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Rivington and Blackrod High School

Academy converter in Bolton, BL6 7RU, taking ages 11 to 18, 1,626 on roll.

Good Ofsted, Jul 2023
6.93 mi Admitted from, latest published year
86% Full
49.2 Attainment 8, 2024/25

Will an address get in?

In the latest published round, the furthest child offered a place lived 6.93 miles away.

Applying for September 2027? Secondary applications close 31 October 2026; offers on 1 March 2027.

The circle is 6.93 miles, the distance the school admitted from in the latest published year.

Rivington and Blackrod High School: 6.93 miles Chorley New Road Primary Academy: 0.98 miles, published by Bolton

This is not a catchment area. 6.93 miles was last year's outcome, not a boundary and not a promise.
How to read this

Most English schools do not have a catchment area. When Rivington and Blackrod High School 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 and faith criteria 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 labels on the map are postcode districts whose centre falls inside both circles; each opens the district's guide.

The address on the closing date is the one the council uses. How admissions work.

Source: Bolton, published admission distances

Where Rivington and Blackrod High School and Chorley New Road Primary Academy are both in reach

Both distances are drawn on the map above. Chorley New Road Primary Academy admitted from 0.98 miles in the latest published year, published by Bolton. Its own page has the rest of its figures.

The postcode districts whose centre falls inside both published distances, cheapest first by the median of real sales around each district's centre. The cheapest is BL6 at £144,000. A district is wide, so check the address itself, not the list.

DistrictAreaFrom Rivington and Blackrod High SchoolFrom Chorley New Road Primary AcademyMedian sold price
BL6 Bolton 1.3 mi 0.2 mi £144,000 96 sales

Sold prices from HM Land Registry, via each district's area guide. Distances measured from each district's centre to each school's point on the Department for Education register.

Sign up to save both schools and be told when either council republishes the distance these answers rest on.

Drop Chorley New Road Primary Academy 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 Rivington and Blackrod High School that also have a council-published admission distance, nearest first.

SchoolPhaseAdmitted fromAway
Chorley New Road Primary Academy Both in reach Primary 0.98 mi 1.5 mi
St Joseph's RC High School Both in reach Secondary 2.7 mi 1.9 mi
Blackrod Anglican/Methodist Primary School Both in reach Primary 1.47 mi 2.0 mi
Blackrod Primary School Both in reach Primary 1.32 mi 2.0 mi
Claypool Primary School Both in reach Primary 1.11 mi 2.0 mi
Our Lady's RC Primary School Wigan Both in reach Primary 0.18 mi 2025/26 3.2 mi

The distance as a picture

Rivington and Blackrod High School catchment area map: the 6.93 mile admission distance and the postcode districts inside it
Drawn to scale from the published figure, with the districts whose centre falls inside. Save the picture, or share this page and this is the card that appears.

What kind of school this is

AdmissionsNon-selective
Religious characterChurch of England
Sixth formHas a sixth form
How full 1,626 pupils in 1,888 places (86% full)
TrustLEVERHULME ACADEMY CHURCH OF ENGLAND AND COMMUNITY TRUST
Local authorityBolton

Department for Education register (GIAS).

How the school is doing

Ofsted Good, inspected 26 July 2023
Attainment 8 49.2 (2024/25)
YearProgress 8
2024/25 not published
2023/24 +0.10
2022/23 -0.16

Ofsted, and the Department for Education's published performance data.

Who goes to Rivington and Blackrod High School

Girls and boys51.2% girls, 48.8% boys
English as an additional language7.4% of pupils
Free school meals24.5% of pupils eligible

DfE school census, most recent published year.

Where Rivington and Blackrod High School's Year 11 went next

Stayed for the sixth form26.3%
Sixth-form college10.7%
Further education college43.5%
Apprenticeship1.9%
Employment5.3%
No sustained destination recorded7.3%

DfE destination measures, 2022/23. Broad categories only: the DfE does not publish which named schools or colleges pupils moved to.

What it costs to live within reach of Rivington and Blackrod High School

Cheapest district inside the 6.93 miles: BL1, median £125,000. Dearest: BL7, £385,000.

DistrictAreaFrom the schoolMedian sold price
BL1 Bolton 4.5 mi £125,000 87 sales
WN2 Wigan 5.3 mi £140,000 91 sales
BL3 Bolton 5.8 mi £140,000 42 sales
BL6 Bolton 1.3 mi £144,000 96 sales
M46 Wigan 6.3 mi £145,000 87 sales
PR6 Chorley 4.7 mi £186,000 75 sales
WN1 Wigan 5.1 mi £188,000 118 sales
BL11 Bolton 5.7 mi £205,000 10 sales
BL5 Bolton 4.5 mi £225,000 91 sales
PR7 Chorley 5.1 mi £228,000 130 sales
WN6 Wigan 5.6 mi £238,000 59 sales
BL7 Blackburn with Darwen 5.4 mi £385,000 47 sales
How to read this

The postcode districts whose centre falls inside the 6.93 miles the school admitted from in the latest published year, cheapest first, by the median of real sales around each district's centre. A district is wide, so check the address itself, not the list. Districts without enough recorded sales to rank are not shown.

How this compares across England: what a tight gate costs, school by school.

Source: HM Land Registry sold prices, via each district's area guide

Getting to Rivington and Blackrod High School by bus

Best-served stop: Green Lane, 0.3 mi away, with 2.9 buses an hour on weekday daytimes; first bus 06:07, last 00:34 after midnight.

Every stop within 600 m
StopFrom the schoolWeekday daytime, an hourEveningSundayRoutes
Rivington & Blackrod High School0.1 mi0.40.00.0913, 915, 914
Green Lane0.3 mi2.92.20.4576, 516
Shaw Road0.3 mi2.92.20.4576, 516

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 Rivington and Blackrod High School against the independent sector? Every fee-paying school around BL6: ages, selection, and how full each one is → What it costs to live at BL6 7RU, 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 Rivington and Blackrod High School?

Rivington and Blackrod High School 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 6.93 miles away, per Bolton.

How close do I need to live to get a place at Rivington and Blackrod High School?

Nobody can say in advance, and anyone who does is guessing. 6.93 miles was enough in the latest published year. 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 Rivington and Blackrod High School guarantee a place?

No. Admission criteria usually put looked-after children, siblings and faith criteria 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 Rivington and Blackrod High School's figure on your own site

A small badge with the published distance that links back here, for a school website, parents' group or forum.

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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.