7% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 3.0 | 3.6 | 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 Carlton Bolling has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Bradford average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 41.5 | 41.2 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 43 | 41.5 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 44.4 | 40 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 10.5% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 8.2% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 8.9% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 1,623 |
| 2023/24 | 1,640 |
| 2024/25 | 1,630 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How Carlton Bolling compares
Carlton Bolling ranked 14th of 35 secondary schools in Bradford for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 55% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 12% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 44.4 | 8.9% | 43.7% | 1,633 | — |
| Feversham Girls' Secondary Academy | 54.8 | 6% | 32.5% | 796 | 0.4 miles |
| Valley Academy | 38.7 | 14% | 53.6% | 356 | 0.9 miles |
| Laisterdyke Leadership Academy | 36.1 | 10.9% | 50.6% | 889 | 1.1 miles |
| Hanson Academy | 35.1 | 14.9% | 47.5% | 1,503 | 1.1 miles |
| Bronte Girls' Academy | 48.9 | 7.9% | 38.9% | 709 | 1.2 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)
- 43.74%
- English as an additional language
- 59.3%
- Overall absence
- 8.88%
- Persistent absence
- 26.48%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Feversham Girls' Secondary Academy0.4 miles
Secondary · Bradford
-
Valley Academy0.9 miles
Secondary · Bradford
-
Laisterdyke Leadership Academy1.1 miles
Secondary · Bradford
-
Hanson Academy1.1 miles
Secondary · Bradford
-
Bronte Girls' Academy1.2 miles
Secondary · Bradford
Other schools in Bradford
Carlton Bolling ranks 10th of the 28 ranked secondary schools in Bradford.
- Beckfoot Thornton Secondary
- Beckfoot Upper Heaton Secondary
- Belle Vue Girls' Academy Secondary
- Bradford Forster Academy Secondary
- Bradford Girls' Grammar School Secondary
- Bronte Girls' Academy Secondary
- Buttershaw Business & Enterprise College Academy Secondary
- Co-op Academy Grange Secondary
- Dixons City Academy Secondary
- Dixons Kings Academy Secondary
- Dixons McMillan Academy Secondary
- Dixons Trinity Academy Secondary
Common questions
- What year groups does Carlton Bolling teach?
- Carlton Bolling teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in Bradford.
- Who is the headteacher of Carlton Bolling?
- The headteacher of Carlton Bolling is Mr Mohammed Azum, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was Carlton Bolling last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected Carlton Bolling, 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 Carlton Bolling?
- Carlton Bolling has 1,633 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is Carlton Bolling full?
- Carlton Bolling has capacity for 1,524 pupils and 1,633 on roll (107%), 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 Carlton Bolling a faith school?
- No. Carlton Bolling has no designated religious character.
- Is Carlton Bolling a selective school?
- No. Carlton Bolling is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Who runs Carlton Bolling?
- Carlton Bolling is part of CARLTON ACADEMY TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have Carlton Bolling's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 41.5 in 2022/23 and 44.4 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does Carlton Bolling rank locally?
- Carlton Bolling ranked 14th of 35 secondary schools in Bradford for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 55% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 12% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is Carlton Bolling's absence rate?
- Carlton Bolling's overall absence rate is 8.9% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are Carlton Bolling's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, Carlton Bolling'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.