Cumberland School
Cumberland School is an independent special school in Bolton for boys and girls aged 7 to 18. It has 85 pupils and room for 96.
Rivington Lane, Rivington, Bolton, BL6 7RX01204 324446witherslackgroup.co.uk/our-locations/our-schools/cumberland-schoolMr Christopher Newiss head teacherAll details
Ofsted
Ofsted hasn't published an inspection for this school yet.
Results
GCSE results, summer 2025
20 pupils sat their GCSEs. Here is how they did against every state secondary in England.
All GCSE measures, year by year
| Measure | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2019 | 2018 | Lancashire | England |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils at the end of Year 11 | 20 | 37 | 20 | 19 | 16 | 17 | – | – |
| Average GCSE scoreAttainment 8 | 7.3 | 2.4 | 5.2 | 9.5 | 5.9 | 8.2 | 46.0 | 46.8 |
| Strong pass in English and mathsGrade 5+ in English and maths | 0% | 0% | 0% | 5% | 0% | 0% | 44% | 46% |
| Standard pass in English and mathsGrade 4+ in English and maths | 5% | 0% | 0% | 11% | 0% | 0% | 65% | 66% |
| Core subjects scoreEBacc average point score | 0.42 | 0.09 | 0.26 | 0.40 | 0.28 | 0.46 | 4.04 | 4.15 |
| Taking the core subjectsEBacc entry | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 0% | 35% | 41% |
Subjects
Results came out for 3 GCSE subjects in 2025. Each figure is the share of pupils who got a grade 5 or better, next to the average for state secondaries in England.
Subjects that did worse than the England average: Mathematics (0% here, 53% across England), English Language (7% here, 54% across England).
The small number is how many pupils sat each subject. Subjects with fewer than six pupils aren't published.
Every subject against England, 2025
| Subject | Entries | Grades 9 to 7 | Grades 9 to 5 | Grades 9 to 4 | England 9 to 5 | Rank in England |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mathematics | 15 | 0% | 0% | 13% | 53% | – |
| English Language | 15 | 0% | 7% | 7% | 54% | – |
| Biology | 13 | 0% | 0% | 0% | 82% | – |
In combined science each pupil gets two grades and we count the lower one. Rankings only include state secondaries where 20 or more pupils sat the subject.
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 Lancashire council's admissions booklet, send it to us.
Who goes here
Who the school teaches, from the latest school census.
How the mix of pupils has changed
| Census | 2026 | 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pupils on roll | 85 | 85 | 89 | 68 | 61 | 53 |
| Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals | – | – | – | – | 0% | 0% |
| Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language | – | – | – | – | 0% | 0% |
| Pupils getting extra supportSEN support | – | 2% | 0% | 0% | 2% | 4% |
| Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans | – | 98% | 100% | 100% | 98% | 96% |
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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rivington and Blackrod High School | Academy | 210 m | 1,626 | Good 2023 | 67 | Compare |
| Beacon Primary School | Academy | 0.7 miles | 209 | Good 2023 | 11 | Compare |
| Horwich Parish CofE Primary School | Church of England | 1.0 miles | 300 | Report card 2026 | 53 | Compare |
| Rivington Foundation Primary School | Foundation | 1.1 miles | 109 | Good 2020 | 63 | Compare |
| St Catherine's CofE Primary School | Academy | 1.2 miles | 237 | Good 2022 | 41 | Compare |
| Lever Park School | Academy | 1.2 miles | 99 | Good 2024 | – | Compare |
| St Mary's RC Primary School | Roman Catholic | 1.6 miles | 214 | Good 2020 | 53 | Compare |
| Chorley New Road Primary Academy | Academy | 1.6 miles | 316 | Good 2023 | 42 | Compare |
Questions parents ask
Is Cumberland School a good school?
We don't have enough published data to score Cumberland School yet.
How good are Cumberland School's GCSE results?
In summer 2025, 0% of pupils got a grade 5 or better in both English and maths. Across England it was 46%. Its Attainment 8 score, which is the average grade across a pupil's best eight subjects times ten, was 7.3, against 46.8 for England.
How many pupils does Cumberland School have?
85 pupils aged 7 to 18 were on the roll in January 2024. It has 96 places, so it is 89% full.
These answers come straight from the figures on this page and update when new data comes out.
Contact and details
- Address
- Rivington Lane, Rivington, Bolton, BL6 7RX
- Telephone
- 01204 324446
- Website
- www.witherslackgroup.co.uk/our-locations/our-schools/cumberland-school
- Head Teacher
- Mr Christopher Newiss
- Type of school
- Independent special school (Other independent special school, special schools)
- Phase
- Special school, ages 7-18
- Gender
- Mixed
- Religious character
- None
- Local authority
- Lancashire
- Ward
- Adlington & Anderton
- Constituency
- Chorley
- Setting
- Smaller rural: Nearer to a major town or city
- Opened
- 7 April 2008 (new provision)
- URN
- 135541 · LAESTAB 8886104 · UKPRN 10025593
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.
- Pupil characteristics: DfE school census, January 2026.
- 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.