Bolton School Boys' and Girls' Divisions are equal top in the borough in the government’s annual secondary school performance tables.  This year, the Department for Education and Skills has set a new benchmark and has ranked schools on how many pupils achieved five or more A*-C grades, including English and Mathematics.  Both the Boys’ Division and the Girls’ Division recorded a 99% pass rate based on this criteria (with a 100% pass rate for each school based on five or more grades A*-C in any subjects).  This placed the Schools equal top of the Bolton area league table.  No other school achieved higher GCSE pass levels in Bolton or in the surrounding boroughs of Blackburn, Bury, Oldham, Preston, Rochdale, Salford, Warrington and Wigan.

Girls’ Division Headmistress, Mrs Gill Richards said: "I am delighted that we are doing so exceptionally well.  I strongly believe that English, Mathematics, Science and a Foreign Language are the key skills which every school leaver needs to take them into the world of work.  When the National Curriculum was modified to make a modern foreign language non-compulsory, we did not follow suit.  We live and work in a global economy and these basic skills are vital to the country’s performance.”

Boys’ Division Headmaster, Mr Mervyn Brooker commented: “It is good to see that our boys are bucking the national trend.  I dislike the league tables because I feel that they are misleading.  We concentrate on courses which better prepare our boys for their futures, whether or not they move the school up the table.  At least this new approach, which includes the harder core subjects, is more meaningful.”

The national average for achieving 5 or more A* - C grades (including English and Maths) was 45.8% of pupils: the Borough of Bolton average was 38%.

Full league tables of local secondary schools (based on 2006 GCSE results) can be downloaded below.