A CLASS act — that’s Bolton School’s Early Years’ Foundation Stage which inspectors have marked as outstanding.

The Independent Schools’ Inspectorate examined the nursery, infant zone and Kidzone, the school’s childcare service.

Inspectors said: “The setting makes outstanding provision in meeting the needs of the range of children who attend.

“Excellent teaching means that children of all ages and abilities make outstanding progress.”

And this included children with English as an additional language and special educational needs and disability.

The report added: “Some children who speak no English on entry to the setting rapidly acquire good language and communication skills, and go on to exceed the levels expected for their age by the time they move to Year One.”

Inspectors said: “The overall quality and standards of the early years provision are outstanding.”

Debbie Northin, head of the Infant School, said it was gratifying that the inspection found children benefited from the opportunities they have to interact with older children at lunchtimes, assemblies and playtimes.

She said older children also benefited from specialist teaching in French, swimming, music and ballet.

She added: “I was pleased the report found children were fully engaged and having fun through many child-led activities and that excellent behaviour is the norm and children quickly absorb the school’s ethos of respect, co-operation and tolerance of others.”

Sue Hincks, headmistress of the Girls’ Division, said: “It is extremely rewarding and exceptionally impressive for a school to be found to be outstanding in every single area.The findings are the result of having such a dedicated and professional staff who oversee our Early Years Foundation provision.

“A child’s formative years provide the foundation upon which their life is built and Bolton School has always worked hard to ensure that we provide the very best start in life. “