Skip to main content
NSchool CompassSmarter school choices for parents and carers
  • Find Schools
  • School Compass Score
  • School Reports
  • Compare Schools
  • Local Authorities
  • Methodology
  • How It Works
  • Saved Schools
NSchool CompassSmarter school choices for parents and carers

The UK school decision platform — compare schools free, then buy one-off decision reports: Parent Report (£4.99), Admissions Advantage (£9.99), and Complete School Decision Report (£14.99).

School ReportsAdmissions Advantage — £9.99Complete Report — £14.99

Data sources

  • DfE — Get Information about Schools (GIAS)
  • Ofsted inspection reports
  • DfE admissions and appeals data
  • DfE performance and outcomes
  • Local admissions authorities

Last refresh: 14 June 2026

View data status · Methodology

Information

  • How It Works
  • Methodology
  • School Reports
  • School Compass Score
  • About
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of Use
  • Accessibility
  • Contact
  • Support
  • Data Status

School Compass is independent and not affiliated with the DfE or Ofsted. Always verify admissions details with official sources.

  1. Home
  2. /
  3. Schools
  4. /
  5. Thornleigh Salesian College
Back to schools

Thornleigh Salesian College

URN
105264
Phase
Secondary
Status
Open

School overview

School name
Thornleigh Salesian College
URN
105264
Phase
Secondary
Gender
Mixed
Age range
11-18
Status
Open

School Compass Score

Good

61 / 100

Good

Based on official data for academic year 2024/25.

Academic Outcomes

55

Inspection

—

Admissions Value

54

Destinations

58

Stability & Context

100

School Compass rankings

Below top 50% of secondary schools in England

Below top 50% nationally

#15 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: Very high competition
  • Admissions risk: Very high risk

Include safety schools — admissions are highly competitive

Get the full Parent Report

Available in the full Parent Report:

  • Recommended application mix
  • Alternative schools
  • Admissions warnings

View Parent Report options →

Crime & Safety

  • Safety score: Very Safe
  • National comparison: Lower crime than average
  • Crime trend: Stable trend
  • Confidence: Low confidence

Higher share of violent and serious offences than typical

View full Crime & Safety analysis in Parent Report

Available in the full Parent Report:

  • Crime categories in the surrounding area
  • Local authority and nearby-school comparisons
  • Safety trends over the past year
  • Area context and confidence notes

View full Crime & Safety analysis in Parent Report →

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.

Question 1: Is it a good school?

School Compass Parent Report

Your decision briefing for Thornleigh Salesian College

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

Preview sample report →

£4.99 — one-time purchase

Secure payment by Stripe · PDF generated immediately · What's included?

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.

View Admissions Advantage options →

Can we realistically get in?

School Compass Admissions Advantage

Admissions strategy for Thornleigh Salesian College

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.

Secure payment by Stripe · PDF generated immediately after payment

Is this the right school and area for our family?

Complete School Decision Report

Full family decision briefing for Thornleigh Salesian College

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.

Secure payment by Stripe · PDF generated immediately after payment

Ofsted inspections

Previous inspection framework
Latest publication date
27 November 2024
Inspection date
22 October 2024
Inspection type
S5 Inspection
Category of concern
None recorded
SafeguardingNot available

Inspection outcomes

  • Quality of education

    Requires improvement

    Graded 27 November 2024

  • Behaviour and attitudes

    Good

    Graded 27 November 2024

  • Personal development

Admissions

Very 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)

262

Places offered by the school

Applications received

Applications received

748

Times listed as any preference

Offers made

Offers made

262

Preferred offers from this school

Oversubscription ratio

Oversubscription ratio

2.85×

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.thornleigh.bolton.sch.uk

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

45.7

Progress 8

Progress 8

Not published

English and maths grade 5 or above

English & maths 5+

41.1%

English and maths grade 4 or above

English & maths 4+

68.4%

EBacc entry

EBacc entry

27.0%

EBacc achievement

Location

BL1 6PQ - Sharples Park, Astley Bridge, Bolton, Lancashire

Contact details

Address
Sharples Park, Astley Bridge, Bolton, Lancashire
Postcode
BL1 6PQ
Phone
1204301351
Website
http://www.thornleigh.bolton.sch.uk
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.

  • 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.
  • Good

    Graded 27 November 2024

  • Leadership and management

    Requires improvement

    Graded 27 November 2024

  • Sixth form

    Good

    Graded 27 November 2024

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

    Inspection history

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

    PublishedInspectedTypeSummaryReport
    27 November 202422 October 2024S5 InspectionInspectionView report for inspection published 27 November 2024
    21 November 20196 November 2019-School remains GoodView report for inspection published 21 November 2019
    • Inspection

      Published
      27 November 2024
      Inspected
      22 October 2024
      Type
      S5 Inspection
      Report
      View report
    • School remains Good

      Published
      21 November 2019
      Inspected
      6 November 2019
      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

    35.0%

    Offers as a share of applications

    First preference offers: 246

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

    EBacc achievement

    9.9%

    Post-16 (A level)

    Average

    Post-16 (A level) data for academic year 2024/25

    Official Department for Education 16 to 18 performance (A level) for academic year 2024/25.

    Average point score per entry

    APS

    36.3

    Value added

    Value added

    +0.01

    AAB with two facilitating subjects

    AAB %

    13.5%

    Retention

    Retention %

    Not published

    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 %

    87.0%

    Employment destination

    Employment %

    3.0%

    Apprenticeship destination

    Apprenticeships %

    4.0%

    Not in education, employment or training

    NEET %

    5.0%

    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
    Compass Centre North455 mNot applicableClosed
    Holy Infant and St Anthony RC Primary School481 mPrimaryOpen
    Starting Point481 mNot applicableClosed
    Oldhams Primary School563 mPrimaryClosed
    Youth Challenge Pru780 mNot applicableOpen
    North Bolton Sixth Form College780 m16 plusClosed
    Youth Challenge Pru780 mNot applicableClosed
    Smithills School801 mSecondaryClosed
    Smithills School801 mSecondaryOpen
    St Paul's CofE Primary School, Astley Bridge864 mPrimaryClosed
    • Compass Centre North
      Distance
      455 m
      Phase
      Not applicable
      Status
      Closed
    • Holy Infant and St Anthony RC Primary School
      Distance
      481 m
      Phase
      Primary
      Status
      Open
    • Starting Point
      Distance
      481 m
      Phase
      Not applicable
      Status
      Closed
    • Oldhams Primary School
      Distance
      563 m
      Phase
      Primary
      Status
      Closed

    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
    Youth Challenge Pru
    Distance
    780 m
    Phase
    Not applicable
    Status
    Open
  • North Bolton Sixth Form College
    Distance
    780 m
    Phase
    16 plus
    Status
    Closed
  • Youth Challenge Pru
    Distance
    780 m
    Phase
    Not applicable
    Status
    Closed
  • Smithills School
    Distance
    801 m
    Phase
    Secondary
    Status
    Closed
  • Smithills School
    Distance
    801 m
    Phase
    Secondary
    Status
    Open
  • St Paul's CofE Primary School, Astley Bridge
    Distance
    864 m
    Phase
    Primary
    Status
    Closed
  • Phase
    Secondary
    Postcode
    BL1 3QE
    Status
    Open