Tonge Moor Primary Academy

About Tonge Moor Primary Academy

Tonge Moor Primary Academy is a school where demand from local families is clear: for the 2025/26 intake, it received 60 applications for 52 places, giving an oversubscription ratio of 1.15. That means more than one family applied for every available spot, and 32 of those applications came as first preferences. While the school doesn't publish a formal parent satisfaction survey, the fact that it's oversubscribed suggests it holds a solid reputation among Bolton families. The school is a state-funded primary for children aged 3 to 11, with nursery provision on site, and is led by headteacher Nicola Whittaker. It has no religious character, so it draws families from a broad mix of backgrounds. With 51.8% of pupils eligible for free school meals, it serves a community with above-average levels of disadvantage, which is important context for understanding its academic results.

Academically, Tonge Moor's most recent Ofsted inspection in January 2023 rated it Good across the board, including for quality of education, behaviour and attitudes, personal development, and early years provision. This is a significant improvement from its previous inspection in 2017, when it was rated Inadequate overall. At Key Stage 2 in 2023/24, 47% of pupils reached the expected standard in reading, writing and maths combined, compared to the Bolton local authority average of 66%. That places the school 80th out of 87 primary schools in the borough, in the bottom 50 nationally. However, individual subject results tell a more nuanced story: 77% met the expected standard in writing, and 67% in maths, while reading lagged at 60%. Only 2% reached the higher standard across all three subjects, though 17% hit higher in reading and 15% in writing.

The school offers a strong set of facilities including playing fields, a library, an ICT suite, a forest school, and even a chapel. Sports provision covers swimming, cricket, cross country, gymnastics and athletics, while clubs include choir, art, coding and eco club. For families with children who have additional needs, the SEND support is notably broad, covering specific learning difficulties like dyslexia, moderate learning difficulties, speech and language needs, hearing and multi-sensory impairment, physical disability, and autistic spectrum disorder. The nearest Outstanding-rated school is Moorgate Primary, just 0.3 km away, so families in this catchment have a nearby alternative if they're prioritising top Ofsted grades. Tonge Moor is best suited to families who value a genuinely inclusive, community-focused primary with strong pastoral support and a wide range of enrichment activities, and who are comfortable with academic results that sit below the local average.

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