St James's Church of England High School

St James's Church of England High School has demonstrated a strong overall effectiveness, achieving a good rating with notable strengths in behaviour, personal development, and leadership. The school, which has not been previously inspected under section 5, has established a calm and supportive environment where pupils excel in both their academic and personal growth. The commitment of staff to fostering high expectations and providing rich extracurricular opportunities contributes to a thriving school culture where students feel safe and happy. However, despite the many positive aspects, there are areas that need improvement. Some subjects, particularly for pupils in Year 10 and 11, have not implemented a fully rigorous and sequenced curriculum, which affects the depth of knowledge retention. Additionally, the assessment strategies across various subjects are still in development, leading to inconsistency in how well teachers track and support pupils' learning. Leaders are aware of these challenges and are actively working to strengthen the curriculum and assessment methods to enhance overall educational outcomes for all pupils.

Strengths

• Outstanding behaviour and attitudes among pupils.
• High expectations set by leaders and staff for pupil achievement.
• Exceptional pastoral care and personal development opportunities.
• Strong relationships between pupils and staff foster a sense of belonging.
• Effective support for disadvantaged pupils and those with SEND.
• Rich range of extracurricular opportunities available to pupils.

Areas for Improvement

• Inconsistent curriculum quality in some subjects for Years 10 and 11.
• Variable assessment strategies not fully implemented across all year groups.

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 James's Church of England High School attended 93.5% of sessions (the national figure for secondary schools was 91.6%). 16.6% 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 St James's Church of England High School were suspended at least once (nationally 7.3%). 2 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 James's Church of England High School had 16.2 pupils for each teacher (the national figure for secondary schools was 16.7). Of its teachers in 2024–25, 14.8% 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, 12.9% of pupils at St James's Church of England High School were on SEN support (nationally 14.1%) and 5.8% 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 St James's Church of England High School received £7,999 and spent £7,973 for each of its 1,065 pupils. It ended the year with reserves of £526,000 (£494 per pupil).

Across all 5 schools of The Bishop Fraser Trust, income was £7,941 and spending £7,851 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 James's Church of England High School is part of The Bishop Fraser Trust, which runs 8 schools. The nearest others:

• Bolton St Catherine's Academy Bolton
• Canon Slade School Bolton
• Bury Church of England High School Bury
• Walmsley CofE Primary School Bolton
• St Catherine's CofE Primary School Bolton
• Turton and Edgworth CofE/Methodist Primary School Bolton
• St Margaret's Church of England Primary School Heywood

What is St James's Church of England High School's Ofsted rating?

The latest Ofsted rating for St James's Church of England High School is Good, from an inspection in December 2022.

When was St James's Church of England High School last inspected by Ofsted?

St James's Church of England High School was last inspected in December 2022.

How many pupils does St James's Church of England High School have?

St James's Church of England High School has 1,053 pupils on roll.

What age range does St James's Church of England High School cover?

St James's Church of England High School for pupils aged 11 to 16.

What are St James's Church of England High School's GCSE results?

In 2026 its average Attainment 8 score was 48.1, and 54% of pupils achieved grade 5 or above in both English and maths GCSE.

Where is St James's Church of England High School?

St James's Church of England High School is at Lucas Road, Farnworth, Bolton, Greater Manchester, BL4 9RU.