The Bolsover School

Academy converter·Secondary school Chesterfield, Derbyshire·S44 6XA
Composite score
56.2
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#1,704
National rank
#141
In East Midlands
#19
In Derbyshire
Top 54%
Nationally

Performance (KS4 GCSE)

Attainment 8 score
45.0
National avg ≈ 46
Progress 8 score
—
% achieving 9–5 in English & Maths
43%
% achieving 9–4 in English & Maths
72%
% EBacc grade 5+
15%
EBacc average points score
4.08

Ofsted judgements

New framework · Last inspection: 11/11/2025 · Read full report ↗

Achievement
Expected standard
Leadership and governance
Expected standard
Curriculum and teaching
Expected standard
Attendance and behaviour
Expected standard
Personal development and wellbeing
Expected standard
Inclusion
Expected standard
Safeguarding standards
Met

Getting a place

Offered a place after putting it first
81%
209 first choices, 174 places
First choices per place
1.20
more first choices than places
Applications naming the school
330
any preference, for 174 places
First preferences per place, last five years▲ 0.17
00.511.5
1 per place
1.0020220.9220231.0120241.0320251.202026

Red dashed line = one first choice per place. How to read this

Derbyshire does not publish how far from the school the last child offered a Year 7 place lived, so there is no cut-off distance to show for The Bolsover School. Ask the school or the council how places were allocated this year.

Application figures: DfE, school level applications and offers (2026 intake).

School profile

Age range
11–16
Pupils on roll
908
Gender
Mixed
Religious character
None
Admissions
Non-Selective

Pupil background

% FSM ever-6
38.8%
Typical secondary: 27.5%
% EAL
2.9%
Typical secondary: 12.0%

Special educational needs

% SEN support
15.1%
Typical secondary: 13.7%
% with an EHC plan
3.0%
Typical secondary: 2.9%

Attendance

Overall absence
8.7%
Typical secondary: 8.9%
Persistently absent
25.2%
Typical secondary: 25.7%

Staffing & funding

Pupils per teacher
16.2
Typical secondary: 16.7
Spend per pupil
£8,341
Typical secondary: £7,815

“Typical” = the median secondary school in England. What this means

What pupils do next

The share of this school's Year 11 leavers in education, training or employment for at least two terms afterwards.

In education, training or work
90%
166 pupils tracked
Stayed in education
79%
Apprenticeship
6%
Employment
5%

DfE, KS4 destination measures.

Nearby secondary schools

Location

About The Bolsover School

The Bolsover School is a secondary school in Chesterfield, Derbyshire, classified by the DfE as a converter academy. Around 908 pupils aged 11 to 16 attend the school. In the most recent GCSE results, pupils achieved an average Attainment 8 score of 45.0, broadly in line with the national average of 46. That marks an improvement of 3.6 points in its Attainment 8 score on the previous year. On our composite score, which combines the DfE attainment measures above, this places it around the middle of secondary schools nationally.

43% of pupils achieved a grade 5 or above in both English and maths, in line with the national average of about 45%. 72% achieved a standard pass (grade 4+) in English and maths. Competition for places is real here - 81% of first-choice applicants were offered a Year 7 place for September 2026 (209 first choices for 174 places). After Year 11, 90% of its leavers went on to education, an apprenticeship or work that they stayed in for at least two terms. Overall pupil absence was 8.7%. There are about 16.2 pupils per teacher. The school serves a community with above-average levels of disadvantage: about 39% of pupils have been eligible for free school meals in the last six years, compared with roughly 24% nationally — useful context when reading the results above. The Bolsover School does not currently have a recent graded Ofsted judgement on record (often the case for newer or recently converted schools), so it is worth asking when its next inspection is expected. This overview is generated automatically from the latest published DfE performance tables and Ofsted data; figures are rounded, and you can check the originals via the official links above.

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