29th November 2013

November ended with a very busy week within the school. A festive mood was forefront in all divisions, with fundraising and academic lectures also in abundance.

Keen Year 11 Languages’ students from local schools joined Bolton School pupils for a Saturday morning of Modern ForeignLanguages.  Over 70 students from Bolton School, Little Lever, Thornleigh Salesian, Sharples, Ladybridge, Smithills and Canon Slade High Schools began the morning with a delicious French breakfast served in the new Riley Sixth Form Centre, along with a languages’ quiz.

Over 60 Girls' Division Year 13 students and staff took part in the Children's Commissioner’s Children and Young People’s Takeover Day 2013.  Students took on staff roles in all areas of the school from the Headmistress and teachers, through to pastoral roles, technical support and administrative roles.  Miss Reynolds, who helped organise the event said: "Takeover Day has given the Year 13 girls a chance to experience what it is really like to work in the school. They have been looking at ways to promote independent learning and I hope that the day has encouraged more students to see teaching and working in the school environment as a worthwhile profession and for them to possibly aspire to be teachers."

Lab in a Lorry, a mobile Science lab for young people which is currently touring the North-West, has made its way to Bolton School.  The Institute of Physics’ (IoP) project is aimed at encouraging positive attitudes towards science and at making science and engineering more attractive to 11-14 year olds.  James Bamford, Senior Operations Coordinator for the IoP, said: “Lab in a Lorry is a fantastic experience for young people. It generates excitement and curiosity in science by letting them explore experimental science for themselves with the help of expert mentors.”

 

 

Year 10 girls studying GCSE Spanish at Bolton School enjoyed a Spanish class with a difference when they enjoyed a tapas banquet served at Viva España in Horwich.

Chris Eatough, who attended Bolton School has donated his US National Champions’ jersey, which he won in 2005 for 24 hour mountain bike endurance riding. 

 

 

Both the Boys’ and Girls’ Division teachers took part in Movember, raising money and awareness for Prostate Cancer UK by growing moustaches for Movember!

 

 

Having heard Year 11 pupil Riya Kalhan singing in a concert the Mayoress requested the Bolton School pupil sing at a Rotary Club dinner held at the Reebok, which comprised an audience of over 1000 business delegates.

The Boys’ Division Percussion Ensemble directed by Mr Forgrieve, gave their usual outstanding performance to the Junior pupils at St Mary’s RC Primary School on Monday 25^th November.  This ensemble is a well-established group and has been performing to primary school audiences since the group was formed three years ago.  The concert was warmly received by staff and pupils alike and Mr Forgrieve and the ensemble held the attention of the young audience throughout the 30 minute performance.

22nd November 2013

Over the weekend the Joint Chamber Choir, directed by Mrs Whitmore and Mr Ainscough, gave a superb performance at the annual fund raising concert given in aid of ‘Muscular Dystrophy’ at Christ Church, Heaton. They shared the stage with Ellenbrook and Boothstown Brass Band and they played to an audience so large that there were two sittings in the Parish Hall to serve mince pies and wine during the interval.

Also this year’s Girls’ Autumn Concert showcased the depth and breadth of musical talent within the Girls’ Division. In addition, this year’s Bolton School Old Girls’Christmas Market was bigger and better than ever! The new Riley Sixth Form Centre offered space for the market to expand into beyond the usual confines of the Arts Centre. The event, aimed at shoppers looking for that extra special gift, included many local traders as well as pupils and parents, who this year were invited to set up stalls to raise money for their own charities and causes.

The Bolton School Swim Team has not lost in a competition for the past 3 years. This has included competitive swimming galas every single week from September to May each year. The swimming matches are against highly ranked aquatics schools such as Stockport Grammar, Hulme Oldham, Bury Grammar School, Sandbach, Ripley St Thomas and Manchester Grammar School (MGS).  The swim team continues to have excellent participation numbers and with a large squad of such strength, we are able to consistently swim different boys each week. This includes a superb 16 boys from Year 7 alone who have represented Bolton School at swimming this year.

Sixth Form students enjoyed the latest in a series of Science-based lectures when Dr John Roberts, School of Physics and Astronomy, The University of Manchester, visited Bolton School. Dr Roberts’s presentation, entitled “Nuclear Energy – The Facts behind the Fuss” attracted an audience of Physics students from Years 11 to 13.

Bolton School Sixth Form pupil Andrew Keat overcame 150 other local boys to win the U18s’ Bolton Schools’ Cross Country Championship, which took place at Rivington and Blackrod High School. A total of 17 Schools participated.  Andrew will now go on to represent the town at the County Championships which will take place in February at Canon Slade School.

