University Collegiate School

University technical college·Secondary school Bolton·BL3 5AG
Composite score
45.9
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#2,878
National rank
#384
In North West
#18
In Bolton
Top 90%
Nationally

Performance (KS4 GCSE)

Attainment 8 score
36.7
National avg ≈ 46
Progress 8 score
—
% achieving 9–5 in English & Maths
31%
% achieving 9–4 in English & Maths
41%
% EBacc grade 5+
4%
EBacc average points score
3.14

Ofsted judgements

Legacy framework · Read full report ↗

Quality of education
Good
Behaviour and attitudes
Good
Personal development
Good
Leadership and management
Good
Safeguarding effective?
Yes
Sixth form provision
Good

Getting a place

Offered a place after putting it first
100%
91 first choices, 117 places
First choices per place
0.78
fewer first choices than places
Applications naming the school
230
any preference, for 117 places
First preferences per place, last five years▲ 0.22
00.511.5
1 per place
0.5020220.6220230.6620240.5620250.782026

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

Every child who put University Collegiate School first was offered a place in 2026, so no distance cut-off applied: living further away did not cost a place that year.

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

School profile

Age range
11–19
Pupils on roll
604
Gender
Mixed

Pupil background

% FSM ever-6
50.3%
Typical secondary: 27.5%
% EAL
57.8%
Typical secondary: 12.0%

Special educational needs

% SEN support
11.4%
Typical secondary: 13.7%
% with an EHC plan
1.8%
Typical secondary: 2.9%

Attendance

Overall absence
8.4%
Typical secondary: 8.9%
Persistently absent
24.3%
Typical secondary: 25.7%

Staffing & funding

Pupils per teacher
15.5
Typical secondary: 16.7
Spend per pupil
£8,071
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
86%
51 pupils tracked
Stayed in education
86%
Apprenticeship
0%
Employment
0%

DfE, KS4 destination measures.

Nearby secondary schools

Location

About University Collegiate School

University Collegiate School is a secondary school in Bolton, classified by the DfE as a university technical college. Around 604 pupils aged 11 to 19 attend the school. The school's average Attainment 8 score in the latest GCSE results was 36.7 — below the national average (national average: 46). Its Attainment 8 score has risen by 1.5 points year on year. On our composite score, which combines the DfE attainment measures above, this places it in the lower half of secondary schools nationally.

31% of pupils achieved a grade 5 or above in both English and maths, well below the national average of about 45%. 41% achieved a standard pass (grade 4+) in English and maths. Getting a place is straightforward: for the September 2026 intake every family who made University Collegiate School their first choice was offered one of its 117 Year 7 places. After Year 11, 86% of its leavers went on to education, an apprenticeship or work that they stayed in for at least two terms. Overall pupil absence was 8.4%. There are about 15.5 pupils per teacher. The school serves a community with above-average levels of disadvantage: about 50% 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. University Collegiate 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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