The Olive School, Bolton: 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, 108 families put The Olive School, Bolton as their first choice and 184 named it as one of their preferences, for 60 places offered. That is 1.8 first choices for every place. 48 families who put it first were not offered a place there.
First-choice demand has risen from 75 in 2021 to 108 in 2026, while places went from 61 to 60.
Across Bolton, 89% of families were offered their first-choice primary school for 2026 entry, and 97% were offered one of the schools they named.
In 2025, families in Bolton lodged 234 appeals against primary school offers; 194 reached a hearing and 26 succeeded (13.4% 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 | 60 | 108 | 184 | 1.8 | 48 |
| 2025 | 59 | 87 | 177 | 1.5 | 30 |
| 2024 | 60 | 102 | 202 | 1.7 | 45 |
| 2023 | 59 | 87 | 157 | 1.5 | 31 |
| 2022 | 60 | 97 | 158 | 1.6 | 37 |
| 2021 | 61 | 75 | 139 | 1.2 | 19 |
| 2020 | 60 | 88 | 161 | 1.5 | 30 |
| 2019 | 60 | 78 | 134 | 1.3 | 22 |
| 2018 | 60 | 51 | 96 | 0.8 | 1 |
| 2017 | 47 | 36 | 65 | 0.8 | 0 |
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.