School Chooser

Youth Challenge Pru

Pupil referral unit / alternative provision · ages 11-16MixedAcademy alternative provision converter72 pupilsBolton
School Chooser ScoreNot scoredWe don't score this type of school.
OfstedOutstandingConfirmed by Ofsted, July 2024
Pupils from low-income families68%Far more than most schools
Places32 spare72 pupils, 104 places
Pupils per teacher7.7School workforce census
Pupils on roll72Census January 2026

Youth Challenge Pru is an academy alternative provision converter in Bolton for boys and girls aged 11 to 16. It has 72 pupils and room for 104. About 68 in every 100 pupils come from a low-income family, far more than at most schools in England. Ofsted's last grade was outstanding, back in 2024.

Smithills Dean Road, Bolton, BL1 6JT01204 333872boltonimpacttrust.org.ukMiss Victoria Sutton head teacherAll details

What Ofsted found

A shorter visit on 11 July 2024 found nothing to change the school's grade. Read the report on Ofsted's website.

Outstanding 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.

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 roll72Census January 2026
Places10469% full
Pupils from low-income families68%68% have had free school meals at some point in the last six years
Pupils learning English13%First language is not English
Pupils getting extra support58%42 pupils with SEN support
Pupils with an EHC plan17%12 pupils with a plan
Pupils with extra funding (pupil premium)76%£59,400 extra funding in 2026/27; England 24%
Boys and girls59 / 13
White British pupils76%

The most common needs among pupils getting extra support: emotional and mental health (46), Moderate learning difficulty (5), Specific learning difficulty (3).

How the mix of pupils has changed
Census202620252024202320222021
Pupils on roll727871676157
Pupils from low-income familiesFree school meals68%68%72%64%56%61%
Pupils learning EnglishEnglish as an additional language13%12%10%8%5%7%
Pupils getting extra supportSEN support92%55%52%44%42%
Pupils with an EHC planEducation, health and care plans8%10%15%8%7%

What pupils do next

After GCSEs

Where the 33 pupils who left in 2022/23 were a year later.

Still in education, work or training36%and stayed there for at least six months

Among pupils from low-income families it was 25%, compared with 67% for everyone else.

Earlier years
Destination2022/23 leavers2021/22 leavers2020/21 leavers
Still in education, work or training36%40%20%
Education18%36%13%
Apprenticeship6%0%3%
Work12%4%3%
Not in education, work or training18%32%43%

Staff and money

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

Teachers11.8full-time equivalent, 14 people
Pupils per teacher7.7Pupils for every full-time teacher
Fully qualified teachers86%hold qualified teacher status
Teaching assistants18.4full-time equivalent
Average teacher pay£48,273
Teachers who left in the year17%2024/25, for any reason including retirement
Vacancies0
Sick days per teacher11.32024/25

Money

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

Spend per pupil£28,391England £7,128. Total £2.5m
Income per pupil£33,506England £7,587. Total £2.9m
Spent on teachers per pupil£10,126England £3,405
Money in reserve6%Not much put by: £163k, £1,879 per pupil. England 9%
Money in against money out+£445kit took in more than it spent this year
Where the money goes£28,391spent 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 m112 months to June 2026, mostly other crime
Local crime rate0 per 1,000 people100% lower than the England average
Typical house price£205,000Bolton
Nearest bus stop70 mSmithills School, 16 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
Smithills SchoolAcademy120 m1,203Report card 202611Compare
St Peter's Smithills Dean Church of England Primary SchoolAcademy410 m215Good 202270Compare
Thornleigh Salesian CollegeRoman Catholic780 m1,574No overall grade 202425Compare
Church Road Primary SchoolCouncil0.6 miles445Good 202041Compare
St Joseph's RC Primary School, Halliwell, BoltonRoman Catholic0.7 miles220Good 201942Compare
St Thomas C of E Primary School, HalliwellChurch of England0.7 miles366Report card 202637Compare
Al-Huda Primary SchoolIndependent0.8 miles181Not inspectedCompare
Oxford Grove Primary SchoolCouncil0.8 miles449Outstanding 202399Compare

Questions parents ask

Is Youth Challenge Pru a good school?

Youth Challenge Pru doesn't have a score yet. Ofsted rated it outstanding at its last inspection in July 2024.

What is Youth Challenge Pru's Ofsted rating?

Ofsted rated Youth Challenge Pru outstanding at its last full inspection on 11 July 2024.

How many pupils does Youth Challenge Pru have?

72 pupils aged 11 to 16 were on the roll in January 2026. It has 104 places, so it is 69% full.

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

Contact and details

Address
Smithills Dean Road, Bolton, BL1 6JT
Telephone
01204 333872
Website
www.boltonimpacttrust.org.uk
Head Teacher
Miss Victoria Sutton
Type of school
Academy alternative provision converter (Academy alternative provision converter, academies)
Phase
Pupil referral unit / alternative provision, ages 11-16
Gender
Mixed
Multi-academy trust
The Bolton Impact Trust (6 schools)
Local authority
Bolton
Ward
Smithills
Constituency
Bolton West
Setting
Urban: Nearer to a major town or city
Opened
1 April 2016 (academy converter)
URN
142758 · LAESTAB 3501103 · UKPRN 10056093
Formerly
Youth Challenge Pru

Where these figures come from