School Chooser

Lever Park School

Special · ages 11-16MixedAcademy99 pupilsBolton
School Chooser ScoreNot scoredWe don't score this type of school.
OfstedGoodConfirmed by Ofsted, May 2024
Strong pass in English and maths0%England 46%
Attendance65.7%England 94.8%
Pupils from low-income families66%Far more than most schools
PlacesFull99 pupils, 87 places
Pupils per teacher6.1School workforce census

Lever Park School is a sponsored special academy in Bolton for boys and girls aged 11 to 16. It has 99 pupils, 12 more than it has places for. About 66 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far more than at most schools in England. Ofsted's last grade was good, back in 2024.

Stocks Park Drive, Horwich, Bolton, BL6 6DE01204 332666boltonimpacttrust.org.ukMr Matthew Taylor headteacherAll details

What Ofsted found

A shorter visit on 15 May 2024 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

20 pupils sat their GCSEs. Here is how they did against every state secondary in England.

Average GCSE score6.1
England 46.8
Official name: Attainment 8
Strong pass in English and maths0%
England 46%
Official name: Grade 5+ in English and maths
Standard pass in English and maths5%
England 66%
Official name: Grade 4+ in English and maths
Progress from age 11-2.41In each subject, pupils here finished well over a grade behind children across England who started secondary school at the same level. (From 2023/24, the latest year there is. The government didn't work it out for the 2025 year group.)Official name: Progress 8
Trend
Average GCSE score
2018 to 2025
2018: 3.83.820182019: 4.04.020192022: 4.94.920222023: 3.33.320232024: 5.15.120242025: 6.16.12025
Since 2018: +2.3
All GCSE measures, year by year
Measure202520242023202220192018BoltonEngland
Pupils at the end of Year 11202415211218
Average GCSE scoreAttainment 86.15.13.34.94.03.846.746.8
Progress from age 11Progress 8-2.41-2.83-2.65-2.38-2.46
Strong pass in English and mathsGrade 5+ in English and maths0%0%0%0%0%0%45%46%
Standard pass in English and mathsGrade 4+ in English and maths5%4%7%0%0%0%66%66%
Core subjects scoreEBacc average point score0.160.170.160.130.080.154.074.15
Taking the core subjectsEBacc entry0%0%0%0%0%0%36%41%
Average GCSE score: low-income pupilsAttainment 8, disadvantaged6.54.0
Average GCSE score: other pupilsAttainment 8, non-disadvantaged5.3
Average GCSE score: pupils who started behindAttainment 8, low prior attainers5.42.24.23.93.6

Subjects

Results came out for 4 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 (7% here, 53% across England).

What is taught here

The small number is how many pupils sat each subject. Subjects with fewer than six pupils aren't published.

Every subject against England, 2025
Mathematics15 entries
7%England 53%
8%England 54%
Biology10 entries
10%England 82%
SubjectEntriesGrades 9 to 7Grades 9 to 5Grades 9 to 4England 9 to 5Rank in England
Mathematics150%7%13%53%
English Language120%8%17%54%
Biology100%10%10%82%
Statistics60%17%17%51%

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.

Does every child do well here?

A good school does well by every child, not just on average. Each row compares two groups of pupils here. The grey marks show the same two groups across England. Every gap at this school is smaller than the gap across England. When a group has fewer than about ten pupils, its figures jump around a lot from year to year.

At GCSE, 2025

Average GCSE scoreLow-income pupils vs other pupils
6.55.3
Gap 1.2England 12.2
Strong pass in English and mathsLow-income pupils vs other pupils
0%0%
No gapEngland 22 pts
First groupSecond groupEngland, each group

Low-income means the child has had free school meals at some point in the last six years. A group's figure isn't published when it has fewer than six pupils.

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.

Pupils on roll99Census January 2026
Places87114% full
Pupils from low-income families66%66% have had free school meals at some point in the last six years
Pupils learning English1%First language is not English
Pupils getting extra support0%0 pupils with SEN support
Pupils with an EHC plan100%99 pupils with a plan
Pupils with extra funding (pupil premium)65%£70,400 extra funding in 2026/27; England 24%
Boys and girls87 / 12
White British pupils95%

Specialist SEND provision. A special school for pupils with social, emotional and mental health.

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 social, emotional and mental health provision.

The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: emotional and mental health (74), Moderate learning difficulty (9), language and communications needs (8), Autistic spectrum disorder (3), Specific learning difficulty (3), Multi-sensory impairment (1).

How the mix of pupils has changed
Census202620252024202320222021
Pupils on roll9910197888579
Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals66%62%55%59%48%56%
Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language1%4%1%1%1%0%
Pupils getting extra supportSEN support0%0%0%1%0%
Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans100%100%100%99%100%

Attendance and behaviour

In 2024/25 pupils were in school 65.7% of the time. Across similar schools in England it was 94.8%.

