St James's Church of England High School: admissions history
How many families applied, how many places there were, and how far the last place went - every year we hold.
For September 2026 entry, 315 families put St James's Church of England High School as their first choice and 732 named it as one of their preferences, for 197 places offered. That is 1.6 first choices for every place. 122 families who put it first were not offered a place there.
First-choice demand has fallen from 376 in 2021 to 315 in 2026, while places went from 209 to 197.
Across Bolton, 87% of families were offered their first-choice secondary school for 2026 entry, and 97% were offered one of the schools they named.
In 2025, families in Bolton lodged 319 appeals against secondary school offers; 290 reached a hearing and 63 succeeded (21.7% of those heard).
Applications and offers by year
| Entry year | Places offered | First choices | Named at all | First choices per place | First choices not offered |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 197 | 315 | 732 | 1.6 | 122 |
| 2025 | 200 | 359 | 806 | 1.8 | 163 |
| 2024 | 198 | 358 | 816 | 1.8 | 161 |
| 2023 | 207 | 355 | 872 | 1.7 | 151 |
| 2022 | 204 | 306 | 862 | 1.5 | 117 |
| 2021 | 209 | 376 | 905 | 1.8 | 172 |
| 2020 | 204 | 366 | 934 | 1.8 | 166 |
| 2019 | 220 | 379 | 998 | 1.7 | 170 |
| 2018 | 208 | 393 | 1042 | 1.9 | 193 |
Source: DfE, Primary and secondary school applications and offers (school-level file). "Places offered" is the number of offers made on national offer day, which can differ from the school's published admission number.