December 2020

The last few weeks of 2020 have been as busy as ever at Bolton School.

Children and parents at Beech House collected a huge haul of Christmas gift boxes to be distributed to families in need across the town. Year 1 teacher Miss Niaz's 'Sprinkle of Kindness' appeal aimed to make a difference for those less fortunate this Christmas.

Children and staff at Bolton School Nursery and their families also helped to spread festive cheer with donations to Farnworth and Kearsley Foodbank. The children also brightened Bolton Hospice and Park View Nursing Home by sending Christmas decorations, chocolates and artwork.

The Pringle Bells Challenge saw pupils from the Junior Girls' School, Junior Boys' School and the Girls' Division working together to help fill Urban Outreach's Christmas Hampers. Pupils vastly exceeded their targets and were able to hand over 1,503 tubes of Pringles and a cheque for £1,658.14! 

The annual Girls' Division Christmas Post went virtual with the Year 10 forms acting out skits in the Great Hall and streaming their efforts to every form room via Zoom. They held the usual sweet sales outdoors on the netball courts and raised £1,023 for The Christie. The Year 7 Sponsored Silence also raised £2,191.95 for Centrepoint.

Christmas Jumper Day saw the Sixth Form Boys raise £530 for Bolton Hospice, exceeding their target of £318 to send three Hospice at Home nurses to visit a patient this Christmas. Money raised in the Girls' Division on Christmas Jumper Day was added to the Urban Outreach Hamper Challenge fund.

Both the Junior and Senior Schools found ways to hold their usual Christmas events in Covid-secure ways with a variety of approaches.

The Ceremony of Carols became a drive-in event with cars packing the Girls' Division quad for a memorable evening of ethereal music and thoughtful readings. Traditions were kept as much as possible, with the Chamber Choir 'processing in' with the Hodie, the Headmistress welcoming everyone with the Bidding Prayer, and the 'Three Kings from Persian Lands Afar' featuring in the programme.

Watch a beautiful performance of 'Away in a Manger' or see a short video reel recapturing the whole evening here.

The Junior Boys also maintained as many traditions as possible in their filmed Christmas Celebration. The performance began with 'Once in Royal David's City' and continued with readings, poems, festive tunes and carols. Pupils explained the origins and symbolism of the Advent Wreath, Christingle and Christmas Tree, there were performances from instrumental groups and all year groups gave lovely renditions of traditional carols.

The Junior Boys' Christmas Celebration is available to watch in full here.

The Junior Girls also filmed their festive production of 'How The Grinch Stole Christmas'. The girls combined songs and poetry recitations to tell the story of the Grinch from start to finish, with Year 3 also performing dances to the tune 'Trim Up The Tree'. Girls also enjoyed singing the carol 'Joy To The World' in Spanish and English. 

The Junior Girls' performance of 'How the Grinch Stole Christmas' is available to watch in full here.

The Boys' Division hosted a virtual Christmas Festival on Zoom, anchored with live addresses from the Great Hall and augmented with pre-recorded musical performances. Once again, traditions were upheld with 'Once In Royal David's City' opening the programme, followed by a combination of congregational carols, readings, prayers and reflections.

The Boys' Division Christmas Festival is available to watch in full here.

With the help of professional video company Sitcom Soldiers, the Boys' Division produced a filmed version of 'It's A Wonderful Life'. The cast auditioned online, rehearsed on Zoom and for just a few days in bubbles, and finally turned the Great Hall into a socially distanced film set. The spectacular performance of this Christmas classic premiered to an excited audience on Thursday 17 December.

'It's A Wonderful Life' is now available to watch in full here. Pick up a digital programme here.

In the Girls' Division, three separate casts from Year 7, Year 8 and Year 9 recorded a new radio drama called 'Parr for the Course', which was written specially for the occasion. The play charts the rise and fall and rise again of women's football over the past 100 years, from pioneer Lily Parr to Megan Rapinoe.

