23-27 May

The final week before the half term holidays and our Year 5 boys and girls have been enjoying themselves at our Outdoor Education Centre, Patterdale Hall, on the shore of Ullswater in the Lake District. Despite the mixed weather the pupils have been making the most of the activities on offer - from climbing to archery, kayaking and sailing.

Year 8 pupils at the Girls’ Division got to experience four countries in one day by taking part in a Languages day! From German cookery to Cuban Salsa the girls got to learn a bit about the culture of each country and get a flavour of the food, the language or the dance. In German cookery the girls made traditional German biscuits and waffles while in Italian and Russian they learned how to introduce themselves and how to say what they like and dislike. They also learned how to dance a traditional Cuban salsa, counting their steps in Spanish!

The winners of our Maths Challenge were rewarded this week as Miss Gorner, Primary Liaison Coordinator and Chemistry teacher in the Boys' Division, visited an assembly at Leigh Church of England Junior School to congratulate the girls and boys who won the challenge earlier in the year. The four pupils - James Partington, Courtney Berry, Jamie Barnes and Olivia Beaumont - overcame more than 20 other teams to win the overall prize. Each winner was given a W H Smith voucher worth £15 and the junior school won £100, which they said would be spent on maths equipment.

Money is still coming in from the Junior Boys’ Fun Run last week for the charities selected by the School Council, and we look forward to announcing the total raised in the near future. If you have any outstanding money, then please send it in to the office as soon as possible. And over in Hesketh House a fun afternoon was held aimed at Year 2 girls and their parents - from Bolton School's Infant Department (Beech House) and from other schools from across the region. The girls got to take part in activities including a treasure hunt and code cracking, while parents had the chance to meet the Head and teachers and see more of the new Junior School.

16-20 May 2011

Bolton School Junior Boys took to the field today dressed in an array of colourful fancy dress outfits in order to raise money for Derian House and for the British Red Cross Japan Tsunami Appeal, through their annual Fun Run! Pirates, cops and robbers, clowns and cowboys ran alongside characters from Star Wars, superheroes, a skeleton and Fred Flintstone! Joined by the Head of Junior Boys Mr Stephen Whittaker, the boys ran around the Senior School field for 40 minutes. The pupils ran in pairs, one would run whilst the other rested, and they were supported all the way by cheering parents.

Four Year 10 girls have also been raising money for charity by completing the Bupa Great Manchester Run. Mellissa Pye, Jessica Unsworth, Georgina Wallis and Abbie Palmer ran the 10 km and raised almost £3000 for Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research, a charity close to their hearts as their school friend Eleanor Harding is currently being treated for Leukaemia at the Royal Manchester Children's hospital. Family and friends supported the girls by giving generously, and their hard work in training and on the day was rewarded by the huge amount of money they raised.

The Bolton School Under 13 Rugby team showed they can adapt outstandingly to Rugby League when they attended a prestigious Independent Schools Rugby League competition at Ellesmere College. In the group stages Bolton played 4 games, winning 3 and drawing one. The final was played in front of all the competing teams and numerous officials from the host school and the administrators of The Rugby Football League. With the Bolton Boys taking the lead with a well earned try, opponents Glyncoed replied immediately and scored a winning try with 2 minutes remaining.

And our Year 5 girls got to spend a day in the life of a Tudor this week by taking part in a Hautbois Workshop. Hautbois are a lively and talented duo who use music as a vehicle for historical learning. The girls got to dress in full period costume, listen to the music, handle artefacts, and debate important issues of the time to enable a deeper understanding of the Tudor period. While Year 3 were also taken back in history to Roman times with a visit from a Roman Soldier! The girls got a taste of what it was really like to live in Britain over a thousand years ago through an interactive history presentation which gave them the chance to handle objects and artefacts from the period.

9 - 13 May 2011

Rob Moss, who left Bolton School in 2001, returned to the Sixth Form Common Room this week to revisit his past, whilst raising funds for Bolton Lads' and Girls' Club. Rob, who has twice been England Table Soccer Champion, took on pairs of Sixth Form students in the Common Room, where he first developed his skills. Each student pairing paid £2 each to play the current England Coach and if any pairing beat him, and one couple did (Elliot Lloyd and Chris Sumner), he paid them £20. Rob lost just the one match in an hour's worth of playing.

Chloe Wynne, a Year 11 pupil in the Girls' Division, has won the Be Creative: Be a Screen Champion national competition run by Film Education and The Industry Trust. Her prize is an iPad and the School has received four iMacs, a digital stills camera and a digital video camera. The competition involved students researching, designing and creating an original campaign to promote legitimate film and TV content - both at home and in the cinema - and discourage illegal downloads.

