A school praised for its ‘happy and well-ordered community’ has received an 'excellent' rating from inspectors.
A variety of lessons, extra-curricular activities, form meetings and assemblies were assessed at Bolton School’s Girls’ Division and Girls’ Junior School, Hesketh House.
During a three-day visit in April 2023, Independent Schools Inspectorate (ISI) graded staff and pupils of all ages excellent in each category after examining samples of their work.
Lynne Kyle, Head of Girls’ Division, said: “I am extremely proud of this inspection report, which perfectly reflects all of the hard work and achievements of the pupils in the Girls’ Division and of my colleagues.
“I am particularly delighted by the inspectors’ comments regarding the quality of the pupil’s personal and social development, and their recognition of our ‘happy and well-ordered community’, as well-being has been a focus for the Girls’ Division post-Covid.”
Inspectors observed and spent time talking with governors, canvassed the views of parents, staff and pupils through a questionnaire, and reviewed a host of documentation provided by the schools.
Key findings from the report include that pupils attained exceptionally high levels in public examinations, and achieved consistently high levels of knowledge, skills and understanding at all ages.
Ian Riley, the Foundation’s Chair of Governors, said: “I am incredibly pleased that the ISI inspectors found both the Girls’ Division and Hesketh House to be wholeheartedly achieving the Bolton School Foundation’s wider aim, which is to develop self-confident young people equipped with the knowledge, skills and attributes to allow them to lead a happy and fulfilled life and to make a difference for good in the wider community.
“For over a century, Bolton School has been a key driver of social mobility in the town, enabling generations of local children to achieve their full potential. The inspectors’ comments upon the diversity of our pupil community, which, through the impact of our bursary scheme, includes young people from a wide range of cultural and socio-economic backgrounds are therefore a point of particular pride to us all.”
The inspectors used these observations to assess the quality of the education provided and the schools’ compliance with various regulatory standards.
All of the latter standards were unequivocally met, while the inspectors determined the quality of the pupils’ academic and other achievements and of their personal development to be 'excellent'.
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