24 May 2019

Two clutches of ducklings made a splash in the Nursery and Nursery Class this week! The children were delighted to watch the ducklings develop over just a handful of days and had fun seeing them swim for the first time.

Pupils at the Junior Boys' School recently visited the Belgian battlefields of World War One. They held a special assembly to share the highlights with parents and the rest of the school through photos, recollections and readings.

The Boys' Division remembered the School's philanthropic founders and benefactors at a special assembly which highlighted the transformative effects of education. This tradition continues today with one in five Senior School pupils on bursaries.

Junior Boys and Junior Girls in Year 6 started to think about their futures at this year's Careers Carousel. They found out what it is like to work as a designer, police officer and doctor from three alumni and heard about the range of job opportunities are available at a large tech company from two UKFast representatives.

Old Boy Dr Mike Dillon returned to Bolton School all the way from San Francisco to speak to a small group of students about his career in drug discovery. Mike talked about what led him to study chemistry at university, his experiences using chemistry to treat disease, and some highlights from his career.

The annual series of Lunchtime Concerts once again entertained local residents, pupils from local schools and Bolton School Juniors with a wide range of musical performances. Recitals from Bolton School A Level musicians, RNCM Junior Musicians, violinist Mathew Chadbond and guitarist Will Scattergood were arranged across four weeks during the summer term.

At the recent Poetry Festival featuring Liz Berry, a number of pupils read their own creative writing to the audience. A selection of readings can now be enjoyed again via the the following links: 'This Yacht' by Amelia Doherty (Year 12); 'Hairline Fracture Only' by Lauren Pursey (Year 12); 'Traveller's Tale' by Kate Hailwood (Year 11); 'The Heart of the Dead' by Ananya Ajit (Year 9); 'Passing Between My Borders' by Kelly Chae (Year 9).

The beautiful music from this year's May Serenade is now available to listen again on the School's Soundcloud. Press the play button below or click here to listen to a playlist of the whole event:

17 May 2019

A Junior Girls' School pupil in Year 4, has recently launched Engines Off: a campaign to encourage parents to switch off their car engines while waiting for their children at the end of the school day. Harriet's efforts to combat air pollution around school began with a letter to her headteacher and Engines Off has now been promoted across different areas of the School.

The Girls' Division's series of free, public Arts and Sciences Enrichment Evenings recently came to a close for 2018-19 with two final events. Science communicator Dr Pete Edwards gave a fascinating and informative lecture on 'The Dark Side of the Universe', in which he talked about dark matter and dark energy.

In the same week, poet Liz Berry gave readings of her poems alongside the School's young poets at the annual Poetry Festival. Planning is under way for next year's series and you can subscribe to our mailing list to receive updates and reminders about forthcoming events.

This week, voting has been open for the Bolton Children's Fiction Award 2019! A friendly competition between the Boys' and Girls' Divisions saw pupils counting the number of votes to see which half of the Senior School could cast the most.

133 local primary school football teams competed in this year's Football Festival held on Bolton School's pitches. Over 1,000 pupils played across the two days. Years 3 and 4 enjoyed playing 'round robin' matches against the rest of their group, while Years 5 and 6 played in the A Team, B Team or Girls' competition, each with its own cup awaiting the overall winner.

An excellent performance from the Under 14 football team saw Bolton School winning the Greater Manchester Cup for that age group at the Vestacare Stadium in Oldham. This added to the team's Town Cup trophy, which was won before Easter.

There was a strong Bolton School water polo presence at the recent U17 men's European Championships Qualification Tournament: two current pupils and three alumni played in the tournament itself and in exhibition matches. A member of staff is the U17s' team manager, while an Old Boy is also their assistant coach.

Year 13 students in both Divisions began their study leave ahead of A Level Examinations this week. The Boys' Division held a reception on the Headmaster's Lawn after school, and the Girls' Division's annual Leavers' Celebration saw pupils enjoying rounders in the sunshine and a lunch in the arts centre in Musicals-themed fancy dress.

We wish the whole of Year 13 all the best in their upcoming examinations and future lives.

