End of Summer Term 2011

The end of the school year is upon us, yet the final week has been just as eventful as ever! Hesketh House, the Junior Girls' School of Bolton School has now been officially opened by Sir Richard Brook, Director of the Leverhulme Trust. In a ceremony attended by all 188 girls aged 7 to 11 years of age, he unveiled a plaque which marked the official opening of the new state-of-the-art school. Parents then joined the party and there was a toast to the new school and a cake-cutting, and the afternoon ended with each child letting off a Hesketh House balloon, which symbolised the "learning without limits" ethos of the school.
There were further celebrations at Kidzone where the Mayor and Mayoress of Bolton were the special guests invited to celebrate ten years of success. They joined Heads from the Girls' Division, Boys' Division and Infant School, as well as teachers, governors and staff for a buffet lunch. And Beech House parents celebrated the end of the academic year with a Casino Royale themed Summer Ball. The glitzy, well-attended event was held at The Platinum Suite, The De Vere Whites Hotel at the Reebok Stadium. Funds raised on the night went to the Boot Out Breast Cancer charity.
In sport Year 13 pupil Henry Thompson has made school history by scoring an outstanding 186 runs against Cheadle Hulme School in a 50 over match. Bolton School ended their innings on 374-3 with another record being set when Thompson and Haseeb Hameed put on an opening partnership of 288 in 42 overs before the first wicket fell. Bolton School won the match by 125 runs. And our Junior Boys also enjoyed cricket success as the Under 11 team won the Association for Junior Independent Schools' Cup for the first time since 2008 against opponents from Newcastle under Lyme School. Three of our Junior Girls travelled to London and met with success at St Paul's School, Hammersmith in the national chess final - congratulations go to Year 4 pupil, Sharon Daniel, who won the Plate Award, having missed out on a final place by only half a point. Year 5 girls, Naadiya Mohammed and Zara Walsh also had a successful day, gaining 7th and 8th place in the U10s' National Girls' Chess Championship Final.
The Advanced Guitar Group gave an excellent performance at the Music for Youth National Festival this week after previous success in the regional heats where they were described as 'outstanding performers' by one of the adjudicators. Their main recital was given in the Adrian Boult Hall at the Birmingham Conservatoire, where the adjudicator complimented their playing as 'stunning and captivating with a true sense of flair'.
And the Senior School boys enjoyed a challenging final week before they broke for the summer holiday in which they focused on a variety of activities aimed at developing their horizons. Year 10 pupils were put through their paces by the army, who developed the boys' leadership, communication and teamwork skills through a number of assault courses and mental exercises. Year 7 enjoyed a week of culture,Year 8 had a week themed around outdoor pursuits, and Year 9 took part in a week revolving around Science activities. Throughout the activity week, Sixth Form students helped out in the running of events, whilst developing their own leadership skills.

27th June -1st July

A busy week for the School as the end of term approaches fast. On Monday, Holocaust Survivor Iby Knill visited the School to tell her story of how she survived a Nazi concentration camp and the effect it had on her life. Her visit was an invaluable opportunity for Year 9 pupils in the Boys' Division to hear a first hand account from one of three survivors of Auschwitz still alive in the UK. Iby's is a powerful message about never labelling groups and always having the courage to address individuals and their actions.
Pupils from twenty two primary schools from across the region took part in our Sports Festival this week. The annual event, now in its eighth year, saw pupils taking part in a wide range of events to test their sporting skills, including a rugby challenge and penalty shoot-out as well as having their golf, hockey, tennis, athletics and cricket skills tested. This year the overall winner was St Matthew's Primary with the runner up places going to St Peter's in Farnworth and Markland Hill CPS.
The Boys' Division rocked the great hall on Thursday evening with a sensational Summer Concert, culminating in a rock medley involving the whole of Year 7.The dramatic finale saw the Year 7’s join forces with soloists from Years 8 to 13 to belt out a series of classic rock anthems including 'These are Crazy, Crazy, Crazy Nights' from Kiss, Whitesnake's 'Here I Go Again', Guns and Roses' 'Sweet Child O Mine', Pink Floyd's 'We Don't Need No Education' and Bon Jovi's 'Living On A Prayer'.
Year 8 girls were delighted to welcome author Annabel Pitcher to their reading circle, who just seen her debut novel, My Sister Lives on the Mantelpiece, nominated for The Guardian's Children's Book of the Year prize. Twenty nine year old Annabel ran a wonderful creative writing session with the girls, helping them create a character's voice.
And our Junior Boys presented a cheque for £3, 000 to the Red Cross Japan Tsunami Appeal, raised through their Annual Charity Fun Run and a Dress in Red Day. Jackie Pickersgill, Community Fundraiser for the Red Cross, came to collect the cheque and gave a presentation in assembly, showing the boys how their money will be used to benefit those affected by the disaster. Also at Park Road the Year 6 boys have been entertaining family and friends with their annual drama production which this year is 'Hoodwinked' -a modern and witty take on the 'Robin Hood' story.