MORE than one third of secondary school children in Bolton do not attend a good or outstanding school, according to the government education watchdog.

But in neighbouring Bury, more than 90 per cent of children go to a top-graded school.

Ofsted found that only 64 per cent of children in Bolton — down from nearly 70 per cent last year? attended a good or outstanding school — compared to 87 per cent of primary school children attending grade one or two rated schools, which was a rise of one per cent.

The figures were released as part of Ofsted's Chief Inspector Sir Michael Wilshaw's annual report.

Bolton found itself in the bottom half of the country, ranked joint 116 out of 150 local authorities for the numbers of children attending good high schools. But for primary school children, it was placed in the top half, placed in joint 35th place in the country.

Local education authority bosses say children were leaving school with good GCSE results — and the borough was among the best in the country for raising achievements of disadvantaged pupils.

A Bolton Council spokesman said: “We acknowledge the comments made in the Ofsted Annual Report and are aware of the areas which require improvement.

"We recognise that Bolton has its challenges but we are committed to working with our schools to raise standards across the board.

“We have already made great improvements in our primary schools and our Key Stage 2 results show that pupils have raised attainment further since last year.

"Our Year Six pupils are performing higher than the national average and this report reveals that 87 per cent of pupils attend a primary school that is either good or outstanding.

He added: “With secondary schools, we have collaborated our efforts to raise standards at GCSE level and our students are delivering fantastic results.

"We are working hard to narrow the gap between children who are more disadvantaged and their peers, and Bolton is in the top 50 authorities in the country for raising the achievements of its pupils who are eligible for free school meals.

“Clearly, we are disappointed with parts of the report but we are determined to address the issues together with our secondary school headteachers.”

Sir Michael said he was increasingly concerned that the early years of secondary school are failing to build on the improvements made in primary schools.

He said: "The nation should be worried about a growing divide between primary and secondary schools."

* In Bury, 91 per cent of children attended a Ofsted graded outstanding or good secondary school, and 84 per cent go to highly-rated primary schools; in Salford 59 per cent go to a good or outstanding high school and 84 per cent to a primary school.