It has been a week full of events and trips across the whole Bolton School foundation!
Old Boy Mark Gregory, who is now a television documentary producer/director, came into school to talk to pupils in the Boys' and Girls' Divisions about his work. He gave two fascinating talks, both of which looked at the importance of making television about current affairs, in order to discover and communicate the truth about what is going on in the world. He was also able to give the students an insight into how best to approach a career in television.
Meanwhile, the Year 9 boys took advantage of this week's SPACE session to
fundraise for Guide Dogs. They spent Tuesday afternoon completing a sponsored Fun Run around the Levels. The money will go towards sponsoring a Guide Dog puppy later in the year.
The U14s Football team were also out and about on Tuesday. They travelled to the Fylde Coast to take part in the
AKS Football Tournament, and after a very close competition, made it through to the final. They played QEGS Blackburn, and emerged victorious with a score of 4-1!
As part of the Girls' Division PSE programme, the
Year 9 girls were quizzed on their knowledge of Bolton School's heritage. This was a really fun way for them to learn about Lord Leverhulme's legacy.
Bolton School held its' first
Spelling Bee for local primary school children this week. The Riley Centre was packed as the pupils came forward to take on the challenge of tough words like “onomatopoeia” and “encyclopaedia” - proving the event to be a smash hit with both the Year 5 pupils who took part and the parents who came to support them!
Senior school pupils have had their own linguistic challenges: pupils from both Divisions took part in the
North West heats of the French Spelling Bee at Manchester Met on Wednesday. Two Bolton School boys even made it through to the final, to be held in Cambridge this July!
Thirteen boys and two girls also took part in
Manchester Classics Reading Competition held at Stockport Grammar. Tasked with reading Latin or Greek texts with the correct pronunciation and emphasis in front of an audience, this was a great test of their skills. Josh Butterworth and James Chia came first and second respectively in the Sixth Form Latin Prose category, while Mark Turner came second for his GCSE Greek reading.
On Wednesday evening, the Girls' Division held a celebration of creativity in the form of an
Open Mic Night. It was a fantastic evening, with performances from eighteen pupils, Old Girl Danielle Tomlinson, and Mancunian slam poet Mike Garry. The poems and prose read out by Bolton School's pupils really showed off their talent and creativity, with Mike commenting on the high standard at several points throughout the evening.
The school has also been celebrating the successes of
Indie musician Jordan Allen, who left Bolton School in 2010. He has collected rave reviews ahead of the launch of his EP, 'I Wanna Be Remembered', which will be released on iTunes on the 29th of March. He plans to return to the Boys' Division soon to talk to boys about his experiences in the music industry.
The school hosted its' inaugural
Lacrosse Festival on Thursday. Undeterred by the wet and windy weather, the Girls' Division's Year 9 and 10 lacrosse players offered local primary school pupils a number of fun skill-building activities. The afternoon ended with a series of heats for the Greater Manchester Schools' Games; the Bolton School Junior Girls and Saints Osmund and Andrew RC Primary School will go on to represent Bolton at the Games. The primary and senior school pupils alike had a great time in spite of the weather!
Another group of Year 9 girls had a very different afternoon: they travelled to Manchester University to take part in a
Lego Robotics Workshop. Working with Bolton Muslim Girls’ School, they were tutored in the programming skills to enable them to create a working robot and complete the day's challenge! The girls were mentored by Robogals, a student-run organisation which aims to engage schoolgirls with engineering and other traditionally 'male' subjects.
The Junior Girls at Hesketh House have been celebrating
Shakespeare Week - a great opportunity to learn more about the Bard through a number of fun activities. Each girl has been sent a 'Shakespeare Passport' by the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, who organised the national event. They have used these passports to access Shakespeare's life and works in a mental journey back in time. There have also been opportunities to dress up and perform sections of Shakespeare's plays, from
Julius Caesar to
Macbeth,
Much Ado About Nothing to
A Midsummer Night's Dream.
Professor Emily Jackson, who is Head of the Department of Law at the London School of Economics, addressed the Sixth Form on Friday. She spoke to studying Philosophy and Ethics students about
Assisted Dying and the Law. This was a great opportunity for the girls to engage with an ongoing debate.
Finally, girls and boys at
Beech House Infants’ Department have raised over £1,000 for Sport Relief!
Staff and pupils alike wore Sport Relief t-shirts, headbands and wristbands, and came to school in their trainers. They also completed a sponsored run and held a cake sale.