Take a peek Inside the Rehearsal Room to see behind-the-scenes photos from the production process.

All of the Junior Girls enjoyed Travelling by Tuba workshops as the end of term approached. They had fun listening to music from a variety of instruments and learned how to play a fast-paced festive Samba on percussion at the end of their session.  

Girls in Years 8 created fabulous iced cakes as part of Christmas Cake Club, and Year 9 girls studying Food Preparation also made individual cakes ahead of the festive season. More photos of their impressive creations can be found via the link.

Bolton School has a new Science Coordinator in the Girls' Division. Mrs Power is focused on inspiring girls from Year 7 to the Sixth Form, but also works with Year 6 pupils in the Junior Girls' School. She is able to offer specialist teaching and helps to develop science knowledge to a deep level, inside and outside of the classroom. 

Year 12 student Sanjana has won first prize in the University of Warwick's Beat the Pathologist competition. She identified and annotated different types of tumors to give a diagnosis.

Year 13 student Rosalyn took part in the National Final of The Great Debate. This competition, organised by the Historical Association, asked students from across the country to debate the question, 'Should we judge historical figures by the morals of today?' Rosalyn's virtual entry can be viewed here on the Historical Association website.

Two alumni gave talks to students in Years 9-13 from both Divisions via Zoom. Professor Sarah Mercer talked about her experiences studying modern foreign languages at university, the year abroad and her subsequent career teaching English as a Foreign Language. Simon Turner offered his audience a series of life lessons to help with decision making and living an examined, and therefore more fulfilling, life.

Finally, Year 12 student Harry recently raised money for the men's charity Movember. He ran 84km to bring attention to the 84 men lost every week to suicide in the UK and raised over £865. He completed the impressive feat in memory of his grandfather, who passed away earlier in the year following a battle with prostate cancer.

November 2020

 At the beginning of November, Remembrance services took place at Bolton School, bringing the school community together virtually even though we could not congregate in person. There was a theme of hope running through the Girls' Division service which was picked up by both poetry readings and prayers, while the Boys' Division reminded everyone of the important anniversaries taking place this year and remembered Old Boy who gave their lives. The Act of Remembrance was also observed in both Junior Schools, at Beech House Infant School and in the Nursery Class for Three- and Four-Year-Olds.

The Senior School Remembrance assemblies can be viewed in full via these links: Boys' Division and Girls' Division. A video created by the Junior Girls for Remembrance Day 2020, which features their poppy artwork, can also be watched here.

Bolton School is delighted to be working in partnership with The Bursary Foundation, a charity which works to connect deserving young people in deprived communities in Greater Manchester with the best educational opportunities at independent and grammar schools across the region.

The annual Tillotson Lecture took place virtually for the first time in its long history, with Zoom allowing the event to go ahead despite lockdown restrictions. Old Boys Prateek Buch, Dr Ashish Chaudhry, Nick Johnson and Hetain Patel formed the panel for this year's discussion on the lasting impacts the Covid-19 pandemic is likely to have on our society in the future.

The Tillotson Lecture 2020 can be watched in full here: How Will Covid Shape Society?

Another event that went virtual was the Junior Girls' Informal Concert, which can be viewed in two parts via the following links: Part 1 & Part 2.

Fundraising took place throughout Bolton School for Children in Need. The Junior Girls, Juniors Boys, Infants, Senior Girls and Nursery Class all took part with spotty accessories, fun activities and non-uniform days to raise lots of money for this worthy cause.

Year 3 pupil Prakruti also did some fundraising this month by undertaking a three-mile sponsored run. The proceeds were donated to The Akshaya Patra Foundation, who provide free school meals for children in India through their Food For Education campaign and, in the UK, have a Beat the Hunger programme which serves freshly cooked meals to holiday clubs, schools, homeless people and senior citizens.

A Year 12 student in the Girls' Division has been named a Deupty Youth MP following local Youth MP elections. Victoria Wong is proud to be representing her community of Bolton. She has also been elected a Youth Board Member of the BiteBack2030, a movement working to improve food standards in the UK. 