 

Dr Melanie Windridge returned to Bolton School to present a fascinating lecture entitled “Power in the Future, the Physics of Fusion”, which was delivered through the Ogden Trust Partnership.  The Year 11 to 13 students from Turton High School and Bolton School learnt about how scientists working on nuclear fusion hope to replicate the behaviour of the Sun here on Earth to produce a plentiful and environmentally friendly energy source that offers a viable alternative to fossil fuels. They were told how power will be generated from fusion power stations in a process that is clean, green, safe and abundant.

 

 

Bolton SchoolInfant School Nursery Nurse, Stacy McKee, has had her “super-mum” efforts rewarded by winning a Personal Achievement Award at the Mecca Bingo Awards in association with The Best of Bolton.

 

Nikos Siragasan artistic wood-turner and carver from Rethymno, Crete visited Bolton School to give a fascinating lesson on wood-turning.  Girls and boys from both divisions enjoyed a morning learning about the tools, how to use them and how Nikos works and where he gets his passion from.

15th November 2013

The week has been a very active one throughout the whole school.

Over 40 Old Girls returned to the Girls’ Division and joined pupils and staff for their Armistice Service, held in the School’s Great Hall. The Old Girls processed into the service, each accompanied by a Sixth Form Prefect, before joining the School in hymns, listening to readings and observing the customary two-minute silence. 

After the Commemoration, the Old Girls who had attended went on to the Arts Centre for a lunch at which they enjoyed Year 7 girls’ singing of the School Song and songs from Les Misérables.

 

 

Boys’ Division Senior School pupils attended a Remembrance Day Assembly to commemorate soldiers who fought in conflicts from World War I to the present day.

The assembly encouraged the boys to remember those who gave their lives, and to be inspired by stories of bravery. Donations were made by the boys to the Poppy Appeal. The assembly ended with a procession through the Great Hall and the laying of poppy wreaths by Sixth Form pupils.

Bolton School Girls' Division took part in ’Operation Christmas Child’. The girls donated individually and collectively a shoebox which they decoratively wrapped and filled with essentials including calculators, pens, toothpaste, hairbrushes, combs, soaps, hats, scarfs and one or two luxuries including teddy bears and sweets.

Sixth Form students from Bolton School have been undergoing intensive training in order to be able to assist in delivering three taster sessions for disabled skiers in the coming weeks.  Over 30 skiers, all aged between 11 and 15 from Bolton, have signed up for the sessions. The students were joined at Chill Factore near the Trafford Centre by Mrs Sara Cooper, who, along with husband Dr Steven Cooper (a teacher at Bolton School) and Disability SnowSport UK has organised a disability ski programme, which offers residents of Bolton with a disability the opportunity to experience the thrill of skiing.

 

 

 

An exhibition of artwork produced by last year’s Year 6 pupils was put on show in the Market Place, Bolton. The work shows the detailed rotational designs for wallpaper paintings and was created in the style of the Victorian artist, William Morris. Year 6 pupils created these fine, colourful and intricate patterns as part of their Learning Challenges work in Art and History.

 

This year’s Bolton School Modern ForeignLanguages’ (MFL) Day for local primary school children was bigger than ever in the range of taster languages that could be sampled, and 14 schools took part.

The week ended with riot of colour, excitement and costumes  as Nursery staff, parents and children from Tweenies to Butterflies at Bolton School Nursery, took part in a full day fundraiser to raise money for BBC Children in Need.

 

 

Also Year 11 pupil singer songwriter ImanOrths sang live for Children in Need outside the BBC studios in London. 

 

 

8th November 2013

The first week in November was all about visitors and awards.

Former Girls’ Division pupil Lizzie Foster returned to Bolton School to speak to Year 12 students about her career at the BBC, as part of their PSHE programme.

 

Lizzie attended the Girls’ Division Sixth Form from 1987-1989. She currently works at the new Media City Centre, producing documentaries and quizzes for Radio 4, having previously worked on TV programmes such as Mastermind and A Question of Sport.

Another visitor, Gisle Krogseth, gave a free lunchtime Classical Guitar Recital/Lecture at Bolton School Arts Centre.  Gisle is a leading Norwegian guitarist and composer. He spoke about his life as a musician and played some of his own compositions including “Runes” and “Sonatina dell’ Adriatico” for the audience.

 

 

The Russian and German Departments at Bolton School Boys’ Division have each received a prestigious Good Schools' Guide Award for their performance at A Level. The honours were received in the A Level Awards 2012 for the best results achieved by boys at an English School at AS Level.

 

 

 

Bolton School played host to the regional final of the National Chess Team Challenge for Secondary Schools. Seven schools took part including teams from Bolton School Boys’ and Girls’ Divisions, making up 14 teams of 4. The afternoon tournament lasted around two hours and consisted of four rounds each lasting 25 minutes.