25 May 2012

It has been fundraising and charity efforts all the way at Bolton School, as the Junior Boys kicked off our whole school fundraiser for the LivLife charity. The boys took to the field dressed in an array of colourful fancy dress outfits in their annual Fun Run - the first event in a series of events at Bolton School to raise money for the charity. Football players, cavemen and cowboys ran alongside ghosts, daleks, bananas and even Olympic torch bearers! Joined by the Head of Junior Boys Mr Stephen Whittaker, and Mr Tim Dickinson, the boys ran around the Senior School running track for 40 minutes. For the first time in Bolton School's history, all parts of the Foundation, including pupils and staff, will come together to raise funds for a single cause, culminating in a day of action on Tuesday 10th July. In what will hopefully be a record-breaking day, all pupils and staff will wear Masaai clothing or red clothing to symbolise the Masaai, and undertake various fundraising activities including a sponsored walk to Rivington Pike. The LivLife Foundation is a charity set up two Old Boys that provides free and relevant education and vocational opportunities to some of the world's poorest people through educational centres in Tanzania.

Year 10 Girls' Division pupil, Eleanor Harding, ran the BUPA Manchester 10k run, raising over £1000 for Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research, despite being mid-way through an 18 month maintenance chemo regime herself. Eleanor ran the 10k in just 49 minutes, along with her parents and brother who supported her along the way. Since last year, Eleanor has moved from intensive chemo to a maintenance regime and has been working hard to regain her fitness. With the help of her gym, Virgin Active in Bolton, she has been following a programme to build up her strength and this, along with training with her dad, resulted in Eleanor being able to complete the run in a fantastic time without stopping.

And over one hundred staff, students, parents, alumni and friends of Bolton School enjoyed a glamorous black tie and evening dress dinner at the School's Arts and Conference Centre in order to raise funds for a forthcoming rugby tour to South Africa. A drinks reception was followed by a three course silver service dinner, and music on the night was provided by Ben Thompson (better known for playing Ryan Connor in Coronation Street), who plays with Manchester indie band the Rusholme Ruffians. Toby Cowling, a Year 12 student, also provided musical accompaniment on the night. The evening, which included a raffle, raised over £2,000 for the boys' forthcoming rugby tour to South Africa. The tour has also secured rugby shirt sponsorship from Deloitte, polo shirt sponsorship from Barton Grange Garden Centre as well as backing from local firms, DRL, Relph's Funeral Services and Silk Group.

And today the Headmaster of Bolton School Boys' Division has started tweeting.  You can view Mr Britton's Twitter account at https://twitter.com/#!/Philip_Britton.

18th May 2012

Year 12 student, Stephanie Gabbatt, has been named runner up in the Amnesty International Young Human Rights Reporter of the Year competition in her age group. A glitzy London awards ceremony was the culmination of the competition launched at the start of the year to produce an article no longer than 500 words highlighting a Human Rights abuse. There were three thousand entries overall from UK schools, and of the thousands of entries submitted, in the end Stephanie's entry on human trafficking earned her runner up in the Sixth Form category - an amazing achievement! And Sixth Form pupils Yasmin Ahmed, Olivia Davidson and Adam Woolley were invited by the Bolton Lads and Girls club to take part in Rolling Globe - a national campaign run by Oxfam, aimed at raising young people's awareness of international issues. The three students attended a series of youth led workshops and discussions with local MPs in Westminster, with the aim of creating more positive change.

The Year 9 Masterchef of 2012 has been crowned, and the winner is Kate Moss who won the judges over with her chocolate bread and butter pudding. The final live cook off between finalists Kate, and fellow pupil Iman Orths was a close fought battle with amazing food being produced by both girls, as each one cooked her 'signature dish'. Iman made a red thai curry, while Kate opted for the bread and butter pudding.

In sport, our International U18 Hockey player Hannah Pike took part in a national charity event for Wellchild called 'The Big Dribble'. The event, organised by England Hockey, involved a 100m obstacle course which was set up in cities throughout the UK, from Edinburgh to London. Hannah attended the Manchester leg of the tour in front of the town hall in Albert Square. She even ended up being interviewed for BBC Newsround as they turned up to film the event. And our Boys' Division U13 and U15 teams are off to a flying start in the AEGON Schools National Tennis Championships. Playing in the group stages, the boys beat schools such as Broughton College, Arnold and Kirkham grammar without dropping a set! Both teams hope to reach the knockout stages later in the year.

