Smithills School is an Academy converter serving secondary age pupils, located in Bolton, Lancashire. The school has 1,201 pupils enrolled. Ofsted: Requires improvement (graded inspection, 19 September 2023). Last inspected 31 March 2026. The Headteacher is Carolyn Dewse. The school is administered by Bolton local authority. It belongs to THE BOLTON IMPACT TRUST. It opened in 1 January 2014.
Applications for places at Smithills School are handled by the school or the local authority (Bolton). See the school's website for admissions arrangements, or read the GOV.UK guide to school admissions.
GCSE Performance (Key Stage 4)
36.5
Attainment 8 · 2024-25
−0.04
Progress 8 · 2023-24
20%
Grade 5+ in English & maths · 2024-25
47%
Grade 4+ in English & maths · 2024-25
3.25
EBacc average point score · 2024-25
32%
Entering the EBacc · 2024-25
Attainment 8 is the school's average GCSE score across eight key subjects — higher is better.
Progress 8 shows how much progress pupils made between ages 11 and 16 compared with similar pupils nationally — 0 is average, positive is above average. Shown for 2023-24, the most recent year the Department for Education published it.
Grade 5+ / 4+ in English & maths is the share of pupils achieving at least a strong pass (5) or a standard pass (4) in both subjects.
EBacc covers the English Baccalaureate subject mix: English, maths, sciences, a language, and history or geography.