Secondary
Essa Academy
Lever Edge Lane, Bolton, BL3 3HH
Key facts
- Phase
- Secondary
- Type
- Academy sponsor led
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Intake
- Mixed
- Pupils
- 1055 of 990 places
- Pupils per teacher
- 17.8
- Local authority
- Bolton
- Trust
- NORTHERN EDUCATION TRUST
Staffing23/24
- Teachers (FTE)
- 61.6
- All staff (FTE)
- 97.1
- Pupils per adult
- 11.3
- Pupils
- 1,097
Staff are counted as full-time equivalents in the November school workforce census, so the pupil figure here is that census’s own and will differ a little from the roll above, which is counted in January.
Ofsted
Last inspected January 2026
- AchievementStrong standard
- Attendance and behaviourStrong standard
- Curriculum and teachingStrong standard
- InclusionStrong standard
- Leadership and governanceStrong standard
- Personal development and wellbeingStrong standard
SafeguardingMet
Read the full Ofsted report (opens in a new tab)Earlier inspections2
October 2021
Previous framework
Good
Safeguarding: met
- Behaviour and attitudesGood
- Leadership and governanceGood
- Personal developmentGood
- Quality of educationGood
May 2018
Previous framework
Requires improvement
- Leadership and governanceRequires improvement
GCSE results
54%
7 points above the Bolton average (47% across 18 schools)
53.0
5.6 above the Bolton average (47.4 across 18 schools)
4th of 18 by our score, among the secondary schools in Bolton we can score - 26 in total, the rest without enough published data. Local and same-phase on purpose: a national table mostly measures who attends.
All published measures2024/2025
| Measure | Result |
|---|---|
| Attainment 8 | 53 |
| EBacc average point score | 4.43 |
| Entered the EBacc | 20% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 75% |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 54% |
From the Department for Education. Measures are published per year and suppressed where a cohort is too small, so some schools show fewer. There are no results for 2019/20 or 2020/21, when exams and assessments were cancelled.
Results over time4 years
Each measure on its own scale, over every year we hold.
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 21/22 | 45% |
| 22/23 | 41% |
| 23/24 | 40% |
| 24/25 | 54% |
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 21/22 | +0.20 |
| 22/23 | +0.25 |
| 23/24 | +0.73 |
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 21/22 | 45.8 |
| 22/23 | 45.7 |
| 23/24 | 47.1 |
| 24/25 | 53.0 |
Lever Edge Lane, Bolton, BL3 3HH
Admissions
How to apply (opens in a new tab)
You apply through your council, not the school - even for academies and free schools. Applications close on 31 October, the year before starting.
Bolton admissions (opens in a new tab)
The council publishes the oversubscription criteria and last year’s offer distances, which is the closest thing to knowing your chances.
If you are refused a place (opens in a new tab)
You can appeal, and you can join a waiting list at the same time. Accept whatever offer you get first - declining it can leave you with no place at all.
This school’s own admissions (opens in a new tab)
Schools that set their own criteria - faith schools, grammars, academies - publish them on their own site.
Contact
- Principal
- Mel Flynn
- Address
- Lever Edge Lane, Bolton, BL3 3HH
- Telephone
- 01204333222