Which school has the best GCSE results in Bolton?

On 2026 Attainment 8, Eden Boys' School, Bolton tops the table in Bolton with 57.0, against an England average of 46.2. Attainment 8 rewards intake as well as teaching, so compare a school's grade 5+ pass rate and, where published, its Progress 8 before reading the rank as a verdict.

When are the 2026 GCSE results for Bolton schools published?

Pupils receive their results in August, but school-by-school figures come from the DfE performance tables, which publish provisional results in the autumn (usually mid-October) and revised figures early in the new year. This table shows 2026 results, the 2025/26 academic year, and updates when the next release is imported.

What is Attainment 8?

Attainment 8 is the DfE's headline GCSE measure: the average points a school's pupils achieved across eight qualifications, with English and maths counted twice. A score of 50 means pupils averaged roughly a grade 5 across those subjects. No Progress 8 exists for 2026 because these pupils sat no Key Stage 2 tests in 2021.

Why does a school in Bolton show no GCSE results?

A school has no published figure when it had no Year 11 cohort in the year (a new school, or one that opened with younger year groups), when it converted to an academy and the DfE published results under its previous identity, or when it is independent and its pupils sat IGCSE, Pre-U or IB qualifications that the DfE tables do not count. Independent schools with a published figure are listed separately and unranked for that reason.

Bolton GCSE results 2026: secondary school league table

20 state secondary schools in Bolton ranked on their 2026 GCSE results (Attainment 8, the 2025/26 academic year, the latest DfE has published for every school), with grade 7+, grade 5+ and grade 4+ in English and maths, cohort size for each school against the England average. 6 independent schools with published results are listed separately, unranked.

Local Authority 20 state secondary schools 2025/26 results

Secondary schools in Bolton ranked on Attainment 8

20 of 20 schools have published 2026 results. Source: DfE school performance tables, 2025/26.

Secondary schools in Bolton ranked on Attainment 8, 2026 results
Rank	School	Attainment 8	Grade 7+ English & maths	Grade 5+ English & maths	Grade 4+ English & maths	EBacc APS	Pupils
–	England average	46.2	14%	46%	65%	–	–
1 , up 4 places since 2025	Eden Boys' School, Bolton Bolton · Free schools	57.0	29%	75%	87%	–	123
2=	Bolton Muslim Girls School Bolton · Academy converter	56.5	18%	60%	80%	–	149
2= , down 1 place since 2025	Sharples School Bolton · Academy converter	56.5	24%	73%	86%	–	231
4 , down 1 place since 2025	Canon Slade School Bolton · Academy converter	54.0	19%	63%	82%	–	289
5 , up 2 places since 2025	Kearsley Academy Bolton · Academy sponsor led	51.1	18%	66%	78%	–	135
6 , up 5 places since 2025	King's Leadership Academy Bolton Bolton · Free schools	49.0	19%	51%	69%	–	179
7 , down 2 places since 2025	Essa Academy Bolton · Academy sponsor led	48.9	19%	54%	71%	–	204
8 , down 4 places since 2025	St James's Church of England High School Bolton · Academy converter	48.1	11%	54%	72%	–	207
9= , up 7 places since 2025	Ladybridge High School Bolton · Community school	45.8	9%	39%	56%	–	202
9=	Little Lever School Bolton · Academy converter	45.8	12%	57%	70%	–	208
11 , down 3 places since 2025	Rivington and Blackrod High School Bolton · Academy converter	45.4	11%	45%	65%	–	240
12 , up 2 places since 2025	Turton School Bolton · Community school	44.0	8%	39%	56%	–	261
13 , down 3 places since 2025	Thornleigh Salesian College Bolton · Voluntary aided school	43.0	7%	37%	57%	–	262
14 , up 1 place since 2025	Harper Green School Bolton · Academy converter	42.6	11%	40%	57%	–	215
15 , down 3 places since 2025	St Joseph's RC High School Bolton · Voluntary aided school	42.4	8%	40%	61%	–	205
16	Mount St Joseph RC High School a Voluntary Academy Bolton · Academy converter	41.5	9%	39%	54%	–	178
17= , up 1 place since 2025	Smithills School Bolton · Academy converter	41.4	5%	35%	56%	–	226
17=	University Collegiate School Bolton · University technical college	41.4	12%	38%	53%	–	120
19 , down 6 places since 2025	Westhoughton High School Bolton · Community school	40.2	8%	37%	57%	–	267
20 , down 1 place since 2025	Bolton St Catherine's Academy Bolton · Academy converter	36.9	4%	28%	46%	–	135

Schools with the same Attainment 8 score share a rank (shown as "=").

Under each rank: the change since the 2025 table, in places gained (+) or lost (−). No figure means the rank is unchanged or the school had no ranked 2025 result.

Independent schools in Bolton with published GCSE results

Listed as published, not ranked. The DfE tables count only reformed GCSEs, so a school whose pupils sit IGCSE, Pre-U or the IB reports a lower figure than its results merit, or none at all. Compare independent schools on their own published examination results and inspection reports.

School	Attainment 8 (as published)	Grade 5+ English & maths	Pupils
Al Jamiah Al Islamiyyah Bolton · Other independent school · 2023 results	29.7	13%	15
Bolton Islamic Girls School Bolton · Other independent school	47.0	48%	25
Bolton School Boys' Division Bolton · Other independent school	35.6	0%	154
Bolton School Girls' Division Bolton · Other independent school	55.0	0%	125
Lord's School Bolton · Other independent school	5.0	0%	9
Madrasatul Imam Muhammad Zakariya Bolton · Other independent school	51.9	0%	22

How to read this table

Attainment 8 is the average points a school's pupils achieved across eight GCSE subjects: English and maths (double-weighted), three EBacc subjects (sciences, computing, history, geography, languages) and three further approved qualifications. The DfE publishes it for every state school; the England average for 2026 was 46.2.

Grade 7+ in English and maths is the share of pupils reaching the top grades, 7 to 9, in both; grade 5+ is the "strong pass"; grade 4+ is the "standard pass". The DfE stopped publishing EBacc entry and the EBacc average point score from the 2025/26 results, so that column is empty for 2026.

Progress 8 is not shown: the DfE published no Progress 8 for 2026 because these pupils sat no Key Stage 2 tests in 2021, the baseline it is measured from. Attainment 8 rewards intake as well as teaching, so a selective school will usually top an attainment-only table.

Ranks are shared where scores tie. Schools are ranked here on published results alone; our composite score, which also weighs Ofsted inspection, progress and attendance, orders the same schools on the best secondary schools page.

See the best secondary schools in Bolton on our composite score

Bolton GCSE results 2026: secondary school league table

Secondary schools in Bolton ranked on Attainment 8

Independent schools in Bolton with published GCSE results

More about schools in Bolton

Bolton GCSE results: common questions