The Salesian Academy of St John Bosco
Netherton Way, Bootle, L30 2NA
- Phase
- Secondary
- School type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- Roman Catholic
- Trust
- POPE FRANCIS CATHOLIC MULTI ACADEMY TRUST
- Headteacher
- Mrs Sue Bourgade
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Diocese
- Archdiocese of Liverpool
- Sponsor
- Pope Francis Multi Academy Trust
- Constituency
- Bootle
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- Capacity
- 600
- Pupils on roll
- 575
- URN
- 149486
- Local authority
- Sefton
- Website
- School website
- Telephone
- 01515213088
About this school
The Salesian Academy of St John Bosco is a Roman Catholic secondary academy in Bootle. It teaches children aged 11 to 16 and has 575 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 no longer gives schools a single overall grade. Each area of the school's work is graded on a five-point scale, and safeguarding is judged separately.
- Inclusion
- Expected standard
- Curriculum and teaching
- Needs attention
- Achievement
- Needs attention
- Attendance and behaviour
- Needs attention
- Personal development and wellbeing
- Needs attention
- Leadership and governance
- Expected standard
- Safeguarding
- Met
Exam results
Key stage 4 (GCSEs)
| Measure | 2023/24 | 2024/25 |
|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of key stage 4 | 89 | 75 |
| Attainment 8 score | 31.1 | 32.2 |
| Progress 8 score | -1.00 -1.31 to -0.69 | - |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 10.1% | 18.7% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 25.8% | 33.3% |
| Entered the English Baccalaureate | 22.5% | 16% |
| English Baccalaureate average point score | 2.3 | 2.6 |
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 The Salesian Academy of St John Bosco has moved over recent years against the local and national picture. Every figure is shown in the table beneath its chart.
| Year | This school | Sefton average | England average |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | — | 37.4 | 39.8 |
| 2023/24 | 31.1 | 36.9 | 39.5 |
| 2024/25 | 32.2 | 35.4 | 39 |
Department for Education KS4 performance data, published school results.
| Year | This school | England average |
|---|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 12.8% | 6.8% |
| 2023/24 | 12.4% | 6.6% |
| 2024/25 | 12.4% | 6.2% |
Department for Education pupil absence data.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 2022/23 | 495 |
| 2023/24 | 518 |
| 2024/25 | 532 |
School census, spring count each academic year.
How The Salesian Academy of St John Bosco compares
The Salesian Academy of St John Bosco ranked 16th of 17 secondary schools in Sefton for Attainment 8 in 2024/25. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 23% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 3% of England schools in 2024/25.
| School | Attainment 8 (2024/25) | Absence | FSM (6 years) | Pupils | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| This school | 32.2 | 12.4% | 54.3% | 575 | — |
| Litherland High School | 41.7 | 11.8% | 48.7% | 761 | 0.6 miles |
| King's Leadership Academy Hawthornes | 32.2 | 14.2% | 60.8% | 708 | 0.9 miles |
| Archbishop Beck Catholic College | 41.5 | 9.2% | 37.9% | 1,142 | 1.4 miles |
| Chesterfield High School | 48.4 | 8.2% | 26.1% | 1,692 | 1.6 miles |
| Hillside High School | 39.8 | 10.6% | 54.7% | 785 | 1.8 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.
Inspection history
-
Graded inspection report3 February 2026
- 21 September 2022
School context
From the 2024/25 school census and absence figures.
- Free school meals (last 6 years)
- 54.32%
- English as an additional language
- 16.5%
- Overall absence
- 12.41%
- Persistent absence
- 35.54%
Location
Nearby schools
-
Litherland High School0.6 miles
Secondary · Liverpool
-
King's Leadership Academy Hawthornes0.9 miles
Secondary · Bootle
-
Archbishop Beck Catholic College1.4 miles
Secondary · Liverpool
-
Chesterfield High School1.6 miles
Secondary · Liverpool
-
Hillside High School1.8 miles
Secondary · Bootle
Other schools in Bootle
- Hillside High School Secondary
- King's Leadership Academy Hawthornes Secondary
- Greenacre Community Nursery School Nursery
- All Saints Catholic Primary School Primary
- Christ Church Church of England Controlled Primary School Primary
- Holy Spirit Catholic Academy Primary
- Linacre Primary School Primary
- Linacre Primary School Primary
- Netherton Moss Primary School Primary
- Our Lady of Walsingham Primary School Primary
- Springwell Park Community Primary School Primary
- St Benedict's Catholic Primary School Primary
Common questions
- What year groups does The Salesian Academy of St John Bosco teach?
- The Salesian Academy of St John Bosco teaches children aged 11 to 16. It is a secondary school in Bootle.
- Who is the headteacher of The Salesian Academy of St John Bosco?
- The headteacher of The Salesian Academy of St John Bosco is Mrs Sue Bourgade, as recorded in the Department for Education's register of schools.
- When was The Salesian Academy of St John Bosco last inspected?
- Ofsted has inspected The Salesian Academy of St John Bosco, 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 The Salesian Academy of St John Bosco?
- The Salesian Academy of St John Bosco has 575 pupils on roll, teaching children aged 11 to 16.
- Is The Salesian Academy of St John Bosco full?
- The Salesian Academy of St John Bosco has capacity for 600 pupils and 575 on roll (96%), so it is close to full. Places are allocated through the local authority's admissions process, so capacity alone does not tell you whether a place is available.
- Is The Salesian Academy of St John Bosco a faith school?
- Yes. The Salesian Academy of St John Bosco is designated Roman Catholic, in the Archdiocese of Liverpool.
- Is The Salesian Academy of St John Bosco a selective school?
- No. The Salesian Academy of St John Bosco is recorded as non-selective in the schools register.
- Who runs The Salesian Academy of St John Bosco?
- The Salesian Academy of St John Bosco is part of POPE FRANCIS CATHOLIC MULTI ACADEMY TRUST. Schools in a trust or federation share leadership and governance, but each keeps its own inspection record and results.
- How have The Salesian Academy of St John Bosco's results changed over recent years?
- Its Attainment 8 score was 31.1 in 2023/24 and 32.2 in 2024/25. The year-by-year figures, alongside local and national averages, are charted in the trends section on this page.
- How does The Salesian Academy of St John Bosco rank locally?
- The Salesian Academy of St John Bosco ranked 16th of 17 secondary schools in Sefton for Attainment 8. Its Attainment 8 score was higher than 23% of England secondary schools that published results in 2024/25. Its absence rate was lower than 3% of England schools in 2024/25. Results reflect each cohort as well as the school, so treat rankings as a starting point.
- What is The Salesian Academy of St John Bosco's absence rate?
- The Salesian Academy of St John Bosco's overall absence rate is 12.4% in the latest published census, above the England average of 6.2%.
- What are The Salesian Academy of St John Bosco's exam results?
- Where the Department for Education has published them, The Salesian Academy of St John Bosco'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.