Bolton School has been named in The Sunday Times list for the best independent school.

Both the boys’ and girls’ division features on the prestigious list on The Sunday Times Parent Power Guide.

The guide is widely acknowledged as the most authoritative survey of the country’s top schools.

Bolton School's boys' division ranked in ninth place, while the girls' division was put in 10th position.

The fully searchable national database of more than 1,000 schools by name, local authority, town and postcode, is available online from Friday, December 1 and as a print supplement with The Sunday Times on Sunday, December 3.

Philip Britton, head of foundation at Bolton School, said: “It is pleasing to see both our Girls’ Division and Boys’ Division ranked amongst the best independent schools in the North West.

“We have always provided significant added value academically but it is good that this survey also recognises all the extras that we deliver as we seek to build resilience and character.

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“Few schools can match our extensive extra-curricular provision, our work in the local community, our bursary provision, our focus on wellbeing initiatives and how we use high-achieving Alumni and outside speakers to inspire our pupils.”

As well as an assessment of all academic results on a school-by-school basis, Parent Power enables parents to compare the performance of a given school with other schools in the same town, local authority or nationally.

There are also live links to school websites and schools’ most recent inspection reports.

Helen Davies, editor of Parent Power, said: “The educational landscape continues to be challenging across both the state and independent sectors, and this is the first true assessment of post-pandemic exam results.

“We believe these rankings and all the additional information on offer in Parent Power provide parents with a more reliable guide to academic achievement in schools today.”

In the North West category, many Greater Manchester schools made the list, with Withington Girls’ School top of the same category, The King’s School in Cheshire and Manchester High School for Girls making the top three.

The guide also advises parents in how to help keep their teenagers happy and healthy.