St Bede Academy

St Bede Academy has been evaluated as a good school with notable strengths across various aspects of school life. Pupils are engaged and take pride in their roles within the school community, promoting positive change and actively participating in fundraising efforts. The school has developed a robust curriculum that is effectively implemented in most subjects, and staff’s dedication to professional development is clear. Although the school is performing well overall, there are some inconsistencies in curriculum delivery in a few subjects, which can affect pupils' knowledge retention.

Strengths

• Pupils are happy and engaged in their learning.
• The school fosters a strong sense of community and responsibility among pupils.
• Effective early years provision that builds strong foundations for future learning.
• Staff are well-trained and dedicated to continuous professional development.
• Pupils with SEND are well supported and learn alongside their peers.

Areas for Improvement

• Inconsistencies in curriculum implementation in a small number of subjects.
• Ineffective checks on pupils' learning lead to some gaps in knowledge.

Admissions: local authority offers data from the Department for Education. A school is oversubscribed when at least 5% of the families who put it first were not offered a place, and undersubscribed when everyone who put it first got in but 10% or more of its places were unfilled in the Department's school capacity survey (the latest survey is used for entry years it does not cover). Places: Department for Education, School capacity, from local authorities' annual survey as at 1 May. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024–25); the survey was not run in 2020. Places include sixth form places. Forecasts are the local authority's own for the school's planning area, an area it uses to plan places that is not the school's catchment area. The forecast starts from a head count in 2025; the dashed line is the Department's estimate of places in that area, including those the authority has firm plans for. Planned places are cumulative, and only those with firm plans are counted.

In 2024–25 pupils at St Bede Academy attended 94.1% of sessions (the national figure for primary schools was 94.8%). 16.1% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 13.0%).

Sessions missed

Pupils persistently absent

Source: Department for Education, Pupil absence in schools in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Persistent absence means missing 10% or more of sessions; severe absence means 50% or more. No figures were published for 2019/20.

In 2024–25, 0.8% of pupils at St Bede Academy were suspended at least once (nationally 1.1%). No pupils were permanently excluded.

Pupils suspended at least once

Source: Department for Education, Suspensions and permanent exclusions in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). A pupil can be suspended more than once, so suspensions per 100 pupils can be higher than the share of pupils suspended. Very small numbers are hidden by the DfE. Exclusion figures dropped in 2020 and 2021 because of school closures.

In 2025–26 St Bede Academy had 19.1 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for primary schools was 20.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 14.9% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 15.7%).

Pupils per teacher

Teachers who left the school within a year

Source: Department for Education, School workforce in England. Each year is the one the school year ends in (2025 is 2024/25). Pupils per teacher counts full-time-equivalent pupils and teachers. Turnover is the share of a year's teachers (full-time equivalent) who were not at the school the following year, whether they moved to another school or left state-funded teaching. Turnover and sickness figures run one year behind the ratios. Sick leave is the share of teachers who took at least one day in the year, so it swings widely at small schools, where a few teachers can make it 0% or 100%. The national figures are for all state schools of the same type.

In 2025–26, 12.5% of pupils at St Bede Academy were on SEN support (nationally 15.4%) and 2.8% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 4.1%).

Pupils by main type of need

Source: Department for Education, Special educational needs in England (the 2025–26 school census). SEN support is extra help in school without an EHC plan. National figures are for all state-funded primary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2024–25 St Bede Academy received £5,952 and spent £6,238 for each of its 644 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £2,094,000 (£3,252 per pupil).

Across all 3 schools of The Quill C of E Trust, income was £6,488 and spending £7,042 per pupil.

Income per pupil

Spending per pupil

Source: Department for Education, Financial Benchmarking and Insights Tool. Each year is the one the financial year ends in (2024 is 2023–24). Academy figures include a share of the trust's central services, shared out by pupil numbers, and are rounded to the nearest £1,000. Premises costs were defined differently from 2024, so compare them across that gap with care.

• Primary Schools
• Secondary Schools

All schools in Bolton · Bolton local authority: places and applications

St Bede Academy is part of The Quill C of E Trust, which runs 3 schools. The nearest others:

• Tonge Moor Primary Academy Bolton
• Woodland Primary Academy Bolton

What is St Bede Academy's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for St Bede Academy is Good, from an inspection in December 2023.

When was St Bede Academy last inspected by Ofsted?

St Bede Academy was last inspected in December 2023.

How many pupils does St Bede Academy have?

St Bede Academy has 610 pupils on roll.

What age range does St Bede Academy cover?

St Bede Academy for pupils aged 3 to 11.

What are St Bede Academy's SATs (KS2) results?

In 2025, 49% of Year 6 pupils met the expected standard in reading, writing and maths.

Where is St Bede Academy?

St Bede Academy is at Morris Green Lane, Bolton, Lancashire, BL3 3LJ.