30 June 2017

Pupils' contributions to the community were celebrated at the annual Year 12 student volunteering awards night. There was extra cause to celebrate this year, with the School having recently received the Queen's Award for Voluntary Service (QAVS). Over the course of the evening, some students shared their volunteering experiences and everyone received certificates from The High Sheriff of Greater Manchester, Mr Kui Man Gerry Yeung.

The whole of Year 9 in the Girls' Division has been involved with the Send my Friend to School project as part of their Geography lessons. Pupils created a jigsaw puzzle piece which illustrates the aspects of education that they feel are the most important. They sent these to local MP David Crausby, asking him to take their messages to Parliament during the Send my Friend campaign week.

Year 10 pupils in the Boys' Division set aside their technology for 24 hours to raise money for the We Love Manchester campaign. The boys managed without their phones, iPads, computers and all other forms of technology both in school and at home for a whole day to raise as much money as possible for this worthy cause.

Four Girls' Division pupils in Year 9 recently attended the Salters' Festival of Chemistry at the University of Manchester. They thoroughly enjoyed the two practical challenges that were set on the day, and did so well in the 'University Challenge' that they came in first place!

A group of Girls' Division pupils attended the University of Bolton's STEM Challenge. Split into mixed groups with students from schools around Bolton, they participated in a series of tasks which tested their practical science, technology, engineering and maths skills. The Girls' Division pupils' teams did well, and Summer Kay and Kaitlyn Paton were both in the overall winning group! They will go on to the Regional Final.

The School's annual Community Music Concert Series has begun. So far, the Junior Concert Band and Boys' Division Brass Ensemble have given performances at local primary schools. These events help to introduce younger pupils to a range of fantastic music and also give those primary school children a chance to get involved and try out a samba routine with the Bolton School pupils.

The Year 3 Outdoor Learning Day was once again a huge success! The Junior Girls had fun taking part in a range of outdoor learning sessions in the School grounds. They were very excited to try out archery, orienteering, bushcraft, and a range of team-building activities.

A trio of Year 7 pupils from the Boys' Division helped the Bolton Futsal U12s team to victory in the National Youth Futsal Finals last weekend. Joel Burgess, Luca Latona and Ben McCarthy all play for the town team, and were excited to represent the North West in the national round of the competition, playing teams from across the UK for the title.

In the Girls' Divison, two pupils have recently been offered contracts with professional football academies. Anna Phillips in Year 9 has been offered a place with Manchester City, and Lizzie Harkness in Year 8 with Everton. Both girls' parents are delighted with their achievements, which are the result of their dedication to training and hard work.

The Year 5 and 6 swimming team qualified for the ESSA National Championships for Primary Schools earlier this year, and travelled to Ponds Forge for the competition in June. It was a wonderful achievement to have made it to this stage of the competition.

Year 7 pupil Hollie Asquith has had a busy month competing in two separate British Championship roller skating disciplines. She achieved fifth and third place overall: an excellent achievement in both cases.

The Junior Girls' annual Photography Competition has now been judged! Old Boy Mark Power, who is now a freelance photographer, set the theme before half term and returned to judge the entries. All the girls are now eagerly awaiting the results, which will be announced at the end of term.

This week's Inspiring Mind profile features Deanne Cunningham, who attended the Girls' Division from 1994 to 2001 and was Head Girl in her final year. Deanne went on to study law at Magdalen College, Oxford, and spent two years as a trainee solicitor in London and Tokyo before deciding to pursue a more creative career. She is now a freelance script editor and producer and has worked on TV dramas for Channel 4, Sky and ITV.

23 June 2017

For this academic year, RoughHouse Theatre has been the Boys' Division Theatre Company in Residence. RoughHouse has collaborated with boys in Years 7 to 9 to devise drama based on topics drawn from the wider pastoral curriculum: law, justice, race and democracy. The theatre company has also been commissioned to create a new, original piece of theatre based on the boys' work, which will be performed at the Lower School Drama Festival in July.

A 100-word short story written by Anna Clark in Year 10 has won joint first prize in the Year 7-11 category of the inaugural Oxford University Spanish Flash Fiction Competition. Judges were particularly impressed by Anna's specific focus in the story, while also giving glimpses of the wider context.

Pupils at Beech House Infant School were delighted to meet animals from Bowland Farm. They were able to stroke and feed the animals, and some children were lucky enough to hold the chicks or ducks or lead the alpacas around the playground!

Two swimmers in the Girls' Division achieved highly at the North West Regional Summer Swimming Championships. Lucy Dixon won two silver and two bronze medals and earned a place on the England Talent Regional Development Programme, while Elly Fraser won one silver and two bronze medals and also achieved British National Qualifying Times for these events!

