University Collegiate School

University Collegiate School has been judged good across all key judgements, including sixth-form provision, following a period in which it required special measures. Leaders, supported by Quest multi-academy trust and the interim advisory board, have brought about rapid and substantial improvement since the 2022 inspection. Pupils and sixth-form students feel happier, safer and more able to learn, behaviour is purposeful and calm, and safeguarding is effective. The school has overhauled its curriculum, strengthened vocational and STEM opportunities, and improved support for reading and pupils with SEND. It no longer requires special measures. There are still areas to address. Some staff do not deliver the curriculum as effectively as others, particularly where their subject expertise or choice of activities is weaker, so some pupils do not build knowledge securely. Older pupils continue to be affected by gaps from the previous weaker curriculum, which makes attainment by the end of key stage 4 uneven. Personal, social and health education has improved but is not consistently well taught, meaning some pupils are less well prepared for life beyond school than they should be.

Strengths

• Strong trust and interim advisory board support have driven rapid improvement across leadership.
• Pupils and sixth-form students feel happier, safer and more positive about school.
• Behaviour is purposeful and calm, with poor behaviour dealt with effectively.
• The curriculum has been overhauled to provide a broad range of subjects, including for pupils with SEND.
• Subject curriculums are well organised and typically delivered by knowledgeable staff.
• Pupils who struggle with reading receive effective support to catch up.
• Careers guidance and character education are of high quality.
• Vocational, STEM, employer and university-linked opportunities prepare pupils well for next steps.
• Sixth-form students access industry-standard resources in engineering and health sciences.
• Safeguarding arrangements are effective.
• Staff value the professional development and wellbeing support they receive.

Areas for Improvement

• Some staff lack the subject expertise to design learning and select activities that help pupils build knowledge securely.
• Curriculum delivery is inconsistent in some subjects because approaches are not well matched to the knowledge pupils need.
• Older pupils have large gaps in learning from the previous weaker curriculum, making key stage 4 attainment uneven.
• PSHE is not consistently delivered well, and some pupils have difficulty remembering important learning.
• Some pupils are not as well prepared for life beyond school as they should be because of weaker PSHE delivery.
• Staff are only beginning to use SEND information to adapt curriculum delivery.

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 University Collegiate School attended 91.0% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 26.1% 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, 3.5% of pupils at University Collegiate School were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). 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 University Collegiate School had 16.6 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 23.1% 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, 11.4% of pupils at University Collegiate School were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 1.9% 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 University Collegiate School received £9,950 and spent £9,499 for each of its 605 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £561,000 (£927 per pupil).

Across all 5 schools of Quest (A Church of England Schools Trust), income was £8,247 and spending £8,209 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

University Collegiate School is part of Quest (A Church of England Schools Trust), which runs 5 schools. The nearest others:

• Hindley Green Community Primary School Wigan
• St John's Church of England Primary School, Hindley Green Wigan
• St Peter's Church of England Primary School, Hindley Wigan
• St John's Church of England Primary School, Abram Wigan

What is University Collegiate School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for University Collegiate School is Good, from an inspection in November 2024.

When was University Collegiate School last inspected by Ofsted?

University Collegiate School was last inspected in November 2024.

How many pupils does University Collegiate School have?

University Collegiate School has 683 pupils on roll.

What age range does University Collegiate School cover?

University Collegiate School for pupils aged 11 to 19.

What are University Collegiate School's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 41.4, and 38% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is University Collegiate School?

University Collegiate School is at 85 Deane Road, The Stoller Building, Bolton, Greater Manchester, BL3 5AG.