30 November 2018

Staff at Bolton School were delighted to receive two prizes at the Bolton News School Awards 2018. Girls' Division Mathematics teachers Mr Heppleston and Mr Hitchin won the Hayley Mathieson Fundraiser of the Year Award for their Well Good charity, while Mrs Gore, the Head's PA at Beech House, the Infant Department, was named the Unsung Hero of the Year.

A Uniformed Services Dinner was held last weekend to honour the 81 Old Boys who lost their lives in the First World War. The evening, which was attended by alumni, staff and pupils in cubs, scouts, cadets and other uniformed organisations, featured several poignant tributes to the School's fallen.

Click here to watch a clip from the Uniformed Services Dinner in which the School's Captain and Head Girl read the roll of honour, followed by the poem 'We Shall Keep the Faith'.

Old Boy Rik Thwaites returned to school to give a talk about Artificial Intelligence (AI). Pupils in the Boys' and Girls' Divisions were excited to hear about the history of AI over the last 60 years and were keen to discover how it is used today. Rik's fascinating talk also touched on some of his fond memories of the School.

Year 5 pupil Anushka Kishore donated all of her birthday money to When You Wish Upon a Star, the charity that aims to grant wishes to seriously ill children. Her generosity impressed family, friends and teachers and earned her a thank you letter and certificate from the charity.

Miss Bramhall, a chemistry teacher in the Boys' Division, was recently given one of five small grants from the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC) Education Techniques Group. She used the grant to share her innovative method for teaching balancing equations, a key concept in chemistry which can be challenging for pupils. Two Year 10 boys helped to create a video to explain the teaching method, which can be viewed here on the RSC Education Techniques Group website.

A pair of Girls' Division Sixth Form students have progressed to the next round of the English Speaking Union’s Schools' Mace Competition. Issy Plant and Rebecca McGinty debated in favour of the topic 'This house would weight votes such that the younger the voter, the more powerful their vote'.

Old Boy Rob Dobson has donated educational robot products, retro computers and technical expertise to Boys' Division pupils in the Electronics Club. The items will allow pupils in all year groups to explore interesting projects and will no doubt help to inspire future generations of entrepreneurial engineers.

23 November 2018

Jo Fairley gave an inspirational talk about her "rollercoaster" journey as the co-founder of chocolate company Green & Black's. She talked about the life lessons she has learned along the way and gave her business tips to aspiring entrepreneurs in the audience.

This event was the latest in a series of Enrichment Lectures organised by the Girls' Division.

Sixth Form students from both Divisions have signed up to the Anthony Nolan stem cell donor register as potential donors. If they are found to be a match, they could go on to save a life. The school holds annual educational sessions with the Sixth Form to make students aware of the importance of blood, organ and stem cell donation.

The School's ensembles put on a varied show filled with familiar tunes at the Boys' Division Autumn Concert. Pupils in Year 8 provided a wonderful finale with three songs: 'Paradise', 'It Must Be Love' and 'Pompeii'.

Click the following links to watch videos of the evening:

• Drum Corps: Swinging Accents & Rolling in Rhythm
• Joint Senior Concert Band: Spain
• Ukuleles Ensemble: Hey Jude
• Brass Group: Singin’ in the Rain
• Joint Chamber Choir: The Writing’s On The Wall
• Joint Jazz Band: Born To Be Wild
• Year 8: Paradise, It Must Be Love, Pompeii

Pupils in Year 1 at Beech House, Bolton School's Infant School, had fun learning about history through drama. The session with Freshwater Theatre Company helped pupils to discover the important historical events of 1666: the Plague and the Great Fire of London.

Ten pupils in the Girls' Division have been selected for the Lancashire Lacrosse Under 15s squads.

In the days before 11 November, the Junior Boys' School was visited by First World War soldier 'Tommy Atkins'. All of the pupils in Years 3 to 6 enjoyed an informative session with him in which he helped them to understand the realities of what soldiers faced from 1914 to 1918, and the importance of Remembrance.

Children in Bolton School's Nursery Class dressed up as superheroes to raise money for Children in Need last week.

