27 September 2019

Richard A Shirres gave an insightful address at the first of this year's Enrichment Evenings hosted by the Girls' Division. He spoke passionately about climate change and its imminent, numerous and dire consequences. His talk also covered the work done by the United Nations, both historically and today, to champion global ecological stewardship and discussed what needs to be done to mitigate the current climate emergency.

The full programme of free, public Enrichment Evening events for 2019-20 is available here. Click here to subscribe to our mailing list and receive updates and reminders about forthcoming events.

Pupils, parents and members of staff from across the whole of Bolton School took part in various coffee mornings and cake sales to raise money for Macmillan Cancer Support. Even the children in the Nursery Class got involved: they made tasty cupcakes and invited parents to a Coffee Afternoon to raise over £600!

For her 9th birthday, instead of asking for presents, Year 5 pupil Dhatri asked for charitable donations. She raised £280!

Children at the Nursery enjoyed a whole week of swashbuckling activities in honour of Talk Like A Pirate Day! They built ships, played in a miniature world of pirates, drew treasure maps and enjoyed dressing up.

Year 10 pupil Will has been named English trampolining champion (13-14 years category) after winning gold at the English trampoline finals in Sheffield! His impressive routine can be viewed in full on the page linked above or on YouTube here.

The Young Film Academy visited Bolton School to give girls in Year 10 the experience of learning about filmmaking and visual media creation. Pupils attended workshops and created their own silent ten-shot film, all of which were screened at the end of the day with a prize to the overall best effort.

Junior Girls rescued 'Horatio' the hedgehog when he limped into the middle of their PE lesson! This gave pupils the opportunity to find out more about hedgehogs, including how he will be taken care of until he is ready to be released back into the wild.

Sixth Form girls recently took part in the Business Enterprise and Skills Training Day which helped to instill and develop skills for the workplace. A range of workshops and presentations, including the Bin Bag Challenge, gave them lots of opportunities to work together and pick up tips for interviews and applications.

The inaugural Medical Sciences Dinner brought together the School's aspiring medics and former pupils who have gone on to roles within the medical profession. The drinks reception and dinner gave current students plenty of opportunity to connect with alumni and ask questions. Old Girl Professor Jill Clayton-Smith was the evening's after-dinner speaker and gave an inspirational address.

A series of galleries featuring Girls' Division students' GCSE and A Level art and technology coursework final pieces are now available to view via the following links: Art | Food Technology | Product Design | Textiles.

20 September 2019

Over the summer holidays, a group of Boys' Division students visited South Africa with Operation Wallacea. This unforgettable experience saw them conduct important wildlife and vegetation surveys and discover more about the biology of the local ecosystem in two locations.

It was a magical afternoon for pupils in Years 5 to 7 when author, illustrator and former Children's Laureate Chris Riddell visited Bolton School. He shared pages from his sketchbooks, completed a series of live drawings as he talked about his inspirations and introduced some of the characters and locations from his new book 'Guardians of Magic'.

Record numbers of Sixth Form students are enrolled on the A Level PE course at Bolton School! Now in its twelfth year, the subject continues to go from strength to strength.

Pupils from both Divisions discovered more about careers in  the cyber security sector through fascinating workshops with an industry professional. Emma Kirby of SANS talked to pupils about data breaches and cyber attacks on both large and small scales, and introduced a competition designed to help young people learn new security skills through puzzles.

Don't miss the Careers and Higher Education Convention at Bolton School on Thursday 3 October, 6.30pm - 8.30pm! This is a fantastic opportunity for all local students in Years 9 to 13 to meet representatives from universities and companies, and to attend seminars on a variety of subjects: Law, Medicine, apprenticeships, student finance and Oxbridge application. This event is free and open to everyone.

Looking further ahead, Hallie Rubenhold will visit Bolton School on Thursday 10 October at 7.00pm to give a talk based on her Sunday Times Bestseller 'The Five; The Untold Lives of The Women Killed by Jack the Ripper'. This free, public event promises to reclaim the voices of the Ripper's victims with a focus on facts to tell the surprising and poignant stories of their lives.

13 September 2019

The highlight of the summer was certainly the two Results Days, during which Bolton School celebrated alongside students collecting GCSE and A Level results.

In the Boys' Division, A Level students achieved an impressive three quarters of grades in the A*-B category, while GCSE students attained the best set of results in recent years!

In the Girls' Division A Level students celebrated the best results in a decade and GCSE students set a new pass rate as well.

Individual successes were numerous across both year groups and both Divisions. Notably, Shreya Kamath not only received a stunning set of GCSE results but also an Arkwright Scholarship, and linguist Emily Manock achieved excellent A Level grades to earn her place at Oxford. Four more Bolton School students will also head to Oxford and Cambridge for university.

During the summer holidays, a strong contingent of former and current Boys' Division students helped the Lancashire U19 cricket team to victory in the county championship; Old Girl Dr Becky Smethurst, who recently returned to the Girls' Division to talk to pupils about her career in astrophysics, was featured on the BBC News during the holidays for creating an inspiring science YouTube channel; and children in the Butterfly Room graduated from the Nursery in a special ceremony.

The Autumn Term began with the official opening of the new all-weather sports surface at the Leverhulme Pavilion site on Chorley New Road. The synthetic turf pitch, which was installed predominantly over the summer holidays, will be shared with the local community.

The Girls' Division's first event of the year was the annual Presentation Evening. The guest of honour was Old Girl Julie Dean, UK Fund Manager and Director at Sanditon Asset Management, who in addition to presenting prizes and certificates offered her 'unchanging principles' for success in life in an address packed with great advice.

Chairman of Governors Mr Michael Griffiths gave his annual report on the past school year and, as this will be his final Presentation Evening before his retirement from the role, also looked back on his many years of association with Bolton School. His speech is available to watch in full here.

Recent leaver Siân Rowlands, who collected her A Level results this summer, gave an expressive rendition of 'Still Hurting' from the musical 'The Last Five Years' by Jason Robert Brown at Presentation Evening. Her performance can be viewed here.

The Boys' Samba Band helped to spur on runners at Bolton Hospice's Bubble Rush event at Queen's Park. Eight pupils enjoyed playing for the participants in this fundraising event and helping to add to the carnival atmosphere.

Next week, the Girls' Division will host the first of this year's Arts and Sciences Enrichment Evenings. Richard A Shirres till talk about "The United Nations: Working to save the biosphere and our future" on 18 September 2019 at 7.00pm. This event promises to look back on the UN's long history of involvement with ecological stewardship and the climate change challenges of the modern day.

This year's programme of Enrichment Evenings is now available to view here, and you can subscribe to our mailing list to receive information and reminders about forthcoming events.

Coming up later this term is the Careers and Higher Education Fair hosted by Bolton School on Thursday 3 October, 6.45-8.45pm. Universities, companies and training providers will be on hand as exhibitors and instructive seminars will be held during the evening. This free event is open to all and promises to be useful for students in Years 9 to 13 and their families.