The Bolsover School

The Bolsover School is a larger-than-average secondary school within the Redhill Academy Trust, serving a community with above-average levels of disadvantage. Following a full section 5 inspection in November 2025, the school was judged to be meeting the expected standard across every area of its provision—achievement, attendance and behaviour, curriculum and teaching, inclusion, leadership and governance, and personal development and well-being—and safeguarding requirements were met. Pupils report feeling safe and happy, behaviour is calm and purposeful, and relationships between pupils and staff are polite and respectful. Leaders have a precise understanding of the school's strengths and weaknesses and are held to account effectively by trustees, governors and trust officers.

Strengths

• Leaders have a clear moral purpose and consistently high expectations for all pupils
• Pupils are well prepared for their next steps, with most progressing to sustained education, employment or training
• Robust action has improved pupils' attendance over time, with barriers for disadvantaged and SEND pupils actively addressed
• High expectations and consistent routines create a calm, safe and purposeful environment
• A strong culture of respect results in very few incidents of bullying or prejudicial behaviour
• Leaders have built an ambitious curriculum that provides a broad key stage 3 offer and a suitable range of qualifications at key stage 4
• Teachers are knowledgeable and use the trust's 'teaching and learning fundamentals' approach well, modelling and questioning effectively
• A positive reading culture supports early-stage readers to become fluent and confident
• Inclusion is a clear strength: SEND needs are identified swiftly and accurately, and individual passports reflect pupils' own views
• Pupil premium funding is used effectively and leaders systematically remove barriers for disadvantaged pupils
• Quality assurance processes are effective, with leaders taking decisive action that has led to sustained improvement
• Trustees, governors and trust officers provide effective challenge and support and work collaboratively with leaders
• Staff morale is positive, with genuine team spirit and well-considered professional development and workload support
• Pupils benefit from a well-thought-through personal development programme and a wide range of co-curricular activities
• Careers provision is effective, tailored to individual pupils and supported by strong employer, college and university links
• Parents and carers are overwhelmingly positive about the care and education their children receive

Areas for Improvement

• Teaching is not consistently adapted across all subjects to overcome barriers faced by disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND
• Achievement in some subjects is not as positive as in others
• Progress 8 has been below the national average in recent years, including -0.32 in 2023/24
• Destinations data for 2022 leavers was below the national average
• Leaders need to further embed pupils' learning and raise attainment and progress

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 The Bolsover School attended 91.6% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 24.8% of pupils were persistently absent, missing at least one session in ten (nationally 23.4%).

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, 12.6% of pupils at The Bolsover School were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). 4 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 The Bolsover School had 16.3 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 6.8% were no longer at the school a year later (nationally 14.1%).

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, 14.2% of pupils at The Bolsover School were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 4.4% had an education, health and care (EHC) plan (nationally 3.5%).

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 secondary schools. Counts are as published, with small numbers not hidden.

In 2024–25 The Bolsover School received £8,523 and spent £8,828 for each of its 909 pupils. It ended the year with a deficit of £958,000 (-£1,054 per pupil).

Across all 19 schools of Redhill Academy Trust, income was £7,880 and spending £7,947 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 Chesterfield · Derbyshire local authority: places and applications

The Bolsover School is part of Redhill Academy Trust, which runs 21 schools. The nearest others:

• Scarcliffe Primary School Chesterfield
• Palterton Primary School Chesterfield
• Duckmanton Primary School Chesterfield
• Arkwright Primary School Chesterfield
• Farmilo Primary School and Nursery Mansfield
• North Wingfield Primary and Nursery Academy
• Tupton Primary and Nursery Academy Chesterfield
• Tupton Hall School Chesterfield
• Hunloke Park Primary School Chesterfield
• Brookfield Community School Chesterfield

What is The Bolsover School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for The Bolsover School is Expected standard, from an inspection in January 2026.

When was The Bolsover School last inspected by Ofsted?

The Bolsover School was last inspected in January 2026.

How many pupils does The Bolsover School have?

The Bolsover School has 911 pupils on roll.

What age range does The Bolsover School cover?

The Bolsover School for pupils aged 11 to 16.

What are The Bolsover School's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 42.9, and 45% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is The Bolsover School?

The Bolsover School is at Mooracre Lane, Bolsover, Chesterfield, Derbyshire, S44 6XA.