1 May 2015

Bolton School has once again hosted a week of ISFA Football Festivals for local children. The U13 Girls' Football Festival kicked off the events on Monday, with teams from eight schools taking part. The Bolton School girls played very well on the day, coming third in their league, but it was Turton who took home the trophy for the second year running.

Tuesday's Football Festival for pupils in Years 3 and 4 involved over fifty local primary school teams and hundreds of boys and girls. The emphasis was on fun and taking part, and introduced children and parents to the English Schools' Football Association code of conduct.

The final football event was the Year 5 and 6 Football Festival on Thursday evening. This rounded off the week of football, which involved over 1,500 pupils over the three days. The event for children in the last two years of primary school has been running for almost a decade, and now involves A Team, B Team, and Girls' competitions. The two primary school festivals were refereed by Bolton School pupils in Years 11 to 13.

In other sporting news, Year 5 pupil Hollie Asquith joined the British team for her first international roller-skating competition over Easter! She skated really well and surpassed expectations, receiving consistent marks and placing 10th in her age group.

Four girls in Year 8 have been selected to join the England Lacrosse Talent Pathway. This follows their successful trials at the Lacrosse Regional Academy over Easter. They will have the opportunity to develop their skills to a high level, and potentially could go on to play for their country.

There was also great news from young sportswoman Ellie Broome in Year 11. She has been invited to join the England Lacrosse U19s Academy thanks to her excellent performance over the last season.

In the Boys' Division, the cricket season continued with matches against Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School Wakefield on Saturday and Manchester Grammar School on Wednesday. Match reports are available on the Asons' Cricket Scoreboard.

Last week, the School held a Networking Event in London for alumni. The Rt Hon Dame Janet Smith, DBE, was the keynote speaker at the event and gave an interesting address about her time in the Girls' Division, her career, and the future of the legal profession. The event also allowed plenty of time for alumni to network before and after the talk.

The 19th Bolton (Bolton School) Scout Group hosted a St George's Day Service in the Boys' Division Great Hall on Sunday. This also involved a Parade of Beavers, Cubs, Scouts and Explorer Scouts along Chorley New Road.

Monday's SPACE Programme session saw the Sixth Form Boys donning fancy dress for a Charity Fun Run. The wide variety of costumes made for a real spectacle as the boys completed a minimum of three laps of the Levels to raise money and awareness for two charities: Rape Crisis in England and Wales and the Parish Hall Restoration Appeal for Holy Trinity Church in Horwich.

Meanwhile the Year 10 boys were put through their paces in an Army Leadership Afternoon. The Army’s North West Outreach Team brought with them a variety of challenging activities for the boys to complete in small groups; these tasks helped to develop their 'soft skills' - such as leadership and problem solving - in a fun and interesting way.

Girls' Division Year 7 pupil Samantha Schofield has been offered a place at the Junior RNCM from September. She plays the flute and piano, and is particularly looking forward to joining some of the Junior RNCM bands.