Congratulations to Old Boy Jonny Ashton who was part of the victorious production team whose programme Celebrity Hunted was named 'Best Entertaining Documentary' at this year’s Grierson Awards.

Tickets for the Joint Lower School Production of Great Expectations on 6th and 7th of December are now on sale! Full details, including information on how to order, are here.

Tickets are also on sale for the annual Burns Night Supper and Ceilidh organised by the Girls' Division Parents' Association. On Friday the 25th of January 2019 at 7pm, the Arts Centre will host a spectacular evening of laughter and dance. The registration form can be downloaded here.

16 November 2018

Bolton School was seeing spots on Friday to help to raise money for Children in Need! Children at the Junior Boys' and Girls' Schools, Infant School and Nursery were involved and brightened up the School with spotty accessories while also raising money for a great cause.

Bolton School has been shortlisted for the Senior School of the Year category in the 2019 TES Independent School Awards. These prestigious awards recognise and celebrate the most outstanding individuals and institutions in the independent sector. The winners will be announced at a ceremony in February.

The School was proud to be a category sponsor at the Manchester Evening News (MEN) Business of the Year Awards. Bolton School sponsored the Young Business of the Year Award, which was won by Noir Agency, an Ancoats-based branding company.

This week, Bolton School held an Open Art Exhibition to showcase work created by current and former pupils, members of staff, parents and friends of the School. The Exhibition was curated by the Boys' Division Art Department and PA on behalf of the whole Foundation, and featured 2D and 3D artwork across a huge variety of media, from paintings and sculptures to films and installations.

Remembrance Assemblies took place across the Bolton School Foundation on the Friday before 11 November. Each part of the School commemorated 100 years since the signing of the Armistice in 1918, reflected on the reality that soldiers faced in the trenches, and remembered all those who were killed or affected by conflict in the past century. The Junior Boys and Senior Boys alike paid tribute to the Old Boys who were killed in the First World War. The Junior Girls' assembly was led by Year 6 pupils, who also reflected on the poppy as a symbol of Remembrance. The Senior Girls were joined by Old Girls for this poignant occasion.

Click here to watch a video taken at the Senior Boys' Remembrance Assembly, in which current pupils pay tribute to ten Old Boys who died in the months leading to the Armistice.

The School also stepped in to help Old Boy James Butchart on Remembrance Sunday. Thanks to transport provided by Bolton School Services, he and the rest of the University of York Brass Band were able to take pride of place at the head of the Remembrance Day Parade at Easingwold near York.

The Girls' Division Parents Association organised an evening of 'Fantastic Feasts and Fireworks' in honour of Bonfire Night. The occasion was themed around magic and Harry Potter, and this year included the addition of a Food Court as well as traditional fare in the Dining Hall and a host of fun stalls. The display from Titanium Fireworks was once again spectacular.

The Nursery Class recently learned all about hedgehogs with help from a volunteer at Chorley Hedgehog Rescue Centre. Their interest was sparked when they discovered hedgehogs in the Nursery Class garden.

The Nursery Class and children from the Butterfly Room at Bolton School Nursery also visited a local Temple to learn more about Diwali and how it is celebrated.

Girls in Year 10 enjoyed making their own short silent movies during a day spent with the Young Film Academy. They learned some of the filmmaking techniques used in the industry and then used them to create a dramatic story. All of the films were screened at the end of the day, and an Oscar was awarded to the best effort.

Junior Boys' School pupil Cormac has only been a member of the Halle Children's Choir since the summer, but nonetheless he has been chosen to sing 'Walking in the Air' at the Halle's Christmas screening of 'The Snowman'! Over the holidays, Year 6 pupil Nathan also re-auditioned to stay with the Choir for a third year.

In sporting news, Year 9 pupil Teja helped Greater Manchester County Football Club to win a match against Shropshire after she was selected to play as their goalkeeper for the first half of the game. Junior Girls' School pupil Dinburgh has collected an impressive haul of medals for Rhythmic Gymnastics after competing at the English Championships and Scottish Championships.

Before the summer holidays, two Senior Girls entered the UK Schools Computer Animation Competition with an animation they had made highlighting the issues around constant mobile phone use. Their piece was announced as the Key Stage 4 Group Award winner!