A LITTLE drummer boy from Bolton has achieved one of the highest possible scores in a grade five drumming exam.

Nine-year-old Joel Wolstencroft, of Somerton Road, Breightmet, got a distinction in his exam with an impressive 92 per cent.

Joel has been a pupil at Booths Music in Churchgate, Bolton, since the age of six, having first learned percussion aged three at Bolton Music Centre.

Among Joel’s heroes are Foo Fighters drummer Dave Grohl and Rush drummer Neil Peart.

Joel said: “When I first started, I thought it was great because I was hitting things. Then I started drumming properly.

“When I’m drumming I feel like I’m going to be the best drummer in the world. I only told my friends today when I got back to school.

“As soon as I said to one of my friends that I’ve passed my grade five exams everyone just told their friends and they all came running over to me.”

Joel also said he was thinking of doing his grade eight.

Father David, 47, said: “He’s done absolutely brilliantly, I can’t emphasise it enough.

“For his age, he’s progressed quickly. He’s been playing drums quite a long time.

“He was so obsessed with doing it we wanted to get him doing something with it.”

Mr Wolstencroft said that, although music ran in the family, Joel has set a new trend.

He said: “We like our rock music and that’s probably the basis of it, really.

“My brothers play guitar and my dad used to play guitar but none of them play drums.

“If we were going to start Joel, we wanted to start him when he was young.

“Where he goes is down to him, really. I just hope he’s not going to lose that interest, I hope he keeps on doing it.

“It’d be nice for him to get in a band one day and see where he goes from there.”

Mr Wolstencroft reserved special praise for Joel’s drumming teacher, Alex Langford-Taylor, aged 24, who works at Booths. He said: “Alex has been spot on really. She’s become a friend over the last few years.”

Ms Langford-Taylor, who said Joel had achieved one of the highest grade five scores she was aware of in a drumming exam, added that it was easy to spot his talent from day one.

She added: “I’m over the moon — he’s a fantastic little drummer. I knew he was capable of a distinction but we just couldn’t believe it when he got his results.

“He’s a sweetheart and so passionate for a nine-year-old.

“Anything to do with drumming, he loves it.

“He lives and breathes drumming.”