The Olive School, Bolton

About The Olive School, Bolton

The Olive School, Bolton is a Muslim primary school in Bolton that is currently oversubscribed by a significant margin. For its 59 Reception places in the 2025/26 admissions cycle, the school received 177 total applications, giving an oversubscription ratio of 3 to 1. Of those, 87 were first-preference applications, and 57 first-preference offers were made. The school currently has 425 pupils on roll against a capacity of 420, so it is running slightly over its official number. The proportion of pupils eligible for free school meals stands at 18.1 per cent, which is above the national average for primary schools. This suggests the school serves a community with above-average levels of disadvantage, yet demand from local families remains extremely high. The school is one of 16 primary schools in Bolton rated Outstanding by Ofsted, and it sits just 0.4 km from another Outstanding-rated school, The Valley Community Primary School, indicating a cluster of high-performing provision in this part of the borough.

Academically, The Olive School is the top-ranked primary in Bolton according to its Key Stage 2 results. It achieved a score of 92 on the KS2 reading, writing and maths expected standard metric, placing it first out of 87 schools in the local authority and in the top 2 per cent nationally. In the 2023/24 assessments, 92 per cent of pupils reached the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined, compared with a Bolton local authority average of 66 per cent. The school also performed strongly at the higher standard, with 20 per cent of pupils achieving that level across all three subjects. In reading, the average scaled score was 111, with 48 per cent of pupils reaching the higher standard. In maths, the average scaled score was 109, and 47 per cent achieved the higher standard. Writing was slightly lower, with 27 per cent at the higher standard. The school’s most recent graded Ofsted inspection in July 2019 rated it Outstanding overall, with Outstanding for leadership and management, early years provision, and personal development. An ungraded inspection in February 2025 confirmed that standards have been maintained.

The school offers a broad range of facilities including an outdoor playground, art studios, an ICT suite, a sports hall, music rooms and a chapel. Sports provision includes football, cricket, swimming, tennis and dance, while extracurricular clubs cover drama, film club and coding. The school reports a wide array of SEND provisions, covering specific learning difficulties such as dyslexia, speech, language and communication needs, social, emotional and mental health support, hearing and visual impairments, multi-sensory impairment, physical disability and other difficulties. Parent views are overwhelmingly positive: 100 per cent of respondents to the Ofsted Parent View survey would recommend the school, and 94 per cent strongly agreed that their child is happy and feels safe. For SEND support specifically, 100 per cent of parents who responded strongly agreed that the school gives children the support they need. This is a school that suits families who prioritise strong academic outcomes, a faith-based environment, and a setting where the school is heavily oversubscribed, so early application as a first preference is essential.

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