There has been lots of sporting news from the Girls' Division this month. A group of five girls were selected for the Regional Academy Lacrosse Programme, and three pupils were invited to join the Under 13 Manchester Thunder Netball Academy of Excellence. Year 8 pupil Amy joined the Lancashire Junior Academy Centre for Hockey. Lucy in Year 11 was selected for the Swim England National Event Camp 2020, which is for the country's top swimmers in her age category. Anna Phillips in Year 13 was also invited to the U18 England Ladies fixture camp, held at St. George’s Park.

Year 5 pupil Tabitha has made a video explaining how family's new autism support dog Thunder has made a real difference to younger brother Franklin's life. Watch it here.

Coming soon in the Girls' Division is Parr for the Course: a radio play written for Girls' Division pupils about Lily Parr, trailblazer for women's football. The play will be performed by three separate casts from Years 7, 8 and 9 in the run-up to Christmas. Watch the trailer here.

The Boys' Division Senior Production of It's A Wonderful Life will be aired on Zoom this year, taking place on 11 December 2020 at 7.30pm. For full details, including ticketing information for parents, staff and alumni, click here. Tickets are normally £5 but this year the school will be asking for voluntary charitable donations, which will be split equally between The Theatrical Guild and the Octagon Theatre.

Old Girl Dr Becky Smethurst was awarded this year's Institute of Physics Mary Somerville Medal and Prize. This recognises exceptional early career contributions to public engagement in physics. She regularly engages over 100,000 subscribers with content on her YouTube channel, which presents complex astrophysical ideas in an accessible manner to engage a global audience.

Another Old Girl, Emily Varley, has broken the Official Guinness World Record for the Women’s Indoor Triathlon with a total time of 58:21. She not only smashed the women's record, but almost beat the men's record as well.

Finally, the Bolton Alumni Network launched a new Business Directory to allow Old Boys and Old Girl to promote their businesses to their fellow alumni.

October 2020

As the end of October approached and half term was on the horizon, Bolton School celebrated Harvest with the usual charitable collections. Once again the generous donations from parents and pupils went to support Urban Outreach. The Senior and Junior Girls put together an amazing collection of tinned and packaged food, while the Infants made a financial contribution.

Watch a short news video documenting the collection in the Girls' Division here or via the play button below:

Earlier in the half term, Dave Baggley of Urban Outreach collected 140 cones of chocolates, initially intended for the School's fundraising Summer Ball, which will be used to thank the charity's donors and volunteers.

Two Sixth Form students from the Boys' Division raised £5,000 for Cancer Research UK with a challenge that saw them run 24 miles in 24 hours, completing one mile every hour for a whole day and evening running through the night! They decided to raise money for the charity because of the huge impact that Covid-19 has had on charities and their fundraising efforts.

This year's Tillotson Lecture will go virtual with a discussion between four Old Boys, chaired by the Headmaster, on the subject: How will Covid shape society? Alumni will offer insights from the public policy, medical, arts and hospitality sectors about how the pandemic will affect life going forward. The lecture will be staged via Zoom and will start at 7pm on Monday 23 November 2020. To register to attend, please email BDInfo@boltonschool.org.

Mr Forgrieve, the Head of Instrumental Studies in the Boys' Division, has been appointed to the Music Advisory Group of the National Children's Orchestras of Great Britain (NCOGB). This means that he will be consulted, alongside a small group of other instrumental specialists, on repertoire choices and other activities.

Three Junior Boys earned black belts in reading during lockdown. Milan, Ayron and Egan each read 50 varied books during the 2019-20 academic year and their efforts were rewarded as part of the school's Blazer Book Belt reading challenge. Milan went the extra mile with additional fundraising challenges to support the National Literacy Trust, and Ayron was inspired to start a blog documenting his reading adventures.

