27 November 2015

Former history teacher Mrs Head, who retired from the Girls' Division last summer after 27 years, has won the inaugural Bolton News Secondary School Teacher of the Year Award. An Old Girl of the School, Mrs Head was also the Head of Middle School before her retirement. She was delighted to receive the award.

A visit from author Tanya Landman, whose novel Buffalo Soldier won the Carnegie Medal, provided a fascinating opportunity for girls to learn more about the process of writing and how Tanya uses historical events to inform and inspire her writing. A seminar with Sixth Form students also allowed the writer to warm the girls not to accept the romanticised version of American history that is often depicted in films, television and literature.

The Junior Boys were delighted to welcome children's author and entertainer Lucia Davies into School last week so that they could join the Pod Trail. This initiative is based on Lucia's book Pod, which aims to raise awareness of bullying. The book engages children with the idea of bullying and helps them to think and talk about this important issue. The Pod Trail formed part of the boys' experience of Anti-Bullying Week 2015.

Last Friday, students from Bolton School Girls’ and Boys’ Divisions, Bolton Music Service and Salford Music and Performing Arts Service took part in a fantastic music workshop that was based around Vivaldi’s Four Seasons. The following informal performance showcased the pupils' talents and was a fantastic experience for children and parents alike.

Year 7 pupils James Hopkinson and Olivia Sample recently performed at the SHINE Benefit Dinner in London as part of the Halle Children's Choir. The event took place in the grand surroundings of the Natural History Museum, and both pupils really enjoyed this unique experience.

The Jazz Band last weekend took part in the National Concert Band Festival (NCBF). They performed four pieces in total, with several pupils taking centre stage for solos, and were eventually awarded a Gold Award!

Last week, four Year 7 pupils were interviewed on local radio station Key103 about their Sponsored Silence to support Cash for Kids. The girls have raised £2000 with their efforts! To listen to their interview, click here or press the play button below:


Year 9 pupil Sharon Daniel recently received her ESB Ambassador Award at a Celebration Evening held in Bristol. The Young Speaker of the Year event was held to honour eight young people from across the UK, and awards were presented by Mr Burton, one of the stars of Channel 4’s Educating Yorkshire.

The Year 8 water polo team last weekend brought home the President's Trophy. As a result, seven members of the team and three other Bolton School boys were selected for the North-West A and B Teams for the upcoming ASA Inter-Regional Tournament. This is a fantastic achievement for the School's young water polo players.

Year 7 pupil Elizabeth Harkness has been selected for the Lancashire U13 Development Squad. This is a fantastic achievement, since she is still in the U12 age category. She also plays for grassroots team Preston North End.

Year 12 student Arron Davies competed in the European Water Skiing Championships over the summer holidays. He also did extremely well in the 2015 national competition, coming in third place, and is now looking forward to competing in the World Championships 2016.

The Junior Girls and Junior Boys recently faced off in the annual AJIS Chess Tournament, which was held at the Junior Boys' School. The Junior Girls were awarded third place overall, with some girls also achieving individual medals. However, on this occasion the Junior Boys were victorious, taking first place and some individual medals.

Girls in Year 10 and above were able to enjoy a fascinating linguistics talk from Dr Alex Baratta, a lecturer at the University of Manchester. He talked about how language use and accents can inform and influence a person's identity. This was particularly helpful for A Level English Language students, who made the most of the opportunity to hear from Dr Baratta.

The Nursery has held a drop-in session for parents, allowing them to come in and talk to practitioners about Communication and Language Skills. There were lots of fun activities for the children and also plenty of tips and pieces of advice for parents. This made for an interesting and interactive morning for the children, which was also really beneficial to parents.

Old Girl Gill Pearl has been awarded the Robin Tavistock Award 2015 alongside the charity Speakeasy Bury. The award is given to an organisation or individual who has made an exceptional contribution to the field of aphasia.