Also this week, Beech House’s Ugly Bug Ball saw the Reception class dress up as bugs and insects to celebrate the work they have been doing around exploring living things with dancing and playing games.

11 May 2012

It has been a week of sports stories at Bolton School. A Year 11 Athletics team from the Girls’ Division was crowned town champions, at an event held at Leverhulme Park Stadium.

Meanwhile, in the Boys’ Division, Patrick Whelan Patrick Whelan, a Year 11 student, has won a gold medal with the Manchester Team in the U16s' national basketball finals. Despite a season plagued by injury, Patrick more than played his part in both the semi-final and final, weighing in with 17 points in the final.

Last Friday evening saw the culmination of a two-day football festival for primary schools held at Bolton School. On Day 1, girls and boys from Years 3 and 4 took part in training sessions and coaching drills led by Bolton School and Bolton Wanderers Community Trust coaches. Day 2 saw Year 5 and 6 pupils from across the region battle it out in a 5-a-side competition. This year's A competition winners was Beaumont Primary School who overcame Horwich 2-0 in the final. Eagley Junior Primary School won the B competition, beating Sacred Heart with a golden goal in extra time to snatch a 2-1 victory. The girls' final was won by St Thomas of Canterbury RC Primary School who beat Castle Hill.

Three pupils from Bolton School Girls' Division, Amy Hadjinicolaou in Year 9 and Penny Roberts and Lucy Harper in Year 8, have represented Lancashire in a national U14 tennis competition. In games played over the weekend, they overcame Derbyshire in the first round and then won through against Hertfordshire and Worcestershire in the semi-finals only to lose out in the final against Staffordshire.

Bolton School played their last game of the rugby season as they hosted Regent House School from Belfast. The tourists won a hard fought game15-7 as they took an early lead and then defended vigorously to keep Bolton at bay. The game may have been hard but the relationships between the players and staff from both schools was first class, as Regents offered Bolton the opportunity to tour in Belfast.

4th May 2012

This week Bolton School hosted an evening of fashion and beauty in aid of Bolton Hospice. The evening offered a fashion show with clothes from Matalan and Vicky Martin, modelled by our very own sixth form pupils, and Beauty students from Bolton College provided manicures and massages for those attending the evening. Further funds were raised by the sixth formers holding raffles and setting up stalls selling pretty cupcakes and jewellery. Also The School’s musical talent was also on display with the Girls’ Division May Serenade, not to mention culinary expertise in the Year 9 girls’ Masterchef Semi Final!

A team of Year 7 boys entered the Bolton School's Gymnastics Competition for the first time and Sam Bowden came away with a silver medal! Sam, along with fellow pupils Cian McMahon, and Sammy Gatenby were the only boys in the competition and competed in the Advanced Category against around 55 girls. While Year 2 pupil Hollie Asquith has excelled at the British Roller Skating Championships in Peterborough. Hollie entered the British Tots Free Skating and finished an impressive 7th out of 19. She also competed in the British Tots Solo Dance and finished 10th out of 23.

The Boys' Division Catering team has raised £140 for Firwood House Care Home with an Easter raffle. Catering staff worked hard to sell tickets to boys and staff at the school, with Easter egg prizes on offer, which were donated by catering staff. Representatives from Firwood visited the school to be presented with the cheque, and the money raised will go to improving the sensory garden at the home.

And Sixth Form Girls had the opportunity of a lifetime when they visited the US and got to go inside the White House! The rare chance came about through an Old Girl who was the PA to a 91 year old attorney at the White House, and organised for the Year 12 History and Government and Politics students to gain access while on their trip to Washington. Meeting the president's dog was just one highlight as was leaving the building by the front door and waving to the tourists on the other side of the railings! The girls also visited the main sights of Washington and New York, and even stooped off at some Amish farms in Pennsylvania on the trip.