Harper Green School

Harper Green School is a welcoming, inclusive secondary school that Ofsted judges to be meeting the expected standard across achievement, attendance and behaviour, curriculum and teaching, inclusion, leadership and governance, and personal development and wellbeing. Safeguarding standards are met. Pupils feel safe and valued, behaviour is calm and respectful, attendance is broadly in line with national averages, and disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND generally achieve and attend well. Leaders are reflective, governance is effective, and staff wellbeing and professional development are strong. The school serves a community with well-above-average deprivation and a high proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals, and many pupils join or leave at different points. Published attainment is close to average overall but has been below average in a small number of subjects; progress by the end of key stage 4 is typically close to national average. The report highlights effective inclusion, strong support for pupils new to English, good personal development and careers guidance, and a wide range of enrichment opportunities. The main areas for improvement are in teaching precision: tasks do not always help pupils deepen their knowledge, misconceptions are sometimes not identified and addressed, and teachers occasionally move on before pupils are ready. Leaders should ensure these points are routinely addressed so that all pupils can deepen their understanding across the curriculum.

Strengths

• Inclusive culture where pupils feel safe, valued and listened to
• Calm and respectful behaviour, with bullying and discriminatory behaviour dealt with swiftly
• Relentless focus on attendance, with support improving rates and disadvantaged/SEND attendance above national averages
• Well-sequenced curriculum taught by staff with secure subject knowledge
• Effective support for vulnerable pupils, including those with SEND, disadvantaged pupils and pupils new to English
• Strong personal development programme covering safety, British values, relationships and citizenship
• Wide range of enrichment, careers guidance and work experience opportunities from Year 7
• Effective leadership and governance, with strong staff wellbeing and professional development
• Good support for pupils known to children's social care and those in alternative provision
• Pupils generally recall and apply important knowledge well and produce high-quality work

Areas for Improvement

• Tasks do not consistently enable pupils to deepen their knowledge
• Misconceptions are not always identified and addressed sufficiently well
• Teachers sometimes move on to new work before pupils are ready
• Published attainment in a small number of subjects has been below average
• Destinations after 16 have been below the national average

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 Harper Green School attended 91.4% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 25.5% 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, 10.7% of pupils at Harper Green 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 Harper Green School had 14.9 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 23.0% 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, 10.9% of pupils at Harper Green School were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 2.0% 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 Harper Green School received £9,269 and spent £9,078 for each of its 1,128 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £3,159,000 (£2,801 per pupil).

Across all 3 schools of Leverhulme Academy Church of England and Community Trust, income was £8,256 and spending £8,151 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

Harper Green School is part of Leverhulme Academy Church of England and Community Trust, which runs 3 schools. The nearest others:

• Lostock Primary School Bolton
• Rivington and Blackrod High School Bolton

What is Harper Green School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for Harper Green School is Expected standard, from an inspection in October 2026.

When was Harper Green School last inspected by Ofsted?

Harper Green School was last inspected in October 2026.

How many pupils does Harper Green School have?

Harper Green School has 1,070 pupils on roll.

What age range does Harper Green School cover?

Harper Green School for pupils aged 11 to 16.

What are Harper Green School's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 42.6, and 40% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is Harper Green School?

Harper Green School is at Harper Green Road, Farnworth, Bolton, Lancashire, BL4 0DH.