10 May 2019

The annual Battle of the Bands was this year judged by a former winner. Old Boy Rob Jones returned to watch performances from Shaky Foundations, The Tepid Grapes, Youth Concept and Funktionality alongside an enthusiastic audience of Boys' and Girls' Division pupils. He was impressed with all of the bands efforts and particularly praised their original songs.

Battle of the Bands performances are available to watch via the links below:

• Funktionality: Tints (Anderson .Paak) and Mine
• Shaky Foundations: Rock ‘n’ Roll Star (Oasis) and Tell Me The Truth
• The Tepid Grapes: Can’t Stop / Basket Case / Smells Like Teen Spirit Medley (Red Hot Chilli Peppers / Green Day / Nirvana)
• Youth Concept: Soundcheck (Catfish and the Bottlemen) and Dopamine Machine

The Girls' Division May Serenade provided an uplifting programme of varied music from start to finish. For this last whole school music event of the year, a masterclass of solo performances were interspersed with the ensembles and choirs to make the evening special.

The achievements of pupils in both Divisions were celebrated at the annual Duke of Edinburgh Awards Ceremony. Six pupils shared their experiences of completing Bronze, Silver and Gold Awards and all pupils were applauded as they received their Awards.

Bolton School's Under 13 Girls' Water Polo team has been named National Champions! This is the first year that the Girls' Division has entered the competition, and thanks to the dedication and excellent attitude of players, it payed off with a win on the national stage for the U13s.

On the recent Bank Holiday Monday, a Memorial Cricket Match was held at Edgeworth Cricket Club in honour of former Boys' Division headmaster and keen cricketer, Mr Mervyn Brooker, and to raise funds for his Nepal Appeal. The match saw alumni compete against current pupils, and the cup was presented by Mr Brooker's wife Brigid.

The Girls' Division Bake Off competition came to a close last Friday with six Showstopper Signature Bakes! The finalists, all in Years 7 to 9, impressed the judges with their creativity and cooking skills and made it no easy task to choose just one winner and two runners up!

The series of free, public Lunchtime Concerts in the Arts Centre will come to an end next week with a Classical Guitar performance from Will Scattergood. Everyone is welcome to come along on Thursday 16 May at 1.20pm for this musical event.

Finally, Year 11 pupils in the both Divisions started their Study Leave this week ahead of taking their GCSEs. We wish them all the best in their revision, upcoming exams and future lives.

3 May 2019

Children in Bolton School's Nursery Class and at Kidzone took part in 40 Days of Giving. During Lent, instead of giving something up, they brought in one item per day to donate to Urban Outreach. The food and toiletries collected will directly benefit many local families.

At the end of last term, Boys' Division students in Years 9 and up had the opportunity to hear from Holocaust survivor Iby Knill about her experiences. She gave a personal insight into Auschwitz-Birkenau and the horrors faced by victims of the Holocaust. Iby's address is available to view here.

Reception pupils at Beech House, Bolton School's Infant School, were delighted to meet nine new chicks after they hatched overnight in school! The children have enjoyed overseeing their incubation and will look after them for a short time before they are delivered back to a nearby farm.

Four students in the Girls' Division will leave Bolton School after their A Levels and GCSEs this summer to take up places at top performing arts schools and colleges.

Year 7 pupil Gabriella has recently achieved a series of skiing successes after taking part in regional and national skiing competitions.

Meanwhile in the Boys' Division, Year 7 pupil Ben took part in a 'Mundialito' football tournament in Spain with Liverpool FC over the Easter holidays.

Old Boy Hadley Stewart returned to Bolton School to lead two focus groups, one for staff and one for pupils, about LGBTQ+ topics and gender stereotypes. The sessions were based on his chapter 'Masculinity and Homosexuality in Schools' in the book 'Boys Don't Try? Rethinking Masculinity in Schools'.

The Junior Boys' School invited children in Year 2 and their parents to come to a music demonstration, during which teachers talked about the individual music lessons available at Bolton School.

Boys in Year 10 recently enjoyed developing a range of transferrable skills on their Army Leadership day. They took part in a carousel of interesting activities which required them to think, work together and communicate in order to succeed at the tasks.

The Boys' Division series of summer Lunchtime Concerts has begun. There are still two more of these free, public events to come on Thursday 9 May and Thursday 16 May. On both dates, the performance will start at 1.20pm in the Arts Centre Main Hall.