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Last refresh: 14 June 2026

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Westhoughton High School

URN
105252
Phase
Secondary
Status
Open

School overview

School name
Westhoughton High School
URN
105252
Phase
Secondary
Gender
Mixed
Age range
11-16
Status
Open

School Compass Score

Developing

57 / 100

Developing

Based on official data for academic year 2024/25.

Academic Outcomes

50

Inspection

50

Admissions Value

61

Destinations

50

Stability & Context

100

School Compass rankings

Below top 50% of secondary schools in England

Below top 50% nationally

#17 of 18 schools in Bolton

Based on School Compass rankings calculated from performance, inspection, admissions and destination data.

School Compass recommendation

Proceed With Caution

Some performance indicators suggest families should review details carefully.

Get the full School Compass Parent Report →

Based on School Compass analysis of official performance, inspection, admissions and destination data.

Admissions strategy

  • Application category: Not recommended
  • Admissions pressure: High competition
  • Admissions risk: High risk

Add a genuine safety school to your list

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Available in the full Parent Report:

  • Recommended application mix
  • Alternative schools
  • Admissions warnings

View Parent Report options →

Crime & Safety

Safety information unavailable.

Area crime data reflects the surrounding neighbourhood — it is not a measure of school safeguarding or on-site safety.

  • Area crime data reflects the surrounding neighbourhood — it is not a measure of school safeguarding or on-site safety.
  • This section reflects police-recorded crime in the surrounding area, not incidents on school premises.
  • Figures are anonymised by the police and aggregated within approximately one mile of the school site.
  • Not all crime is reported to the police. Small areas can vary significantly year to year.
  • Source: data.police.uk under the Open Government Licence; population from ONS.

Question 1: Is it a good school?

School Compass Parent Report

Your decision briefing for Westhoughton High School

A plain-English verdict on school quality, plus application strategy, rankings, similar schools, and neighbourhood crime context — one PDF for £4.99. No subscription.

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£4.99 — one-time purchase

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Question 2

Can we realistically get in?

  • Data confidence: Moderate confidence
  • Admissions pressure: Competitive
  • Personalised application strategy available
  • 8 alternative schools identified

What Admissions Advantage can and cannot tell you

Can tell you

  • Competitiveness on published admissions data
  • Demand trends over recent admission cycles
  • Application portfolio balance across your shortlist
  • Accessible alternative schools in your area

Cannot tell you

  • Last admitted distance
  • Catchment boundaries
  • Postcode-specific likelihood
  • Offer probability
  • Waiting list position
  • Priority rules
  • Grammar / selective cut-offs

Get Admissions Advantage — £9.99

Full confidence factors, trend analysis, portfolio coaching, school names, and rationales are in the paid report only.

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Can we realistically get in?

School Compass Admissions Advantage

Admissions strategy for Westhoughton High School

A nine-page admissions briefing: competitiveness, pressure trends, portfolio balance, alternatives, and a plain-English action plan — advice-first, not a prediction of offer outcomes.

£9.99 — Admissions Advantage

One school, one admissions briefing. Buy Parent Report and Admissions Advantage separately if you want both decision reports.

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Is this the right school and area for our family?

Complete School Decision Report

Full family decision briefing for Westhoughton High School

One integrated PDF — school quality, admissions reality, neighbourhood safety, transport, housing, amenities, persona lens, trade-offs, and a plain-English action plan.

£14.99 — Complete School Decision Report

Everything in Parent Report and Admissions Advantage, plus family-life context and a unified verdict — one purchase, one PDF.

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Ofsted inspections

Previous inspection framework
Latest publication date
27 June 2023
Inspection date
10 May 2023
Inspection type
S5 Inspection
Category of concern
None recorded
SafeguardingNot available

Inspection outcomes

  • Overall effectiveness

    Requires improvement

    Graded 27 June 2023

  • Quality of education

    Requires improvement

    Graded 27 June 2023

  • Behaviour and attitudes

Admissions

High pressure

Official Department for Education applications and offers data for Secondary Transfer in academic year 2025/26.

Academic year

Academic year

2025/26

Published admission number (PAN)

Published admission number (PAN)

259

Places offered by the school

Applications received

Applications received

434

Times listed as any preference

Offers made

Offers made

258

Preferred offers from this school

Oversubscription ratio

Oversubscription ratio

1.68×

Applications per place

Offer rate

Where to apply

Use these official links to submit your application. Deadlines and portals are set by your local authority — always confirm the latest dates before you apply.

Local authority
Bolton
Admissions portal
GOV.UK — apply for a secondary school place (Bolton)
Application deadline
31 October 2026 (on-time deadline for secondary entry, September 2027)
School website
http://www.westhoughton-high.org/

If the portal link opens GOV.UK, select Bolton to reach your council's application system.

Performance & outcomes

Official Department for Education attainment and outcomes data. Suppressed or unpublished figures are shown as “Not published”.

Key stage 4 (secondary)

Key stage 4 (secondary) data for academic year 2024/25

Official Department for Education key stage 4 performance for academic year 2024/25. Progress 8 is not published for this academic year.

