School profile
Westhoughton High School
Bolton Road, Westhoughton, Bolton, Lancashire, BL5 3BZ
Overview
Westhoughton High School is a state-funded school (community school) in Bolton, North West, for pupils aged 11–16. This summary is generated only from official structured fields.
School details
- Official establishment type
- Community school
- Establishment group
- Local authority maintained schools
- Phase of education
- Secondary
- Age range
- Ages 11–16
- Gender of entry
- Mixed
- Boarding
- No boarders
- Sixth form
- No
- School capacity
- 1,350
- Pupils on roll
- 1,342
- URN
- 105252
Admissions
- Admissions policy
- Non-selective
- Local authority
- Bolton
Contact the school or your local authority for catchment and application deadlines.
School places
DfE school capacity survey · May 2025 (2024/25)
- Capacity at survey date
- 1,350
- Pupils on roll
- 1,336
- Unfilled places at survey date
- 14
A dated snapshot from the Department for Education school capacity survey, separate from the school details above. Unfilled places at the survey date do not mean places are currently available for admission. About this data
Official admissions data
Applications & demand
Preferences expressed by families through coordinated admissions, shown over time.
2026/27 admissions · Year 7
- First preferences
- 221
- Total preferences
- 369
- Offers made
- 258
Times the school was named as a family's first preference.
All recorded preference positions for this school.
Offers recorded through coordinated admissions, not physical capacity.
First preferences compared with offers
0.86 first preferences per offer
221 first preferences and 258 offers were recorded for 2026/27.
What does this mean?
This is the Department for Education's own published comparison of first preferences with total offers recorded. It indicates the level of requests made through coordinated admissions. Offers are not necessarily the school's maximum capacity, admissions arrangements vary between local authorities, the figure is not a measure of school quality, and it should not be used on its own to judge the likelihood of gaining a place.
First preferences over time
Latest five available admissions years. Missing years are not estimated.
Admissions history
| Admissions year | First preferences | Total preferences | Offers made |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026/27 | 221 | 369 | 258 |
| 2025/26 | 254 | 434 | 259 |
| 2024/25 | 235 | 426 | 266 |
| 2023/24 | 288 | 565 | 278 |
| 2022/23 | 291 | 507 | 262 |
Source: Department for Education · Applications and offers data.
Official performance data
School performance
Official Department for Education results for this school. Results are shown for the academic year they relate to.
Secondary
2024/25 results
Attainment 8 score
- School
- 44.4
- England
- 47.1
Pupils included: 257
Grade 5 or above in English & maths
- School
- 40.5%
- England
- 46.5%
Pupils included: 257
Grade 4 or above in English & maths
- School
- 60.3%
- England
- 66.4%
Pupils included: 257
Entering the EBacc
- School
- 6.6%
- England
- 41.5%
Pupils included: 257
Progress 8 was not published for 2024/25.
Source: Department for Education · School performance data.
Official inspection data
Ofsted inspections
Inspection information published by Ofsted, shown in Ofsted's own words.
Ofsted report card
Inspected 27 January 2026 · Published 8 June 2026
Renewed education inspection framework
- Safeguarding standards
- Met
- Inclusion
- Needs attention
- Curriculum and teaching
- Needs attention
- Achievement
- Needs attention
- Attendance and behaviour
- Urgent improvement
- Personal development and wellbeing
- Expected standard
- Early years (where applicable)
- Not applicable
- Post-16 provision (where applicable)
- Not applicable
- Leadership and governance
- Needs attention
Ofsted recorded this school in a category of concern: Requires significant improvement. The official report explains what this means and what happens next.
Other recent inspection activity
These visits do not carry a graded judgement and do not replace the inspection above.
Ungraded inspection
Inspected 17 November 2021 · Published 18 January 2022
Outcome: School remains Good (Concerns) - S5 Next
Previous inspection information
Ofsted inspection
Inspected 10 May 2023 · Published 27 June 2023
Overall effectiveness: Requires improvement
Safeguarding was effective: Yes
Ofsted changed how it inspects and reports on schools in November 2025. Judgements from the previous and current frameworks use different systems and should not be directly compared.
School Nest shows the inspection information Ofsted currently publishes for this school. It is not a complete record of every inspection the school has ever had.
Source: Ofsted · Inspections and outcomes. Official Ofsted page for this school
Location
- Address
- Bolton Road, Westhoughton, Bolton, Lancashire, BL5 3BZ
- Local authority
- Bolton
Ask School Nest AI
Ask a question about Westhoughton High School
Answers use only this school's official Department for Education record and the information the school has published on School Nest. If we don't hold the answer, School Nest AI will say so rather than guess.
AI can make mistakes and doesn't decide admissions — check important details with the school. Questions are sent to our AI provider and aren't stored by School Nest. See our Privacy Notice.
Contact this school
Parent Enquiries let families send a message straight to the school.