Two Girls' Division students won age group prizes in the Eco Innovators competition. Lucy, who came fourth in the 11-14 age group, and Sofia, who was sixth in the 14-19 age group, took on the challenge of designing electric vehicle charging points of the future. The entries were judged by a panel from organisations including the RAC Foundation, the National Grid, the National Transport Design Centre, Design Council, Living Streets, Thank You and the Office for Low Emission Vehicles as well as the Minister for Transport.

A piece of artwork created by Sixth Form student Emilie has been named one of the winners of The Horsfall's 2020 Art Competition. The competition, which opened for submissions during lockdown, was on the theme of portraits to celebrate coming back together with an exhibition of people.

Old Boy Steve Thompson (Class of 1998) was appointed regional editor for Newsquest Lancashire/Greater Manchester this month. This means he has responsibility for the School’s local newspaper The Bolton News, as well as the Lancashire Telegraph, the Bury Times, The Oldham Times and Messenger titles. He said: 'I have great memories from my time at school, especially working on the school newspaper with Mr Joseph in the Sixth Form.'

Sadly the School received news earlier this month that former Girls' Division Maths teacher, Deputy Head and Head of Careers Miss Margaret Dickinson has died. She passed away on 10 October 2020. Girls' Division Headmistress Sue Hincks said: 'She is remembered by many Old Girls as the kindest Maths teacher you could possibly want. ... Colleagues describe her as 'such a special person; so calm, humorous and understanding'.' A full tribute to her can be found here. Her family has set up a Muchloved page in her memory, with donations going to Parkinson's UK. If you would like to donate, please click here.

September 2020

With the traditional Open Morning date on the horizon, at the start of the autumn term Bolton School started to plan how the usual event would take place this year in a virtual format. The Senior Girls' Virtual Live Open Morning and Senior Boys' Virtual Live Open Day were announced towards the end of September. On the day, Year 6 pupils and their parents will still enjoy lots of interaction with dedicated teaching staff and bright, engaged pupils.

Those interested in attending must register and can do so via the following links: Girls' Division and Boys' Division.

On National Poetry Day, poet Andrew McMillan, in conjunction with the Boys' Division, launched a poetry workshop and a subsequent competition based on this year's theme of 'Vision'. The workshop will run on Zoom on Wednesday 14 October and will encourage young people to explore new ways of looking, seeing and imagining the world. Full details, including how to book for this free event, can be found here.

Children in Year 2 at the Infant School had an exciting adventure at the Anderton Centre, where they had lots of fun on and off the water.

Earlier in September, Boys' Division Headmaster Philip Britton led an assembly which has in past years celebrated the life of Lord Leverhulme, the school's founder, but this year addressed some of his mistakes and asked the important question: how do we make a difference for good? The thought for the day at the assembly was taken from the Emancipation Proclamation, quoting the words of US President Abraham Lincoln on the anniversary of the day this executive order was passed: 'All persons held as slaves shall be thenceforward forever free.' Watch the thought for the day in full here.

Shortly after, the School published an update on the meaningful actions taken to improve practices, flag areas for improvement and make a sustained commitment to anti-racism since the Black Lives Matter protests in June 2020. Full details can be found here.

August 2020

 Despite the challenges of the past several months, students at Bolton School nonetheless celebrated their A Level results. Girls' Division students were congratulated over the phone by their teachers, while the Boys' Division opened its doors for careful, socially distant celebrations in the afternoon of results day. In both Divisions, students achieved a strong set of results and were encouraged to enjoy their moment as much as possible.

Read full details of the results in each school here: Boys' Division and Girls' Division.

The celebrations for GCSE students may well have been virtual, but they were very real as Boys' and Girls' Division students achieved excellence in a tumultuous week of uncertainty. Year 11 pupils in both Divisions achieved a good crop of results via email.

Read full details of the results in each school here: Boys' Division and Girls' Division.