Sport wise, Sixth Form student James Roberts once again represented England as part of the Cerebral Palsy Development Football Squad, this time in the 7-a-side Development Tournament held in Denmark. James was part of the England squad who took on The Netherlands, Scotland and Denmark in matches played over three days in Vejen. Competition was tough but the team came away with the bronze of the tournament after beating Scotland 2-1 in the third place play off, and James even captained the squad in the game against Holland. Year 10 pupil Patrick Whelan has won the national U15s' basketball championship with his team Manchester Magic. The final was held at Stoke Mandeville Stadium and in an exciting game, Manchester Magic ran out winners at 83-73 points against Newham All Stars Sports Academy from London. Patrick has been playing basketball since he was six years old and he currently trains three times a week and plays at least 2 matches per week. His mother played for the Cameroon international team and inspired him to take up the sport. Patrick very much has his sights sets on playing for the U16s' England team. And our U13 boys are County Cricket Indoor Champions, having made their way through the qualifying rounds to the finals at Old Trafford where they beat Audenshaw in the final match to take the title.

And last weekend Bolton School pupils, teachers, parents and friends took over the Arts Centre and danced the night away in their very own version of the BBC's popular television show 'Strictly Come Dancing'. With the School's Swing Band and Guitar Group providing the musical entertainment, a series of dances were performed by members of the School's cross-divisional lunchtime Dance Club, before guests were invited to partake of a group dance and a Barn Dance. However the highlight of the sell-out event was the eagerly-awaited teachers' contest which pitted three pairs of the Boys' Division teaching staff against one another in a dance-off! The event proved to be a splendid evening of fun for all who attended and plans are already afoot for next year's 'Strictly Bolton School' evening.

2-6 May 2011

This week the School co-hosted a football festival with Bolton Wanderers, which offered an afternoon of fun and coaching sessions for Year 3 and Year 4 pupils from seven local primary schools. The after school sessions were the first part in the School's Football Festival for primary schools which is stretching over two evenings this year. Coaches from Bolton Wanderers and from the School, including two Sixth Form boys who have just completed their coaching badges with the Independent Schools' Football Association, taught the youngsters learnt about passing, shooting and dribbling and how to incorporate these into a game. Wanderers gave 100 tickets to the primary schools for children and their parents to attend the home game against Sunderland on Saturday. The second part of the festival will see over 260 Year 5 and Year 6 girls and boys taking part in a 5-a-side knockout tournament.

Also this week the Girls' Division Great Hall was filled with a magical showcase of music in their annual May Serenade. The very best of Bolton School's musical talent was on show for the concert, which involved the Senior Concert Band, Intermediate Concert Band, Joint Orchestra, String Ensemble, Percussion Ensemble, Middle School Choir, Senior Flute Choir, Junior Chamber Choir, Chamber Choir, Senior Choir and the Jazz Band. A collection at the end of the evening raised money for SKCV (Street Kids' Community Villages) in India.

The U15 Cricket team returned from their three day tour to Worcester with two out of three wins! First off the boys beat Wolverhampton Grammar, followed by a victory over Hereford Cathedral School. The final match of the tour was against Old Elizabethans and however this time the boys lost out by 3 wickets.

Two of our Sixth Form boys have been representing the nation abroad in their respective sports - Sam Higgins was "Back of the Tournament" on the successful Easter tour to Zimbabwe with the Combined English and Scottish Independent Schools' Barbarians (ISB). The standout game of the four match tour was against the national Zimbabwe U19s team at St John's in Harare, which the Barbarians won 21-14. It was the first British rugby tour of Zimbabwe for over 10 years and the boys were warmly received. They also found some time to help out in the local community and provided a coaching session at the Mbare Academy for 5-12 year olds. While James Roberts has once again been selected to represent England as part of the Cerebral Palsy Development Football Squad, this time in the 7-a-side Development Tournament held in Denmark. James will be playing for England against The Netherlands, Scotland and Denmark in matches played over three days in Vejen. He made his debut for England last July with a winning performance at the Home Nations Tournament in Dublin. We wish him and the England squad the best of luck this weekend.

And this evening will see the School play host to a Strictly Social evening where pupils from the joint Year 11-13 Strictly Dance club will be trying out their new skills in front of parents, staff and friends. Since November, pupils from both divisions have been learning ballroom and latin dance. The night will allow them to show off what they have learned.