13 March 2020

The Poetry Festival in the Girls' Division this year featured UK Poet Laureate Simon Armitage, who gave a performance of some of his work and answered audience questions. A group of twenty pupil poets also shared their work as part of the evening's entertainment.

This event was part of the Girls' Division ongoing series of Arts and Sciences Enrichment Evenings.

Pupils from both Junior and Senior Schools were excited to meet Old Boy Lieutenant Commander (Royal Navy) Robert De Maine, who returned to Bolton School on a literal flying visit in his helicopter! He talked to a wide range of pupils on the day, answering their keen questions and providing a brief tour of the EC135 Juno helicopter.

Three more Old Boys returned to Bolton School to talk to students in Years 9 and 11 and the Sixth Form. Freelance Documentary Director Jonny Ashton talked to pupils about his career so far, which has involved work on shows such as 'Celebrity Hunted, '24 Hours in Police Custody' and 'The Paras: Men of War'. Boys also heard from Luke Crompton, an advertising copywriter, and Jamal Niaz, a sports and entertainment journalist.

The Boys’ Division Under 18s Water Polo team have been named National Champions for the seventh year in a row! They lifted the trophy after dominating the ESSA National Finals with a convincing series of wins.

Congratulations also to Year 12 student Katherine, who was awarded second place in the national Lytham St Anne's CA Classics Competition 2020! She impressed the judge, Dr Arlene Henderson-Holmes of King’s College London, with her witty talk 'My Dinner Party Guests: The Profane, The Witty and The Sacred'.

Bolton School Nursery is taking part in a year-long Local Authority Early Years Phonics Project alongside other local schools and nurseries. This is a great opportunity for the Nursery team to celebrate current good practice whilst developing and honing new skills.

Children in the Nursery Class had fun with lots of sporty activities and raised £30 for Sport Relief!

Earlier in the week, the Tweenies at Bolton School Nursery celebrated Holi, the festival of colours.

Last week, children in Beech House Infant School brought the book 'The Enormous Crocodile' to life with a series of dance workshops with West End In Schools.

During the week of half term, a group of Girls' Division students visited Patterdale Hall in the Lake District for the annual Writing Retreat. They spent the week exploring their creativity and writing poems and prose in beautiful surroundings.

Thirty-seven Year 12 students from both Divisions recently had the opportunity to become Doctors for a Day as part of a programme run by the University of Manchester’s school of medicine. They got a real taste for what life is like for an A&E doctor through this valuable experience.

The Girls' Division Music Festival filled the Arts Centre with wonderful music and song over the course of two days just before the half term break. A huge number of girls took part, showcasing the breadth of musical talent in the school. The Music Festival culminated in a wonderful Celebration Concert featuring the winners from each class.

Unfortunately, we announced today that we are cancelling our next Enrichment Evening, which was scheduled for Tuesday 24 March 2020. We will try to arrange for Dr Phylomena Badsey to return and give her talk on 'Women in World War One' at a later date.