During the summer, two Bolton School pupils have been chosen as part of a national shortlist of 20 students in this year's Political Studies Association (PSA) Blog Competition, held in partnership with the FT and supported by UK Parliament. Congratulations to Zoe Grainger, who collected her A level results this summer, and Lucas Appleby, who is about to start Year 13.

The Bolton branch of the Historical Association has been holding its monthly meetings in the Girls' Division for a number of years. This will be the case once again during the 2020-21 academic year. However, in order to adapt to the ever-changing circumstances surrounding Covid-19, this year the start of the season will be postponed until January 2021. Full details are available here.

July 2020

 Bolton School has been involved in the fight against Covid-19 by helping to provide hospital, NHS and care home staff with vital PPE equipment during the summer term. The Senior Girls' School provided over 550 visors while the Junior Boys have also 3D printed 150 visors and more than 250 visor headbands. Individual pupils have also got involved: a Year 6 boy created and 3D printed 'ear relievers' for use with masks and a Year 8 girl provided inspiration to people around the world when her poem about lockdown went viral. These are just some of the projects that Bolton School has been involved with during lockdown.

The Joint Senior Concert Band put together a socially distanced virtual final performance of the year, which also celebrated the 2020 leavers and thanked them for their contributions to the band. Watch it here or via the play button below: 

In the Girls' Division, the traditional exhibition of A Level and GCSE Artwork was transformed into a digital gallery on the website, to allow students' work to be showcased. The exhibition galleries can be viewed via the following links:

• Year 11 GCSE Work
• Year 12 A Level Work
• Year 13 A Level Work

More end of term events went virtual at the beginning of July as the summer term came to a close. Watch them via the following links:

• Girls' Division Year 7 and 8 Celebration Event
• Junior Girls' Virtual Concerts: Years 5 and 6; Years 3 and 4
• Boys' Division Live Virtual Assembly for Years 10 and 12
• Celebration of the Junior Girls' Year 6 Leavers

Sixth Form student Lizzie Crowther decided to start her own food blog. She started out wanting to document her favourite family recipes before going away to university at the start of the next academic year, but then decided to use her free time during lockdown to learn how to create her own website. Lizzie Likes officially launched at the end of June.

June 2020

Global events in June 2020 brought to the forefront of everyone's mind the issue of systemic racism with Black Lives Matter protests taking place around the world. Bolton School's current pupils, members of staff and alumni were vocal in condemning racism in all its forms and the Foundation committed to undertaking a thorough review of current practices in order to evaluate where changes are necessary. Read the School's statement on Black Lives Matter here.

The Heads also responded to an open letter from a group of Alumni asking that the School consider its educational provision in the light of the Black Lives Matter protests. Read both the response and the Alumni letter here.

As school closures continued, end of term events across the Foundation went virtual.

The Boys' Division Prizegiving became an online assembly, streamed to an audience of pupils, parents and staff members who were encouraged to join in with singing at the appropriate point in the programme. Further musical accompaniments were also part of the ceremony as usual and the Headmaster gave his Review of the Year as well as 'presenting' the awards and prizes. Links to watch all parts of the Prizegiving are available here.

The Senior Boys also held their Arts Award Celebration online. This included a round up of Year 7's work towards their Bronze Awards, followed by the presentation of the usual prizes in a virtual format. There was creative industry input from Old Boys Jonny Ashton, a TV documentary maker, Robin Partington, an architect, famously of the Gherkin, and Mark Radcliffe, TV and radio broadcaster, author and musician. A celebration summary video was also shown as part of the programme.

More Boys' Division virtual assemblies, concerts and celebrations can be viewed via the following links:

• Celebration Assembly: March 31st 2020
• Cups and Colours Assembly: Trailer, Part 1, Part 2
• Monitors List
• Arts Colours Assembly
• Celebration Assembly 20 May 2020: Review of this half term; looking forward to next term 
• Virtual Lunchtime Concert 16 June 2020
• Virtual Summer Concert 23 June 2020
• House Assembly 29 June 2020
• Prizegiving: links here
• Lower School Prizegiving: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5
• Community Action Assembly: Part 1, Part 2

The smooth transition to online learning has helped to boost interest in the Infant, Junior Girls' and Junior Boys' Schools towards the end of the academic year. The seamless learning was made all the more effective by the provision of iPads to all pupils aged 7 and above.

