17 April 2015

The first week of the Summer Term at Bolton School was as busy as ever with pupils returning with news of overseas trips during the holidays and lots of events taking place.

This year marks the 30th Anniversary of the French Exchange. A group of Boys' and Girls' Division pupils travelled to Moulins in central France to stay with their exchange partners from Le Collège Saint-Benoît, and this week the French pupils are visiting them in return. The Bolton School pupils had a fantastic time sampling the culture of the Auvergne region, and during their visit the French pupils will enjoy all the North West has to offer in return. The long-standing links between the schools ensures that pupils on both sides of the English Channel have the fantastic opportunity to form new friendships and practice their foreign language skills with their peers.

The Sixth Form footballers' Madrid Tour was also a huge success. The boys found themselves very evenly matched in all six games against local Spanish club sides, and had a great time training at the Real Madrid CF Academy. Some of the boys even met Spanish National Manager Vicente del Bosque outside their hotel!

In other sporting news, Old Girls Natasha Lomas and Olivia Brown sent word of their successes playing tennis for the Wanderers tennis team. Their performance helped the team to win the Bolton Tennis Federation Winter League’s first division mixed doubles competition!

Once back in School after the break, pupils had the chance to enjoy a fantastic Lunchtime Concert featuring the talents of three young musicians: eight-year-old pianist Harry James Bowden; thirteen-year-old flautist Alexandra Clarke, who is a member of the National Children's Orchestra; and sixteen-year-old Elliott Gaston-Ross, the 2014 winner of the BBC Young Musician of the Year Percussion Category Final who also performed with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra in the televised grand final. The quality of music from all three musicians was exemplary and the audience thoroughly enjoyed the performance.

This was the first in a series of Lunchtime Concerts which will continue for the next three Tuesdays; they are free of charge and open to the public. For more information, including venues, times and performers, please check the Noticeboard.

Over the Easter break, Boys' Division chemistry teacher Dr K Turner found out that she has been selected to give a workshop at Science on Stage, a prestigious European science education showcase. She has come up with a new way for GCSE pupils to visualise the covalent bonding in molecules using pipe cleaners and beads,and will give a workshop and present a stand at the festival.

A group of Sixth Form science students in the Girls' Division recently took part in the Chemistry Olympiad, a competition which requires pupils to complete a highly challenging written test. Several girls achieved Gold and Silver certificates, which is a fantastic achievement.

The end of the week brought about the dramatic close to the Bolton School Bake Off, with the grand final taking place on Friday lunchtime. All four finalists baked complex and delicious products which showed off the best of their talent and skill. Mr Britton, Miss Hincks and Unilever representative Mr Byrne had the difficult task of judging the Bake Off, and decided to crown Year 8 pupil Issy Plant the overall winner!

On Thursday the 23rd of April, the Infants and Junior Schools will open their doors for an Open Afternoon. This will provide an opportunity for children and parents to enjoy guided tours around the Infant (co-educational, 4 to 7 year olds), Junior Girls’ (7 to 11 year olds) and Junior Boys’ (7 to 11 year olds) schools and to meet our teaching staff and pupils. There will be various activities and exhibitions and visitors will be able to learn more about applying to Bolton School. This should be a very enjoyable afternoon for all.