The final of the Girls' Division Parents' Association Future Entrepreneurs competition took place with teams of Year 9 girls pitching their personal safety item concepts to a panel of judges. The external judges arranged by the PA were very impressed by all of the pupils' ideas, but most of all with the concept put forward by SoCAE. The Mayor of Bolton presented the winning team with prizes.

Two Girls' Division pupils have recently been offered contracts with professional football academies. Lizzy Harkness and Anna Phillips have been offered contracts with Everton and Manchester City academies respectively.

The recent Joint Parents' Associations' Gin Tasting Evening was a huge success. An audience of potential gin connoisseurs enjoyed a presentation from Chris Coombs of Turton Wines on the history of gin before sampling gin at the speed tasting tables and moving on to the Gin Bar. The event was so popular the the PAs are now planning further events.

Teja Reece in Year 7 recently received no less than five trophies for her football performance! She was awarded these accolades based on both the players' and managers' assessment of her performance over the course of the season.

The Boys' Division Parents' Association hosted the latest Teenage Journey talk, which was about Choices Beyond School. Bernard Strutt, Head of Undergraduate Admissions at the University of Manchester, gave the evening's presentation which offered helpful advice to parents about the job market, what employers look for and how to help pupils to make the right decisions.

Girls in Year 7 recently invited their former Year 6 teachers and headteachers into School for a special lunch, which they had made themselves. The girls served sandwiches, pastries and cakes along with hot or cold drinks while chatting to their former teachers about life as a Bolton School pupil.

16 June 2017

Bolton School has received the Queen's Award for Voluntary Service. This prestigious national honour is the highest accolade given to volunteer groups, and is equivalent to an MBE. The awards has been given to the whole School, from Nursery to Sixth Form, for the wide range of community activities that pupils are involved in and the committment to establishing a habit of volunteering.

Congratulations to Year 12 pupil Adam Hall, whose artwork 'Bolton School: A Modern Tradition' is one of twenty shortlisted for The Saatchi Gallery Art Prize for Schools! The finalists were whittled down from over 24,000 entries from 66 countries around the world, so this is a marvellous achievement for Adam.

Click here to view 'Bolton School: A Modern Tradition' in 360 degree Virtual Reality.

This year Well-Good, the charity set up by two Girls' Division maths teachers to fund safe drinking water around the world, has raised £5,200! The money has been used to pay for wells in Malawi, India, Indonesia, Pakistan and Niger through Penny Appeal's Thirst Relief programme.

Children at the Nursery spent a week learning all about the role of the Emergency Services. They were visited by representatives from the ambulance service, police force and fire and rescue service, and found out how these different groups all help people in different ways. They also received some tips on how to stay safe. Some lucky older children were able to hold the fire engine hose and shoot water across the Nursery car park!

Boys' Division pupils have raised £1,000 for AFC Masters, a local development disability football club based in Horwich. The money was raised through a non-uniform day and will go towards providing more fun, football and friendships to young people and adults with disabilities.

Pupils in Year 2 went on an exciting outdoor learning adventure at the nearby Anderton Centre! They went canoeing, had a go at archery, and enjoyed sitting around the campfire.

The Careers Department arranged an evening talk from Martin Birchall, Managing Director of High Fliers Research, who talked to students and parents about the current graduate job market. This insightful presentation offered lots of information as well as good advice about building a full CV and choosing the right employer. The evening will no doubt have been very helpful to those currently considering A Level and degree choices.

Swim England visited the School's pool the film a set of instructional videos designed to help teachers who want to teach water polo. The School's squad members were filmed as they ran through different skills and moves for the videos, which will complement the organisation's new water polo curriculum.

Old Boy Michael Lodmore returned to School to talk to Year 9 Boys' Division pupils about a career in the media. He currently works for Dock10, based at MediaCity in Salford, where he manages daily operations including cameras, lighting and sound equipment. He talked to the boys about his career progression from Bolton School to date as well as his current job and some of the programmes he has worked on recently.

Congratulations to Year 4 pupil Dinburgh, who has won her first national medal for rhythmic gymnastics: a Bronze at the National Development Plan Grades Final.

There are two recent Inspiring Minds profiles to catch up on:

Sarah Ann Murray is an Old Girl who left Bolton School in 2001 to study Law at Birmingham University. After graduating, she knew she did not want a career in law and has since gone on to become an independent menswear stylist. She is now hired by magazines, brands, production companies and publicists to style a model, celebrity or product for photo shoots.

Nicola Rigby left Bolton School in 2000 and, after studying Geography at the University of Newcastle, she joined international property consultancy GVA on work experience. In 2014 she became Director of GVA. She has been recognised in the North West Business Insider's 'women of influence' list, a prestigious business list highlighting influential businesswomen in the North West region.