Attainment 8

Attainment 8

44.4

Progress 8

Progress 8

Not published

English and maths grade 5 or above

English & maths 5+

40.5%

English and maths grade 4 or above

English & maths 4+

60.3%

EBacc entry

EBacc entry

6.6%

EBacc achievement

Location

BL5 3BZ - Bolton Road, Westhoughton, Bolton, Lancashire

Contact details

Address
Bolton Road, Westhoughton, Bolton, Lancashire
Postcode
BL5 3BZ
Phone
1942814122
Website
http://www.westhoughton-high.org/
Visit websiteOpen in Google Maps

Administrative details

Local authority name
Bolton
Local authority code
350

School insights

Local authority context

This school is one of 252 schools in Bolton.

Authority statistics

Total schools

252

Open schools

147

Closed schools

105

Primary schools

151

Data quality

Last updated
14 June 2026
Last imported
14 June 2026

Dates reflect the latest GIAS import and any recorded closure date for this school.

The School Compass Score combines academic outcomes, inspection findings, admissions value, destinations, and school stability to help parents compare schools consistently.

Requires improvement

Graded 27 June 2023

  • Personal development

    Requires improvement

    Graded 27 June 2023

  • Leadership and management

    Requires improvement

    Graded 27 June 2023

  • View official Ofsted report (opens in a new tab)

    Inspection history

    Showing the last 2 inspections on record, including monitoring visits.

    PublishedInspectedTypeSummaryReport
    27 June 202310 May 2023S5 InspectionRequires improvementView report for inspection published 27 June 2023
    18 January 202217 November 2021-School remains Good (Concerns) - S5 NextView report for inspection published 18 January 2022
    • Requires improvement

      Published
      27 June 2023
      Inspected
      10 May 2023
      Type
      S5 Inspection
      Report
      View report
    • School remains Good (Concerns) - S5 Next

      Published
      18 January 2022
      Inspected
      17 November 2021
      Type
      -
      Report
      View report

    Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: Ofsted management information via GOV.UK.

    Offer rate

    59.5%

    Offers as a share of applications

    First preference offers: 236

    Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: Department for Education school applications and offers statistics.

    EBacc achievement

    3.9%

    Key stage 4 destinations

    Key stage 4 destinations data for leaver academic year 2022/23

    Sustained destination measures for pupils who completed key stage 4 in 2022/23 (destinations in 2023/24).

    Education destination

    Education %

    83.0%

    Employment destination

    Employment %

    3.0%

    Apprenticeship destination

    Apprenticeships %

    5.0%

    Not in education, employment or training

    NEET %

    7.0%

    Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: Department for Education performance and outcomes statistics (England).

    Secondary schools

    34

    Special schools

    0

    Phase distribution

    • Primary151 (61.4%)
    • Secondary34 (13.8%)
    • Special0 (0.0%)
    • Other61 (24.8%)

    Nearby schools

    School nameDistancePhaseStatus
    The Aspire Hub, Bolton177 mNot applicableClosed
    Westhoughton Primary School397 mPrimaryClosed
    Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Primary School508 mPrimaryOpen
    Washacre Primary Academy588 mPrimaryOpen
    Washacre Primary School588 mPrimaryClosed
    Compass Centre West646 mNot applicableClosed
    St Bartholomew's CofE Primary School674 mPrimaryOpen
    St Thomas CofE Primary School834 mPrimaryOpen
    The Gates Primary School1.0 kmPrimaryOpen
    Eatock Primary School1.2 kmPrimaryOpen
    • The Aspire Hub, Bolton
      Distance
      177 m
      Phase
      Not applicable
      Status
      Closed
    • Westhoughton Primary School
      Distance
      397 m
      Phase
      Primary
      Status
      Closed
    • Sacred Heart Roman Catholic Primary School
      Distance
      508 m
      Phase
      Primary
      Status
      Open
    • Washacre Primary Academy
      Distance
      588 m
      Phase
      Primary
      Status
      Open

    Similar schools

    Same phase (Secondary) and local authority (Bolton)

    School namePhasePostcodeStatus
    Bolton Muslim Girls SchoolSecondaryBL3 6TQOpen
    Bolton Muslim Girls SchoolSecondaryBL3 6TQClosed
    Canon Slade CofE SchoolSecondaryBL2 3BPClosed
    Canon Slade SchoolSecondaryBL2 3BPOpen
    Eden Boys' School, BoltonSecondaryBL1 3QEOpen
    • Bolton Muslim Girls School
      Phase
      Secondary
      Postcode
      BL3 6TQ
      Status
      Open
    • Bolton Muslim Girls School
      Phase
      Secondary
      Postcode
      BL3 6TQ
      Status
      Closed
    • Canon Slade CofE School
      Phase
      Secondary
      Postcode
      BL2 3BP
      Status
      Closed
    • Canon Slade School
      Phase
      Secondary
      Postcode
      BL2 3BP
      Status
      Open
    • Eden Boys' School, Bolton
    Washacre Primary School
    Distance
    588 m
    Phase
    Primary
    Status
    Closed
  • Compass Centre West
    Distance
    646 m
    Phase
    Not applicable
    Status
    Closed
  • St Bartholomew's CofE Primary School
    Distance
    674 m
    Phase
    Primary
    Status
    Open
  • St Thomas CofE Primary School
    Distance
    834 m
    Phase
    Primary
    Status
    Open
  • The Gates Primary School
    Distance
    1.0 km
    Phase
    Primary
    Status
    Open
  • Eatock Primary School
    Distance
    1.2 km
    Phase
    Primary
    Status
    Open
  • Phase
    Secondary
    Postcode
    BL1 3QE
    Status
    Open