Woodbridge College, Bolton
Woodbridge College is a special school for pupils aged 19 to 25 in Bolton. It was rated Good at its last graded Ofsted inspection, in January 2025.
- Ofsted
- Good (2025)
Data last updated 26 Oct 2026
Woodbridge College in detail
Compared with nearby schools
The nearest other special schools to Woodbridge College are Lake House School (1.9 miles); Green Fold School (2.1 miles, Outstanding); Ladywood School (2.1 miles, Outstanding); and Birtenshaw College (2.4 miles, Requires improvement).
Lake House SchoolGreen Fold SchoolLadywood SchoolBirtenshaw College
Getting there
The nearest railway station is Kearsley Rail Station, about 980 metres away (roughly a 12-minute walk).
6 bus stops are within a five-minute walk; the closest is Melville Road (opposite), 120 metres away.
The area around the school
Measured by the 2025 English Indices of Deprivation, the neighbourhood Woodbridge College stands in is among the 20% most deprived neighbourhoods in England. On income deprivation affecting children it is in the 4th decile, where the 1st is the most deprived. 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
Woodbridge College creates a welcoming, inclusive environment where students feel valued and safe. The college excels at building real-world skills through community visits, work placements and volunteering that boost students' confidence and independence. Staff are highly skilled at supporting students with complex needs, using tailored communication strategies and personalised learning activities that help students make real progress towards their goals.
Key Strengths
- Students thrive through community engagement, work placements and volunteering that build confidence and independence
- Staff use skillful teaching methods including visual cues, communication aids and personalised support tailored to individual needs
- Strong collaboration between tutors, teaching assistants and speech and language therapists to support communication development
- Comprehensive personal development curriculum covering relationships, consent, British values and respect
- Effective leadership with accurate oversight of education quality and strong governance
Areas for Improvement
- Some tutors set targets that are too broad, making it difficult to translate them into specific learning activities
- Insufficient processing time given to students when using questioning techniques in lessons
- Staffing ratios in some instances do not allow all students to receive full support during lessons
Safeguarding
Safeguarding arrangements are effective.
Extracurricular Activities
Work placements, volunteering projects, community visits to shops and cafes, art exhibitions in Manchester, Duke of Edinburgh's Award expeditions and mud walks
Woodbridge College is a specialist college for students aged 19-25 with severe learning difficulties and profound and multiple learning disabilities. The college has improved from its previous 'requires improvement' rating to 'good' across all areas.
At a Glance
No
Boarding
No
Nursery
No
Special Measures
How Does This School Compare?
Ranked against 5 nearby schools
Keep up with Woodbridge College
Getting There
Train Stations
Bus Stops
Free school transport
Check free transport to Woodbridge College from your postcode →
You apply to the council where you live. Woodbridge 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
- 13
- Fatal
- 1
- Serious
- 0
- Children hurt
- 1
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 13 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: 1 fatal, 0 serious and 12 slight.
1 child aged 0 to 15 was hurt.
1 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(4)
Special educational needs provision
Woodbridge 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 Woodbridge College
What is Woodbridge College's Ofsted rating?
Woodbridge College was rated Good at its most recent Ofsted inspection in January 2025.
What is the catchment area for Woodbridge College?
No fixed boundary. When Woodbridge College is oversubscribed, Bolton allocates places by its published criteria, usually ending with home-to-school distance.
Does Woodbridge College have specialist SEN provision?
Woodbridge College is not approved under Section 41 of the Children and Families Act 2014.
How do I apply to Woodbridge College?
Apply through Bolton's coordinated admissions process, naming Woodbridge 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 Woodbridge College?
Within 500 m of the school's mapped location, police recorded 13 road collisions in which someone was injured in 2021 to 2025: 1 fatal, 0 serious and 12 slight. 1 child aged 0 to 15 was hurt. 1 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 Woodbridge College?
Woodbridge College is at Springfield Road, Kearsley, Bolton, Greater Manchester, BL4 8LB.
Source: Department for Transport, Road Safety Data (STATS19)