Pupils undertaking Gold, Silver and Bronze Duke of Edinburgh Awards were congratulated for giving over 8,800 hours of voluntary service to their local communities between 1 April 2019 and 31 March 2020. They received certificates and the school's hearty congratulations.

Year 5 pupil Isabelle McCarren has won the national Wombles Eco-Schools Primary Competition with her comic! Pupils across the UK were asked to complete a cartoon strip depicting how litter endangers the countryside and wildlife. Isabelle's drawing was the overall winner and she was even congratulated by Great Uncle Bulgaria himself! She will also have the chance to meet her favourite Womble, Orinoco, next term when he visits the Junior Girls' School with an Eco-Schools team.

Before the summer holidays, the Boys' Division published its 2020-21 Creative Learning Programme. Designed to drive school-wide arts and culture participation as well as broad creative engagement in the local community and region, the programme provides information on enrichment activities within and beyond the curriculum.

Ms Lord, Director of Creative Learning and Partnerships in the Boys’ Division, has been named one of eighteen committed professionals on the Royal Opera House Bridge's national Leaders for Impact programme. She is delighted to be part of this year-long project, which seeks to progress professionals' impact upon cultural learning and practice. Ms Lord is also a Specialist Leader in Cultural Education in the School via Curious Minds.

After twenty seven very successful years, Bolton School's 'in-house' coach service, BSS Coaches, is ceasing to trade. From September, the School will enter into a partnership with Tyrers Coaches to deliver the twenty school coach routes and transportation for many of the school’s other activities will also be provided by third parties.

May 2020

The Junior Boys' Fun Run was a very different affair this year. With schools still closed and the UK in lockdown, the Fun Run went virtual and the boys enthusiastically embraced a new challenge: to walk, cycle, run and hike enough miles to collectively circumnavigate the globe! They followed in the footsteps of Phileas Fogg but attempted to accomplish the feat in just 8 school days, rather than 80. Donations rolled in to JustGiving and by the end of the challenge, the boys had raised over £2,500 for Bolton Hospice.

Throughout the 2019-20 academic year, a small group of Junior Boys in Year 6 have been working on a project to commemorate the 75th anniversary of VE Day. At the start of the year, they interviewed Old Boy and veteran Kenneth Lee and used his experiences of the Second World War as their inspiration. 'Holding the Line' started out as a play but adapted to the restrictions of Lockdown to become an illustrated e-book and audiobook read by the boys themselves.

Listen to the audiobook and see the illustrations here or by pressing the play button below:

April 2020

At the end of March, learning at Bolton School went remote in response to the Covid-19 crisis alongside schools across the nation. Pupils and staff rose to the new challenges and adapted to the 'new normal' across the whole Foundation, from the Infant School, through the Junior and Senior Schools and right through to the Sixth Form. Though not everything went according to plan, there was much success with both teaching and learning.

As the UK lockdown continued over the Easter period, staff in the Girls' Division helped to ease the shortage of PPE in the NHS by laser cutting parts for visors, which were then sent on to local hospitals.

Meanwhile, in the Boys' Division, the to local charity Urban Outreach, which was working to produce food packages for families in need during the crisis. The bees were moved from their usual home in the Boys' Division to DTE teacher Mr Butchart's garden for the duration of lockdown.

Finally, two pieces of news from just before lockdown.

A group of Junior Boys enthusiastically took part in the Bolton Schools’ Dance Festival at Thornleigh College. The theme was the Olympics and the boys thoroughly enjoyed taking part.

