GCSE results 2026

Bolton GCSE results 2026

Provisional 2025/26 results for 20 state secondary schools in Bolton, 4,036 pupils. Bolton ranks 87 of 151 councils for Attainment 8, which fell by 0.3 points on 2025.

Grade 5+ English & maths

47.9%

0.1 pts above England

Grade 7+ English & maths

12.6%

2.1 pts below England

Attainment 8

46.4

1.2 points below England

Council rank

87 / 151

By average Attainment 8

Bolton at a glance

Highest Attainment 8: Eden Boys' School, Bolton (57.0).
Schools range from 36.9 to 57.0 on Attainment 8, a spread of 20.1 points, so the school you choose matters more than the council average.
Disadvantaged pupils averaged 39.8, 9.9 points behind their classmates (a smaller gap than England’s 13.8). They did best at Bolton Muslim Girls School (55.4).
Most improved on 2025: Smithills School, up 4.9 points to 41.4.

Every Bolton secondary school, ranked

Ranked by Attainment 8 · 2025/26 provisional · E&M: English and maths

#	School	Pupils	Attainment 8	vs 2025	Grade 4+ E&M	Grade 5+ E&M	Grade 7+ E&M	Disadvantaged A8
1	Eden Boys' School, BoltonBoys · Muslim	123	57.0	+4.0	87.0%	74.8%	29.3%	49.5
2	Bolton Muslim Girls SchoolGirls · Muslim	149	56.5	+1.8	79.9%	59.7%	18.1%	55.4
3	Sharples SchoolTop 10% three years running	231	56.5	+0.9	86.1%	73.2%	23.8%	51.0
4	Canon Slade SchoolChurch of England	289	54.0	+0.1	82.0%	63.3%	18.7%	45.8
5	Kearsley Academy	135	51.1	−0.7	77.8%	65.9%	17.8%	47.7
6	King's Leadership Academy Bolton	179	49.0	+3.6	68.7%	50.8%	19.0%	39.3
7	Essa Academy	204	48.9	−4.1	70.6%	54.4%	19.1%	44.4
8	St James's Church of England High SchoolChurch of England	207	48.1	−5.4	71.5%	53.6%	11.1%	41.9
9	Ladybridge High School	202	45.8	+4.1	55.9%	38.6%	9.4%	38.1
10	Little Lever School	208	45.8	−0.4	69.7%	56.7%	11.5%	34.6
11	Rivington and Blackrod High SchoolChurch of England	240	45.4	−3.8	64.6%	45.4%	10.8%	39.8
12	Turton School	261	44.0	+0.3	55.9%	39.1%	8.0%	30.8
13	Thornleigh Salesian CollegeRoman Catholic	262	43.0	−2.7	56.5%	37.0%	6.5%	36.2
14	Harper Green School	215	42.6	−0.2	56.7%	39.5%	11.2%	36.9
15	St Joseph's RC High SchoolRoman Catholic	205	42.4	−2.4	60.5%	40.0%	8.3%	33.1
16	Mount St Joseph RC High School a Voluntary AcademyRoman Catholic	178	41.5	—	53.9%	38.8%	9.0%	35.7
17	Smithills School	226	41.4	+4.9	56.2%	34.5%	4.9%	37.9
18	University Collegiate School	120	41.4	+4.7	52.5%	37.5%	11.7%	37.8
19	Westhoughton High School	267	40.2	−4.2	56.6%	36.7%	8.2%	31.4
20	Bolton St Catherine's AcademyChurch of England	135	36.9	+2.6	45.9%	28.1%	3.7%	31.9
	England average		47.6		66.8%	47.8%	14.7%	37.7

Disadvantaged A8: Attainment 8 of pupils eligible for free school meals in the last six years or looked after; blank where the school has too few to publish. Small year groups move more from year to year.

Bolton against the rest of the North West

Grade 5+ in English and maths, 2026

Reading these figures

Attainment 8 is out of 90: a pupil’s grades in eight GCSE slots added up, with English and maths counted twice.
There is no Progress 8 this year (these pupils sat no KS2 SATs), so results partly reflect each school’s intake.
These are provisional figures; revised ones with re-marks follow in early 2027.
Source: Department for Education, Key stage 4 performance (school-level data). Council figures are our pupil-weighted calculation over state-funded mainstream schools; independent schools are not included.