Secondary
Smithills School
Smithills Dean Road, Bolton, BL1 6JS
Key facts
- Phase
- Secondary
- Type
- Academy converter
- Ages
- 11 to 16
- Intake
- Mixed
- Pupils
- 1203 of 1250 places
- Pupils per teacher
- 18.1
- Local authority
- Bolton
- Trust
- THE BOLTON IMPACT TRUST
Staffing23/24
- Teachers (FTE)
- 65.6
- All staff (FTE)
- 96.8
- Pupils per adult
- 12.3
- Pupils
- 1,190
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 March 2026
- AchievementNeeds attention
- Attendance and behaviourExpected standard
- Curriculum and teachingNeeds attention
- InclusionExpected standard
- Leadership and governanceNeeds attention
- Personal development and wellbeingNeeds attention
SafeguardingMet
Read the full Ofsted report (opens in a new tab)Earlier inspections2
September 2023
Previous framework
Requires improvement
Safeguarding: met
- Behaviour and attitudesGood
- Leadership and governanceRequires improvement
- Personal developmentGood
- Quality of educationRequires improvement
June 2018
Previous framework
Good
- Leadership and governanceGood
GCSE results
20%
27 points below the Bolton average (47% across 18 schools)
36.5
10.9 below the Bolton average (47.4 across 18 schools)
18th 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 | 36.5 |
| EBacc average point score | 3.25 |
| Entered the EBacc | 32% |
| Grade 4 or above in English and maths | 47% |
| Grade 5 or above in English and maths | 20% |
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 | 21% |
| 22/23 | 27% |
| 23/24 | 30% |
| 24/25 | 20% |
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 21/22 | -0.32 |
| 22/23 | -0.34 |
| 23/24 | -0.04 |
| Year | This school |
|---|---|
| 21/22 | 38.4 |
| 22/23 | 38.9 |
| 23/24 | 39.5 |
| 24/25 | 36.5 |
Smithills Dean Road, Bolton, BL1 6JS
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
- Headteacher
- Carolyn Dewse
- Address
- Smithills Dean Road, Bolton, BL1 6JS
- Telephone
- 01204842382