Miranda Kestovnikoff's recent visit to Bolton School was one of the last before lockdown. Her talk 'The Sea Around Me' was filled with anecdotes about her time diving in the waters surrounding the UK and her encounters with the amazing creatures found around our coastline.

27 March 2020

Quite a week at Bolton School and certainly one for the history books! With the pernicious global spread of Covid-19, UK schools closed and teaching went remote. Foundation teaching staff, many of them with children of their own, worked hard showing imagination and creativity and pupils acted maturely and diligently as physical schools closed, except to key workers’ children and the vulnerable.  

Infants were set a number of tasks to complete at home and particularly enjoyed story-time with Mrs Mees. Junior and Senior School pupils, using their iPads, undertook a wide variety of tasks across subject areas as normal timetables continued. There were many novel approaches to online learning, including Patterdale Hall setting daily outdoor learning challenges, stay-at-home DofE activities and sports departments challenging pupils with ‘keepie-uppie’ competitions and keep fit sessions. Many parents expressed through social media how hugely appreciative of the efforts that teaching staff went to:

“I have been so impressed with how smoothly it has all gone this week! Well done.”

“Thanks to you and the staff, it’s made working for home easier as my daughter is occupied in a constructive way, maintaining contact with her class, carrying on learning. Really impressed and grateful.”

“Thank you to all at Bolton School for keeping some rhythm, structure and normality for all pupils. Great directed learning.”  

“Thank you to all those involved in keeping the school going and for providing the daily routine. I can not describe the joy of hearing the laughter coming from my daughter’s room throughout the day.

“Thank you to you and all your staff for keeping some normality in our children’s lives during this surreal time. Having the structure of normal lessons has definitely helped with my daughters’ mental and physical well being.”

“Bobbed home at lunch, there was much hilarity in my daughters A level maths class, such a tonic for all at a time when they cannot meet friends. Thanks for everything you and the other teachers are doing to maintain normality and support other key workers.”

“Feeling proud 2 have got through Week 1 of Distance Learning with my 3 boys! We are all still speaking and smiling! So grateful to the school - brilliant leadership & management of this. Everyone deserves a glass of wine or two now.”

“Thank you Sue Hincks and Philip Britton and all the Bolton school staff. Proud of our school. Stay safe.”

“It's a wrap! 1 full week complete - a huge thank you to Bolton School and Philip Britton for ensuring that our boys could still learn and develop themselves. Zoom has been a life saver along with many WhatsApp calls between friends.”

“As I write this our daughter is engaged with her subject teacher in her remote learning. What a week for everyone. A huge thank you Sue Hincks and Philip Britton for your leadership and to all the teachers for your hard work and professionalism this week. We are impressed!”

At the end of the week, teachers were pleased with how it had worked out and just a little relieved to make it to the weekend:

“Definitely the most unusual week of my life. Virtual School has been up and running for five days now. Zoom and Showbie have been most effective and do you know what, the young creatives have risen to the challenge. Lots being done.”

“Well done to all the Lower School boys, who have engaged so well with remote learning in our first week! Your teachers really appreciate your hard work and enthusiasm. Big thank you to parents and carers for their support. Hope everyone enjoys a well-earned break this weekend!”

“At the end of the first week of remote teaching a huge congratulations to the 6th form who have superbly engaged and carried on their studies through Zoom and Showbie as well as other platforms.”

“Hearing very positive things in our daily PE zoom meetings with our students about how the girls are looking after themselves. Pupils in Y7, 8 & 9 are rising admirably to the challenge of keeping their activity diary up-to-date with some innovative ideas.”

“Well done to Levi for running his own Bee Keeping ECA club from home today.”

“Six period day done, every class was fabulous. Feeling ever so slightly more upbeat about the whole situation. Even my 10 year old Mac has managed to Zoom!”

"Year 4 have been very busy with their home learning task this week. They have been writing instructions, finding out about evaporation as well as keeping up with their numeracy skills. Well done girls keep up the good work.”

