How far do you need to live from a school in Bolton to get a place?

It depends on the school. Across the 41 Bolton schools with a published figure, the last child admitted lived a median of 1.1 miles away; the tightest was Heathfield Primary School at 0.22 miles. The distance moves every year with demand.

Do Bolton schools have catchment areas?

Most English schools do not. When a school is oversubscribed, places are offered outward from the school until they run out, so what exists is how far the last admitted child lived, which the council publishes after each round. That is the figure on this page.

← All councils Admissions

How far Bolton schools admitted from

For every oversubscribed school, Bolton publishes how far away the last child offered a place lived. This is that figure for 41 schools, tightest first. A short distance means a school that fills up close to its gates; a long one means places went further afield.

41schools with a published figure

1.1 mithe middle school's distance

19filled within a mile

The tightest is Heathfield Primary School at 0.22 miles in varies; the most far-reaching, Devonshire Road Primary School, admitted from 8.0 miles.

Primary schools

School	Ofsted	Admitted from	Round	How full
Heathfield Primary School Bolton	No current grade	0.22 mi	varies	98%
Castle Hill Primary School Bolton	Good	0.26 mi	varies	84%
Johnson Fold Community Primary School Bolton	No current grade	0.27 mi	varies	not published
Beaumont Primary School BOLTON	No current grade	0.34 mi	varies	101%
Eatock Primary School Bolton	No current grade	0.45 mi	varies	96%
All Saints CofE Primary School Bolton	No current grade	0.46 mi	varies	97%
Brownlow Fold Primary School Bolton	No current grade	0.52 mi	varies	87%
Kearsley West Primary School Bolton	No current grade	0.53 mi	varies	90%
Brandwood Primary School Bolton	Good	0.59 mi	varies	98%
Church Road Primary School Bolton	Good	0.63 mi	varies	98%
Markland Hill Primary School Bolton	No current grade	0.65 mi	varies	100%
Lever Edge Primary Academy Bolton	Good	0.77 mi	varies	125%
High Lawn Primary School Bolton	No current grade	0.79 mi	varies	98%
Blackshaw Primary School Bolton	No current grade	0.84 mi	varies	104%
Chorley New Road Primary Academy Bolton	No current grade	0.98 mi	varies	100%
Bolton Parish Church, Church of England Primary School Bolton	No current grade	0.99 mi	varies	120%
Claypool Primary School Bolton	No current grade	1.11 mi	varies	96%
Lostock Primary School Bolton	Outstanding	1.17 mi	varies	101%
Blackrod Primary School BOLTON	Outstanding	1.32 mi	varies	99%
Egerton Primary School Bolton	Good	1.38 mi	varies	100%
Highfield Primary School Bolton	No current grade	1.39 mi	varies	98%
Blackrod Anglican/Methodist Primary School Bolton	No current grade	1.47 mi	varies	98%
Bishop Bridgeman CofE Primary School Bolton	Good	1.59 mi	varies	103%
Holy Infant and St Anthony RC Primary School Bolton	No current grade	1.64 mi	varies	90%
Eagley Infant School Bolton	No current grade	1.76 mi	varies	93%
Bowness Primary School Bolton	No current grade	2.92 mi	varies	83%
Hardy Mill Primary School Bolton	No current grade	5.79 mi	varies	89%
Devonshire Road Primary School Bolton	Good	8.0 mi	varies	99%

Secondary schools

School	Ofsted	Admitted from	Round	How full
Eden Boys' School, Bolton	No current grade	0.66 mi	varies	78%
Essa Academy Bolton	Good	0.82 mi	varies	107%
Thornleigh Salesian College Bolton	No current grade	0.91 mi	varies	95%
Bolton Muslim Girls School Bolton	No current grade	1.09 mi	varies	103%
Sharples School Bolton	No current grade	1.1 mi	varies	112%
Ladybridge High School Bolton	Good	1.7 mi	varies	100%
Turton School Bolton	Good	2.2 mi	varies	100%
Westhoughton High School Bolton	Requires improvement	2.34 mi	varies	99%
Harper Green School Bolton	Good	2.5 mi	varies	86%
Little Lever School Bolton	Good	2.7 mi	varies	103%
St Joseph's RC High School Bolton	No current grade	2.7 mi	varies	100%
King's Leadership Academy Bolton	Good	3.8 mi	varies	101%
Rivington and Blackrod High School Bolton	Good	6.93 mi	varies	86%

Reading the numbers

These are not catchment areas: most English schools have none. Each figure is the distance from the school to the home of the furthest child who was offered a place under the distance criterion in that round, as Bolton measures it, which is usually a straight line from a fixed point at the home to one at the school. Looked-after children, siblings and, at faith schools, faith criteria come before distance, so a school can fill before distance is reached at all. The figure moves every year with the number of applications. How the whole process works →

Checking an address against these

Each school's page has a checker that measures a postcode against that school's distance. The full property report measures every nearby school at once, alongside sold prices, flood risk and the rest of the house.

Admission distances published by Bolton. School details and grades from the Department for Education's register and Ofsted. If a figure looks wrong, tell us and it goes on the accuracy log.