Friday 24 November 2017

24 November 2017

Bolton School has been shortlisted for the Times Educational Supplement (TES) Whole School Community Initiative Award in recognition for its work with The Bolton Sports Alliance. The collaboration exists between the School and other organisations in the local community, and was launched in 2015 by Olympic gymnast Beth Tweddle. It aims to provide high quality sport and physical education for the primary schools of Bolton using recognised local deliverers. The winner of the Whole School Community Initiative Award will be announced at the Independent School Awards ceremony in February.


Trevor Pledger, the School's former Director of Partnerships and previously a teacher in the Boys' Division, was recently honoured at the Bolton News Schools Awards. He received the Lifetime Achievement Award for his tireless dedication to young people's sport.

The Junior Boys' lollipop man Barry was also recognised at the Bolton News Schools Awards. His friendliness, dedication to serving his local community and positive attitude whatever the weather won him the Unsung Hero Award.


Both Trevor and Barry received their awards at a glittering awards ceremony in Bolton.

Staff from Bolton School and Patterdale Hall joined Manchester's business community for the 25th Manchester Evening News (MEN) Business Awards ceremony in the city centre. The School was once again proud to sponsor the Young Business of the Year Award, which was presented to Real Handful, a healthy snacking start-up.

Girls in Year 7 were fascinated to discover more about the Enigma machine - the device used by the Germans in the Second World War to turn their messages into code. They were given a potted history of cryptography from mathematician and lecturer Dr James Grime before a demonstration of a genuine 81-year-old Enigma machine. The girls were able to see this amazing antique up close while learning about its history and how the code was cracked and some were even fortunate enough to be able to touch it!


Jr Girls' School teacher Mrs Marsden recently returned from working in Malawi with the charity Retrak, which aims to help street children in Africa and South America. She worked at Chisomo Children's Centre, helping to set up a new 'Hesketh House Art Corner' in honour of the Junior Girls' School, which has now raised over £5,000 for the charity in total.


Last year's Battle of the Bands event raised an incredible £1,000 which has been donated to Trust Music, a charity which aims to allow equal access to music for all children, regardless of background or circumstances. The Parallel Oreos, the winning group from Battle of the Bands 2017, presented one of Trust Music's trustees with a cheque for the donation.


Alumni Thorrun Govind and Alex Quayle, both now practising pharmacists, returned to Bolton School to give a talk on the dangers of drugs, going into some detail about a variety of illegal substances and their adverse affects. They also educated the Year 12 boys about work as a pharmacist and the process behind bringing a new drug to market. Students really engaged with the subject matter and asked a number of pertinent questions at the end.

The Infants at Beech House have recently been learning all about the Great Fire of London. They had fun in an interactive session with the Freshwater Theatre Company which allowed them to learn more and think about how the fire would have affected people.


Girls in Year 10 enjoyed a one-day film school with the Young Film Academy. They worked in small groups to put together a ten-shot short film over the course of the day, working from storyboard to filming and taking on the roles of director, actors and camera crew. The day ended with a special screening and 'Oscars' award ceremony.


Boys' Division Head of Sport and Master in Charge of Rugby Mr Fernside has received an award from the RFU Mitsubishi Motors Volunteer Recognition Programme. He was nominated for his dedicated and long-term contribution to rugby union.

During the last academic year, Sixth Form students Nadiya and Reem were nominated as Ogden Trust School Physicists of the Year for 2017. They received their awards over the summer holidays at a ceremony at the University of Manchester.

The U13 football team has made it to the Quarter Finals of the Independent Schools' Football Association (ISFA) Cup. They had to defeat St Bede's College to obtain their place, and though they faced a challenging opening to the match, the Bolton lads emerged triumphant 4-2.

Boys' Division pupils in Years 8 to 13 took part in an art project to remember the victims and survivors of the Holocaust. Their moving pieces of artwork, which is based on the theme of 'the power of words' and influenced by survivors' and victims' art, will b displayed at Bolton's Holocaust Memorial in January.


A current pupil and a recent leaver have played their part in helping the England U21 Water Polo Team win the EU Nations' Tournament held at Manchester Aquatics.

A pair of Girls' Division Sixth Form students have won the North Schools' Modern Languages Debating Competition in French! Caroline and Maya debated a variety of complex topics entirely in the foreign language and in the final argued against the motion, 'Everyone should carry a weapon'.

Two Boys' Division Sixth Form students have won the North Schools' Modern Languages Debating Competition in German! Sam and Joe argued for and against a range of motions, entirely in German, to ultimately win the competition.

The Boys' Division Autumn Concert was a magnificent evening of entertainment, with an uplifting programme of music from the moment the Drum Corps took the stage to the Year 8 boys' grand finale.


Watch the Joint Chamber Choir's renditions of The Cloths Of Heaven and Keane's Somewhere Only We Know.

Watch the Year 8 boys' Grand Finale.

Pupils in the Sixth Form signed themselves up to the Anthony Nolan stem cell register with a 'cheeky swab' at lunchtime. The charity set up in the Riley Sixth Form Centre cafe to register students, with many members of Year 12 coming forward to sign up as potential stem cell and bone marrow donors.


This week, two Year 10 girls with the help of Eye Film produced an illustrative video about how schools benefit from the GSA Conference, which was attended by Miss Hincks, Headmistress of the Girls' Division. Watch their film here.

There was a buzz in the corridors as the Boys' Division Beekeeping Club announced that the hives had produced enough honey for jars to go on sale! Staff flocked to the science labs to watch as members of the club carefully extracted, sieved and jarred the honey, ready to be purchased. The money raised will go back into the club to support Bolton School's bees in the future.


Old Boy Dr Mobeen Qureshi returned to Bolton School to talk to aspiring medical students about the realities of life as a doctor. He discussed his tough years as a junior doctor and gave an honest and balanced account of the advantages and disadvantages of the job, while also showing his passion for his career.

This week's Inspiring Mind is Chris Goudge. He attended the School from 1949 to 1954 and was a suberb athlete, attested by numerous reports in The Boltonian. He went on to represent Great Britain in the 400m hurdles at the Rome Olympics in 1960.

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