Birtenshaw School Bolton
Birtenshaw School Bolton is a non-maintained special school in Bolton for boys and girls aged 3 to 19. It has 137 pupils and room for 140. About 9 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far fewer than at most schools in England. Ofsted's last grade was good, back in 2022.
Darwen Road, Bromley Cross, Bolton, BL7 9AB01204 304230birtenshaw.org.ukCaroline Turner headteacherAll details
What Ofsted found
A shorter visit on 18 November 2022 found nothing to change the school's grade. Read the report on Ofsted's website.
Good overall. A shorter follow-up visit found nothing to change that. The last full inspection was before September 2019, which is as far back as Ofsted's public records go, so we can't show its date or the grades for each area.
Results
GCSE results, summer 2025
9 pupils sat their GCSEs. Here is how they did against every state secondary in England.
The government hasn't published this school's headline results. Fewer than eleven pupils sat the exams, so the figures could identify individual children.
Getting a place
Admissions policy not published.
Each council publishes its own figures on how many families applied and how far away the last child to get a place lived. We are adding councils one at a time. If you have a link to Bolton council's admissions booklet, send it to us.
Who goes here
Who the school teaches, from the latest school census.
Specialist SEND provision. A special school for pupils with autism, severe learning difficulties.
To get a place in the unit or resourced provision, a child normally needs an education, health and care plan (EHCP) that names the school. Other schools in Bolton with autism provision.
The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: Autistic spectrum disorder (108), Severe learning difficulty (7), Moderate learning difficulty (6), emotional and mental health (5), Specific learning difficulty (5), language and communications needs (2).
How the mix of pupils has changed
| Census | 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils on roll | 137 | 129 | 103 | 87 | 55 | 58 |
| Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals | 8% | 6% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language | 15% | 13% | 16% | 17% | 18% | 17% |
| Pupils getting extra supportSEN support | – | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans | – | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
Attendance and behaviour
In 2024/25 pupils were in school 88.4% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 94.8%.
Attendance year by year
| Measure | 2024/25 | 2023/24 | 2022/23 | 2021/22 | 2020/21 | 2018/19 | England |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sessions missedOverall absence | 11.6% | 13.2% | 8.6% | 3.7% | 10.4% | 3.7% | 5.2% |
| Missed with permissionAuthorised absence | 8.9% | 5.1% | 3.7% | 2.5% | 8.0% | 2.8% | – |
| Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence | 2.8% | 8.1% | 4.9% | 1.3% | 2.5% | 0.9% | – |
| Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence | 27.4% | 37.2% | 26.3% | 7.1% | 42.2% | 7.1% | 12.8% |
| SuspensionsSuspension rate | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | 0.0 | – | – |
| Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | – | – |
What pupils do next
After GCSEs
Where the 13 pupils who left in 2021/22 were a year later.
Among pupils from low-income families it was 100%, compared with – for everyone else.
Earlier years
| Destination | 2021/22 leavers | 2020/21 leavers | 2018/19 leavers | 2016/17 leavers |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Still in education, work or training | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
| Education | 100% | 100% | 100% | 100% |
| Apprenticeship | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Work | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
| Not in education, work or training | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% |
The area around the school
Crime figures come from police.uk. The police record each crime at the nearest of a fixed set of map points rather than the exact spot, so “within 500 m” is only rough. House prices are from HM Land Registry sales nearby over the last two years.
Nearby schools
The closest schools, nearest first. Hover over a row to see it on the map.
| School | Type | Distance | Pupils | Ofsted | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Turton School | Council | 450 m | 1,596 | Good 2024 | 35 | Compare |
| Sharples Primary School | Council | 680 m | 245 | Not inspected | 67 | Compare |
| Sharples School | Academy | 760 m | 1,214 | Not inspected | 92 | Compare |
| Eagley Junior School | Academy | 780 m | 224 | No overall grade 2025 | 64 | Compare |
| The Oaks Primary School | Council | 800 m | 218 | Good 2023 | 85 | Compare |
| Eagley Infant School | Academy | 980 m | 203 | Good 2023 | 65 | Compare |
| Canon Slade School | Academy | 0.6 miles | 1,724 | No overall grade 2024 | 76 | Compare |
| St John the Evangelist RC Primary School, Bromley Cross, Bolton | Roman Catholic | 0.7 miles | 162 | Good 2024 | 49 | Compare |
Questions parents ask
Is Birtenshaw School Bolton a good school?
Birtenshaw School Bolton doesn't have a score yet. Ofsted rated it good at its last inspection in November 2022.
What is Birtenshaw School Bolton's Ofsted rating?
Ofsted rated Birtenshaw School Bolton good at its last full inspection on 18 November 2022.
How many pupils does Birtenshaw School Bolton have?
137 pupils aged 3 to 19 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 140 places, so it is 98% full.
What is attendance like at Birtenshaw School Bolton?
Pupils were in school 88.4% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 27% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.
Does Birtenshaw School Bolton have specialist SEND provision?
Yes. It is a special school for autism, severe learning difficulties. To get a place there, a child normally needs an education, health and care plan (EHCP) that names the school.
Does Birtenshaw School Bolton have a sixth form?
Yes.
These answers come straight from the figures on this page and update when new data comes out.
Contact and details
- Address
- Darwen Road, Bromley Cross, Bolton, BL7 9AB
- Telephone
- 01204 304230
- Website
- www.birtenshaw.org.uk
- Headteacher
- Caroline Turner
- Type of school
- Non-maintained special school (Non-maintained special school, special schools)
- Phase
- Special school, ages 3-19, with nursery, with sixth form
- Gender
- Mixed
- Local authority
- Bolton
- Ward
- Bromley Cross
- Constituency
- Bolton North East
- Setting
- Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
- URN
- 105280 · LAESTAB 3507007 · UKPRN 10015031
Recent changes
- New KS4 results for 2024/25
Where these figures come from
- School details: Department for Education, Get Information About Schools, refreshed daily (this page rebuilt 13 September 2026).
- Inspections: Ofsted management information, monthly; latest publication in our data 27 August 2026.
- GCSE results: DfE key stage 4 performance tables, 2024/25 final.
- Attendance: DfE pupil absence in schools in England, 2024/25 full year.
- Pupil characteristics: DfE school census, January 2026.
- Pupil premium: DfE allocations and conditions of grant, 2026 to 2027.
- Neighbourhood: police.uk street-level crime, HM Land Registry price paid data, NaPTAN bus stops, English Indices of Deprivation 2025.
- All under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Full list and update calendar.