"What a week! I've never worked so hard (that's from Mrs Super Conscientious). It's been exciting, innovative, challenging and occasionally frustrating. Brilliant support and camaraderie from all at Park Road Juniors.”

“Having used Zoom to have a Form Meeting with 3B, it was lovely hearing so many varied highlights of their week: many writing their adventure story, some class discussions on Showbie,, of course Joe Wicks' PE – the Body Coach -, even the daily calculations made the list.”

“Virtual Bolton School has had a tiring but successful first week. So proud of the pupils who have been ready and engaged for lessons. I've been glad to help staff and pupils work this out! But I am very ready for this weekend!”

Miss Hincks, Headmistress of the Girls’ Division: “Undoubtedly the longest week of my life. Thank you every colleague at Bolton School including our Junior Schools, Infants’ and Nursery for keeping 100 key workers’ children happy and occupied, the majority at Beech House and Nursery, whilst offering home learning to 2,000 more.”

Mr Britton, Headmaster of the Boys’ Division: “Thank you to parents, boys and colleagues who have made the virtual school work so well this week. Everyone has played their part to give the boys some structure at a very strange time for them all, keeping them connected with school and one another and making progress.”

Mrs Faulkner, Head of Junior Boys’ School: “Well done to all Park Road Junior Boys, staff and parents for their hard work this week as we’ve established good virtual learning habits. Enjoy the weekend.”

Mr Britton, Headmaster: “For 110 years the Sergeant has brought boys to the Headmaster to be asked to be Captain and Vice Captains of School. Today I appointed the team for 2020/21 by Zoom!”

Former pupil Jonny Ashton helped produce a rapidly put together TV programme for Channel 4, Coronavirus: How to Self Isolate Yourself and another former pupil, Thorrun Govind appeared on BBC News appealing to people to respect boundaries in pharmacies.  

One or two stories from the previous week were also posted on the School website, including an article with former Chairman of Governors Michael Griffiths in which he talks about the changing role of governorship,  a review of the recent visit by former pupil Professor Mike Waring when he addressed the School’s next generation of scientists and medics, a look at the Nursery’s Early Year Phonics project and its recent Curiosity Approach accreditation.

20 March 2020

The final of the Young Musician of the Year competition took place in the Boys' Division. The Junior and Senior winners from seven instrumental categories took part and their performances made for a spectacular evening of musical entertainment.

In honour of International Women's Day, Old Girl Elizabeth Newton (née Whyatt) visited the Girls' Division to share her seven life lessons with current pupils. Now Head of Professional Development at London Business School, she was able to offer advice and guidance through an inspiring assembly and later a masterclass with Year 11 and round-table questions with the Sixth Form.

We recently caught up with a group of Sixth Form students and recent leavers who have received Oxbridge offers, to find out more about their experiences applying to the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge. Read interviews with each of them here.

Year 5 pupil Miley danced with members of the Birmingham Royal Ballet Company at the end of February. She appeared in two acts of their production of 'Swan Lake Dreams' after months of rehearsal and thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience.

With the Bolton School campus closing for the majority of pupils at the end of the day, staff across the Foundation have worked hard throughout the week to ensure that learning will continue seamlessly for all. The Heads have reminded parents and pupils that it is 'business as usual' for most, but from home and remotely rather than in school buildings.

The News Blog may pause in the coming weeks with pupils continuing their education from home, but please follow us on social media for those small stories and updates that our members of staff are able to share. Bolton School can be found on Twitter @BoltonSchool, Facebook at Bolton School and Instagram @Bolton_School_Foundation. The Boys' and Girls' Division Heads are also active on Twitter @Philip_Britton and @SueHincks.

Our outdoor pursuits centre Patterdale Hall and the school's outdoor pursuits team plan to provide daily outdoor challenges on Twitter: follow @Patterdale_Hall and @Boltonoutdoor for these.

A full list of Bolton School social media links can be found here on the school website, including links to departmental Twitter feeds.

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.