28 October 2016

Last Sunday, Boys' Division Chemistry teacher and University of Manchester lecturer Dr Kristy Turner appeared on BBC's Countryfile to explain a fascinating piece of chemistry relating to conkers. As part of the Countryfile Autumn Special, presenter Naomi Wilkinson looked at how the humble conker was used during the First World War to produce an ingredient vital to the manufacture of shells, and Dr Turner demonstrated the process in a woodland laboratory on camera.

As the half term drew to a close, the Junior Girls enjoyed a House Day filled with lots of fun activities. There was something for everyone to enjoy, from blindfold obstacle courses to writing poetry and even the chance to develop circus skills. All of the pupils enjoyed taking part and getting to know the other girls in their House.

The final matches of the 2016 cricket season have now been played with the Bolton School teams acquitting themselves well in the face of tough opposition and often challenging conditions. The U15s made it all the way to the National Finals at Arundel, while the U13s and U14s both played Lancashire Cup Finals.

There were lots of success stories from the Girls' Division sports teams at the end of the half term. The U16 netball team made it to the final of the Bolton Schools' Netball Tournament, where they came second.

The U18 netball team took part in the National Schools' Netball Tournament, achieving a series of excellent wins in the opening rounds and making it through to the semi-finals. However, the opposition proved too strong in the semi-final and they came in third place.

The Year 7 and Year 8 girls competed in the Bolton Schools' Cross Country Championships, which were held at Smithills School, where both teams did well. Pupils in both age groups ranked highly enough to be offered a spot on the Bolton town team for the Manchester championships in February!

In addition, Georgina Owen and Cate Lord have been re-selected for County-level netball squads this year. This is a great achievement for both girls, who are playing up into higher age brackets.

In the Boys' Division, pupils studying Business and Economics were offered insight into the workings of the Bank of England and the recession by Old Boy Paul Alexander, who now works at the Bank. He also spoke with boys competing in the Target 2.0 competition run by the Bank of England to offer them advice on analysing economic conditions.

Year 8 pupil Matthew Mair recently competed in the National Road Relay Championships as part of a team of three. He ran the last leg of the 3.4km hilly route and his team achieved fourth place overall out of 66 teams from across the UK!

The Junior Boys joined forces with the Brixi Singers for an evening of entertainment in the Boys' Division Great Hall. The two choirs raised their voices to perform a number of pieces, both together and separately, which made for a spectacular evening.

This week's Inspiring Mind is Old Girl Valerie Stevens, whose life-long career as an environmental campaigner saw her on the Board of Management of Friends of the Earth and chair of Optimum Population Trust (now Population Matters). Her profile includes reflections on a career spent addressing the problems the world faces, her fond memories of School, and advice to current pupils to "Be part of the solution!"