Essa Academy
Academy sponsor led in Bolton, BL3 3HH, taking ages 11 to 16, 1,055 on roll.
Homes you looked at
Each measured from its postcode's centre against the 0.82 miles Bolton published for latest published year, as the checker measures.
Opened on this device and kept on it only: just their postcodes are sent, to this site, to measure them.
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Will an address get in?
In the latest published round, the furthest child offered a place lived 0.82 miles away.
Applying for September 2027? Secondary applications close 31 October 2026; offers on 1 March 2027.
How this compares: every Bolton school's distance, tightest first →
The circle is 0.82 miles, the distance the school admitted from in the latest published year.
Essa Academy: 0.82 miles Bishop Bridgeman CofE Primary School: 1.59 miles, published by Bolton
How to read this
Most English schools do not have a catchment area. When Essa Academy is oversubscribed, places go outward from the school until they run out, so the distance moves each year with how many families applied and where they lived.
Distances are measured from the postcode's centre, not a front door; a postcode covers a few houses. Siblings, looked-after children come before distance, so a school can fill before distance counts at all.
Real admission areas are not circular: the circle is the distance, not a boundary.
The address on the closing date is the one the council uses. How admissions work.
Source: Bolton, published admission distances
Where Essa Academy and Bishop Bridgeman CofE Primary School are both in reach
Both distances are drawn on the map above. Bishop Bridgeman CofE Primary School admitted from 1.59 miles in the latest published year, published by Bolton. Its own page has the rest of its figures.
No postcode district has its centre inside both distances. The two schools admit from 0.82 and 1.59 miles, and the ground those circles share holds no district centre, which is a fact about where the centres fall rather than about any one address. The map above shows both, and the postcode checker answers for both.
Sign up to save both schools and be told when either council republishes the distance these answers rest on.
Drop Bishop Bridgeman CofE Primary School and go back to one school.
If the answer is no, you can appeal. In Bolton, 63 of 290 secondary appeals succeeded in 2025 (21.7%; England 19.9%), counted for all the council's schools together. How every council compares.
Other schools nearby with a published distance
The closest schools to Essa Academy that also have a council-published admission distance, nearest first.
| School | Phase | Admitted from | Away |
|---|---|---|---|
| King's Leadership Academy Bolton Both in reach | Secondary | 3.8 mi | 0.3 mi |
| Lever Edge Primary Academy Both in reach | Primary | 0.77 mi | 0.4 mi |
| Bolton Muslim Girls School Both in reach | Secondary | 1.09 mi | 0.7 mi |
| Brandwood Primary School Both in reach | Primary | 0.59 mi | 0.7 mi |
| Heathfield Primary School Both in reach | Primary | 0.22 mi | 0.7 mi |
| Bishop Bridgeman CofE Primary School Both in reach | Primary | 1.59 mi | 0.8 mi |
The distance as a picture
What kind of school this is
| Admissions | Non-selective |
| Religious character | No religious character |
| How full | 1,055 pupils in 990 places (107% full, over capacity) |
| Trust | NORTHERN EDUCATION TRUST |
| Local authority | Bolton |
Department for Education register (GIAS).
How the school is doing
| Ofsted | Report card, January 2026: 6 areas strong or exceptional |
| Report card |
|
| Attainment 8 | 53.0 (2024/25) |
| Year | Progress 8 |
|---|---|
| 2024/25 | not published |
| 2023/24 | +0.73 |
| 2022/23 | +0.25 |
Ofsted, and the Department for Education's published performance data.
Who goes to Essa Academy
| Girls and boys | 44.5% girls, 55.5% boys |
| English as an additional language | 57.6% of pupils |
| Free school meals | 49.0% of pupils eligible |
DfE school census, most recent published year.
Where Essa Academy's Year 11 went next
| Stayed for the sixth form | 1.4% |
| Sixth-form college | 54.5% |
| Further education college | 34.6% |
| Apprenticeship | 0.5% |
| Employment | 0.9% |
| No sustained destination recorded | 4.3% |
DfE destination measures, 2022/23. Broad categories only: the DfE does not publish which named schools or colleges pupils moved to.
Getting to Essa Academy by bus
Best-served stop: Aldersyde Street, 0.1 mi away, with 1.1 buses an hour on weekday daytimes; first bus 07:23, last 21:37.
Every stop within 600 m
| Stop | From the school | Weekday daytime, an hour | Evening | Sunday | Routes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Holmeswood Road | 144 yd | 0.9 | 0.8 | 0.4 | 573 |
| Holmeswood Road | 159 yd | 1.0 | 0.5 | 0.6 | 574 |
| Aldersyde Street | 171 yd | 1.0 | 0.8 | 0.4 | 573, 937 |
These are scheduled departures, not buses observed running. Two stops on opposite sides of a road are two rows.
Source: operators' timetables on the Bus Open Data Service (Department for Transport), week of 8 Sep 2026
The fee-paying alternative
Weighing Essa Academy against the independent sector? Every fee-paying school around BL3: ages, selection, and how full each one is → What it costs to live at BL3 3HH, by the school: council tax, energy, prices, rent, stamp duty →
Checking the house as well as the school
The full report checks one address against every nearby school, with sold prices, flood risk and crime.
Common questions
What is the catchment area for Essa Academy?
Essa Academy does not have one in the sense most people mean. Like most English schools, an oversubscribed year offers places outward from the school until they run out. The nearest thing to an answer: the furthest child admitted in the latest published year lived 0.82 miles away, per Bolton.
How close do I need to live to get a place at Essa Academy?
Nobody can say in advance, and anyone who does is guessing. 0.82 miles was enough in the latest published year, and at 107% full the school has little slack. The distance moves every year with the number of applications, so treat last year's figure as evidence, not a promise.
Does buying a house near Essa Academy guarantee a place?
No. Admission criteria usually put looked-after children, siblings ahead of distance, so places can be filled before distance is reached. Councils also check that the address is genuinely where the child lives.
Every Bolton school's distance
All Bolton schools with a published admission distance, tightest first →
How school admissions actually work, and what the distance means →
Put Essa Academy's figure on your own site
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Admission distance published by Bolton. School details from the Department for Education's register, ratings from Ofsted. Read how every figure on this site is sourced on the methodology page. If something here looks wrong, tell us and it goes on the accuracy log.