Birtenshaw College, Bolton
Birtenshaw College is a special school for pupils aged 16 to 25 in Bolton. It was rated Requires improvement at its last graded Ofsted inspection, in March 2024. Ofsted's ungraded inspection in January 2025 did not change this grade.
- Ofsted
- Requires improvement (2024)
Data last updated 27 Oct 2026
Birtenshaw College in detail
Compared with nearby schools
The nearest other special schools to Birtenshaw College are EdStart Schools Bolton (0.5 miles); Lake House School (0.7 miles); Raise Education and Wellbeing School (1.1 miles, Good); and Thomasson Memorial School (1.4 miles, Good).
EdStart Schools BoltonLake House SchoolRaise Education and Wellbeing SchoolThomasson Memorial School
Getting there
The nearest railway station is Bolton Rail Station, about 1050 metres away (roughly a 13-minute walk).
13 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Springfield Street (opposite), 160 metres away.
The area around the school
Measured by the 2025 English Indices of Deprivation, the neighbourhood Birtenshaw College stands in is among the 10% most deprived neighbourhoods in England. This describes where the school is, not where its pupils live.
Sources: NaPTAN (Department for Transport); English Indices of Deprivation 2025 (MHCLG); data.police.uk street-level crime
Key Information
DfE GIASOfsted Rating
Ofsted · 2 years agoOverall
Quality of Education
Behaviour & Attitudes
Personal Development
Leadership & Management
Safeguarding: effective
Source: Ofsted, further education and skills inspections and outcomes (Open Government Licence)
Ofsted Insights
From Ofsted's January 2025 inspection report.
What This School Does Well
Birtenshaw College provides tailored support for learners with complex needs, including specialist therapies and one-to-one sessions. The staff have been trained to give learners thinking time and space to work independently, which has created a calmer and more respectful learning environment. The college celebrates small steps of progress through its 'WOW moments' approach, recognizing that even tiny achievements have a big impact on learners' lives.
Key Strengths
- Staff now allow learners sufficient time to process questions and complete activities independently before offering help, creating a more supportive learning environment
- Leaders have improved curriculum sequencing across employability, learning for life, and communication pathways with logical ordering of topics
- Teachers use specialist therapies and total communication strategies effectively to support learners with profound and multiple learning disabilities
- Small incremental progress is now celebrated through weekly 'WOW moments' that recognize learners' achievements towards their individual goals
- Learning support assistants build strong relationships with learners and use clear routines to help them manage self-regulation
Areas for Improvement
- Some learners do not experience well-planned curriculum as teachers move on to new concepts too quickly before learners have spent sufficient time learning
- Several targets are written in overly complicated language that is difficult for less experienced staff to translate into learning activities
- Some English and maths targets focus too much on qualifications rather than functional skills needed for adult life, such as handling money and budgeting
- Inconsistency in how well teachers plan and deliver lessons across the college
Extracurricular Activities
café sessions, enterprise sessions, college fair, community learning
Birtenshaw College is an independent specialist college that was inspected in March 2024 and judged to require improvement. This monitoring visit in January 2025 evaluated progress on the main areas for improvement.
At a Glance
No
Boarding
No
Nursery
No
Special Measures
How Does This School Compare?
Ranked against 5 nearby schools
Keep up with Birtenshaw College
Getting There
Bus Stops
Free school transport
Check free transport to Birtenshaw College from your postcode →
You apply to the council where you live. Birtenshaw College is in Bolton; for families living there:
Apply to Bolton for free school transport. Its policy is on the council's website.
Safety and surroundings
Road collisions within 500 m (2021 to 2025)
- Collisions
- 34
- Fatal
- 0
- Serious
- 6
- Children hurt
- 4
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 34 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 6 serious and 28 slight.
4 children aged 0 to 15 were hurt: 3 on foot and 1 on a bicycle.
5 of the collisions happened on a weekday between 08:00 and 09:30 or 14:45 and 16:30, holidays included.
The typical figure for schools in Bolton is 14 (the median across 148 schools, same distance and years).
Serious and slight counts use the Department for Transport's severity adjustment, which allows for changes in how police forces record injuries; they are estimates, rounded to whole numbers. Distances are in a straight line. Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19), Open Government Licence v3.0.
Commute and house prices
Capacity & Demand
Area Demand Pressure - Bolton
Based on MHCLG Live Table 122 (2024-25, last 5 years) for Bolton
Across Bolton council
Places available
4,385
Applications
3,868
Got 1st preference
87.1%
Got preferred school
96.8%
All secondary applications across Bolton council (2026/27), not just this school.
Inspection History(7)
Further education and skills inspection
Special educational needs provision
Birtenshaw College is not approved under Section 41 of the Children and Families Act 2014.
Source: Get Information about Schools (GIAS), Department for Education.
Questions parents ask about Birtenshaw College
What is Birtenshaw College's Ofsted rating?
Birtenshaw College's most recent Ofsted inspection, in January 2025, was ungraded, so it gave no overall grade. At its last graded inspection, in March 2024, it was rated Requires Improvement.
What is the catchment area for Birtenshaw College?
No fixed boundary. When Birtenshaw College is oversubscribed, Bolton allocates places by its published criteria, usually ending with home-to-school distance.
Does Birtenshaw College have specialist SEN provision?
Birtenshaw College is not approved under Section 41 of the Children and Families Act 2014.
How do I apply to Birtenshaw College?
Apply through Bolton's coordinated admissions process, naming Birtenshaw College on your application. The national closing date in England is 31 October for secondary places and 15 January for primary places, in the year before your child starts.
How many road collisions happen near Birtenshaw College?
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 34 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: none fatal, 6 serious and 28 slight. 4 children aged 0 to 15 were hurt: 3 on foot and 1 on a bicycle. 5 of the collisions happened on a weekday between 08:00 and 09:30 or 14:45 and 16:30, holidays included. The typical figure for schools in Bolton is 14 (the median across 148 schools, same distance and years).
Where is Birtenshaw College?
Birtenshaw College is at Freya House - Viking Street, Bolton, BL3 2RR.
Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19)