20th December 2013

As the term drew to a close, the school seemed to be busier than ever! Old Girl Hannah Pike returned for a visit at the end of her first term at Loughborough University reading History and International Relations. She has been training hard to continue her sporting career, and has been awarded a sports scholarship as a result. As well as plans to play hockey for the university team, she also has her sights set on the Olympic hockey team for Tokyo in 2020!

Hesketh House and the Girls’ Division have also received exciting news from two of their pupils. Sharon Daniel (Year 7) and Mahima Raghavendra (Year 6) have flown out to the United Arab Emirates during the holidays to represent England U11s in the World Youth Chess Championship! This continues both girls’ outstanding achievements in the sport so far.

Meanwhile, over the weekend, the Junior Girls’ Choir and Senior Boys’ Division band the Parallel Oreos entertained guests at the Hilton Hotel in Manchester. This festive treat included songs from Hosanna Rock and traditional Christmas songs and carols.

As the school week started, the Christmas spirit continued. On Monday, Year 7 girls and Sixth Form chaperones took a lunchtime trip to Toys R Us in Bolton. However, this wasn’t just for fun: Year 7 collectively raised £2,404.90 from a day-long sponsored silence, and were at the toy shop to convert the cash into Christmas gifts for Key 103’s Cash for Kids’ Toys Appeal.

Monday evening brought the Boys’ Division Christmas Festival, held at the Victoria Hall in Bolton town centre for the first time. Although the setting was completely different, the Christmas Festival was as wonderful as ever. Traditional carols, biblical readings and contemporary reflections came together perfectly to celebrate the meaning of Christmas.

The Girls’ Division Ceremony of Carols was held in the packed Girls’ Division Great Hall on Tuesday evening, and was also a great success. A variety of uplifting Christmas songs and solemn readings, both traditional and modern, gave the evening a fantastic atmosphere throughout. The evening also saw an impromptu reunion of Old Girls after the Ceremony!

 

The final week of term has also seen the Nursery Class for 3 and 4 year olds perform their Nativity in Beech House. This was a great achievement for the children, as despite their young age, their performance ran smoothly and everyone remembered their lines.

The under-twos nursery class also invited parents and grandparents to Beech House this week for a Chirstmas-themed singalong. There was a great sense of inclusion throughout the session, with adults definitely encouraged to join in with their children.

Later on in the week, Hesketh House turned back time for Year 6 pupils, allowing them the opportunity to make traditional Victorian mince pies. They even got to try a 1861 ground beef mince pie, kindly provided by the catering staff, who had followed Mrs Beeton’s recipe.

Two teams of Sixth Formers have also had amazing success in raising funds to buy 600 Christmas puddings and 600 packets of variety biscuits for Urban Outreach. The campaign has involved pupils from both the Girls’ and Boys’ Divisions and from Junior and Senior Schools. Despite having only two and a half weeks, they raised the funds to pull off this amazing feat and on the last day of term they packed up Urban Outreach’s van to bursting point.

Finally, Beech House received a very special visitor on the last day of term: Santa Claus! Arriving on his vintage bus all the way from Lapland, Santa was the highlight of the day for the pupils, and an excellent way to end the term.