Attendance65.7%
England 94.8%
Official name: 100 minus overall absence
Pupils missing a lot of school69.5%
England 12.8%
Official name: Persistent absence
Suspensions per 100 pupils168.32024/25, no permanent exclusions
Missed without permission9.7%of school time, 2024/25
Attendance year by year
Measure2024/252023/242022/232021/222020/212018/19England
Sessions missedOverall absence34.3%35.5%35.3%41.2%30.8%25.9%5.2%
Missed with permissionAuthorised absence24.6%27.8%25.3%30.6%19.7%15.6%
Missed without permissionUnauthorised absence9.7%7.7%10.0%10.6%11.1%10.2%
Pupils missing a lot of schoolPersistent absence69.5%75.9%73.6%84.8%73.8%65.4%12.8%
SuspensionsSuspension rate168.381.436.4131.8113.9
Permanent exclusionsPermanent exclusions00000

What pupils do next

After GCSEs

Where the 15 pupils who left in 2022/23 were a year later.

Still in education, work or training27%and stayed there for at least six months
Earlier years
Destination2022/23 leavers2021/22 leavers2020/21 leavers2019/20 leavers
Still in education, work or training27%43%36%47%
Education27%38%32%47%
Apprenticeship0%5%0%0%
Work0%0%5%0%
Not in education, work or training27%29%41%53%

Staff and money

From the government's count of school staff in November 2025 and the school's published accounts.

Teachers16.2full-time equivalent, 17 people
Pupils per teacher6.1Pupils for every full-time teacher
Fully qualified teachers100%hold qualified teacher status
Teaching assistants28.4full-time equivalent
Average teacher pay£47,679
Teachers who left in the year12%2024/25, for any reason including retirement
Vacancies0
Sick days per teacher15.62024/25

Money

From the academy accounts return, year to August 2025. The per-pupil figures are compared with other special schools in England that report their accounts the same way.

Spend per pupil£27,594England £30,720. Total £2.8m
Income per pupil£32,178England £33,526. Total £3.3m
Spent on teachers per pupil£11,059England £11,966
Money in reserve7%Not much put by: £232k, £2,298 per pupil. England 16%
Money in against money out+£463kit took in more than it spent this year
Where the money goes£27,594spent per pupil

Reserves are the money left over at the end of the year, kept back for emergencies and big projects. Being in the red year after year is a warning sign. Very large reserves can mean money sitting in the bank instead of being spent on today's pupils. Academy figures are rounded to the nearest £1,000 and include a share of any money the trust holds centrally.

The area around the school

Crimes within 500 m212 months to June 2026, mostly violence and sexual offences
Local crime rate0 per 1,000 people100% lower than the England average
Typical house price£205,000Bolton
Nearest bus stop180 mBarlow Street, 18 stops within 500 m

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.

Well aboveAboveIn lineBelowWell belowNot scored
SchoolTypeDistancePupilsOfstedScore
Horwich Parish CofE Primary SchoolChurch of England410 m300Report card 202653Compare
St Mary's RC Primary SchoolRoman Catholic580 m214Good 202053Compare
Chorley New Road Primary AcademyAcademy650 m316Good 202342Compare
Beacon Primary SchoolAcademy990 m209Good 202311Compare
St Catherine's CofE Primary SchoolAcademy0.7 miles237Good 202241Compare
St Joseph's RC High SchoolRoman Catholic0.8 miles1,047No overall grade 202548Compare
Claypool Primary SchoolCouncil0.9 miles218Report card 202615Compare
Rivington and Blackrod High SchoolAcademy1.1 miles1,626Good 202367Compare

Questions parents ask

Is Lever Park School a good school?

Lever Park School doesn't have a score yet. Ofsted rated it good at its last inspection in May 2024.

What is Lever Park School's Ofsted rating?

Ofsted rated Lever Park School good at its last full inspection on 15 May 2024.

How good are Lever Park 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 6.1, against 46.8 for England. In each subject, pupils here finished well over a grade behind children across England who started secondary school at the same level.

How many pupils does Lever Park School have?

99 pupils aged 11 to 16 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 87 places, so it is 114% full.

What is attendance like at Lever Park School?

Pupils were in school 65.7% of the time in 2024/25. Similar schools in England managed 94.8%. 70% of pupils missed at least a tenth of the year.

Does Lever Park School have specialist SEND provision?

Yes. It is a special school for social, emotional and mental health. To get a place there, a child normally needs an education, health and care plan (EHCP) that names the school.

These answers come straight from the figures on this page and update when new data comes out.

Contact and details

Address
Stocks Park Drive, Horwich, Bolton, BL6 6DE
Telephone
01204 332666
Website
www.boltonimpacttrust.org.uk
Headteacher
Mr Matthew Taylor
Type of school
Sponsored special academy (Academy special sponsor led, academies)
Phase
Special school, ages 11-16
Gender
Mixed
Multi-academy trust
The Bolton Impact Trust (6 schools)
Local authority
Bolton
Ward
Horwich North
Constituency
Bolton West
Setting
Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
Opened
1 May 2016 (new provision)
URN
142766 · LAESTAB 3507006 · UKPRN 10056214
Formerly
Lever Park School

Recent changes

  • New KS4 results for 2024/25

Where these figures come from