8th June 2012

Over 1,000 flag-waving pupils, parents, staff and friends of Bolton School were on hand to cheer on the Olympic torch as it passed the School at 6.21am on the 1st of June! The joint jazz band ensured everyone was wide awake by the time the procession made its way down Chorley New Road. Nathan Zimmerling completed the leg that passed Bolton School, passing the flame to Anjali Shah who, in turn, passed it to Old Girl of the School, Rachel Flanders. During her time at the School, Rachel, aged just 17 at the time, became the youngest person ever to row across the Atlantic Ocean. After completing her run, Rachel brought the torch into School and showed it to excited pupils and staff at a celebration breakfast. This was Rachel’s second visit to the School in one week as along with other successful Old Girls, she returned to school to share experiences with current Year 8 pupils on Careers Day. The Old Girls ran sessions on the career paths they have chosen, offering tips and advice.

A team of Year 9 boys are the winners of the National IOP Exoplanet Project. The boys impressed judges with their video proposal based on the topic of Astronomy - each received £15 of iTunes vouchers and the Physics department received a Sony Bloggie camcorder. Another team of Bolton School boys also found success this time as runners up in the National Final of the Toyota Technology Challenge with their robot called 'Edge-Hog.

Year 13 student James Roberts captained the England Cerebral Palsy Development Football Squad at the 2012 Cerebral Palsy Home Nations Championships, and led them to Victory! James' England squad won the tournament, finishing undefeated against Northern Ireland and Scotland with two convincing victories. In Girls’ Sport, Year 9 pupil Nalisha Patel has been selected for the Lancashire County Cricket Women's first team, an amazing achievement for her age! Nalisha is the youngest player in the squad which usually ranges from age 17 upwards. She can now be selected for group matches against other county teams which will lead to a semi final and then a final. While Year 10 pupil, Larissa King, has been selected to dance in the National Youth Ballet's Jubilee performance at Sadler's Well in the summer.

The new Bolton School flagpole has officially been launched, celebrating 100 years of flying flags from our Chorley New Road campus. The new flagpole sits proudly atop the iconic turret towers of the Centre Arch 100 after the first flag flew in celebration of the baronetcy of William Hesketh Lever, the benefactor of Bolton School. When the Olympic torch passed the school, the Paralympic flag was flown in celebration of Old Boy and President of the International Paralympic Committee, Sir Phillip Craven. Over the Bank Holiday weekend, the Union Flag flew for the Queen's Diamond Jubilee – which was celebrated in style by Bolton School pupils holding a Park Road picnic on the school field and a Royal Tea Party over at Beech House Infants.

25 May 2012

It has been fundraising and charity efforts all the way at Bolton School, as the Junior Boys kicked off our whole school fundraiser for the LivLife charity. The boys took to the field dressed in an array of colourful fancy dress outfits in their annual Fun Run - the first event in a series of events at Bolton School to raise money for the charity. Football players, cavemen and cowboys ran alongside ghosts, daleks, bananas and even Olympic torch bearers! Joined by the Head of Junior Boys Mr Stephen Whittaker, and Mr Tim Dickinson, the boys ran around the Senior School running track for 40 minutes. For the first time in Bolton School's history, all parts of the Foundation, including pupils and staff, will come together to raise funds for a single cause, culminating in a day of action on Tuesday 10th July. In what will hopefully be a record-breaking day, all pupils and staff will wear Masaai clothing or red clothing to symbolise the Masaai, and undertake various fundraising activities including a sponsored walk to Rivington Pike. The LivLife Foundation is a charity set up two Old Boys that provides free and relevant education and vocational opportunities to some of the world's poorest people through educational centres in Tanzania.

Year 10 Girls' Division pupil, Eleanor Harding, ran the BUPA Manchester 10k run, raising over £1000 for Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research, despite being mid-way through an 18 month maintenance chemo regime herself. Eleanor ran the 10k in just 49 minutes, along with her parents and brother who supported her along the way. Since last year, Eleanor has moved from intensive chemo to a maintenance regime and has been working hard to regain her fitness. With the help of her gym, Virgin Active in Bolton, she has been following a programme to build up her strength and this, along with training with her dad, resulted in Eleanor being able to complete the run in a fantastic time without stopping.

And over one hundred staff, students, parents, alumni and friends of Bolton School enjoyed a glamorous black tie and evening dress dinner at the School's Arts and Conference Centre in order to raise funds for a forthcoming rugby tour to South Africa. A drinks reception was followed by a three course silver service dinner, and music on the night was provided by Ben Thompson (better known for playing Ryan Connor in Coronation Street), who plays with Manchester indie band the Rusholme Ruffians. Toby Cowling, a Year 12 student, also provided musical accompaniment on the night. The evening, which included a raffle, raised over £2,000 for the boys' forthcoming rugby tour to South Africa. The tour has also secured rugby shirt sponsorship from Deloitte, polo shirt sponsorship from Barton Grange Garden Centre as well as backing from local firms, DRL, Relph's Funeral Services and Silk Group.

And today the Headmaster of Bolton School Boys' Division has started tweeting.  You can view Mr Britton's Twitter account at https://twitter.com/#!/Philip_Britton.

18th May 2012

Year 12 student, Stephanie Gabbatt, has been named runner up in the Amnesty International Young Human Rights Reporter of the Year competition in her age group. A glitzy London awards ceremony was the culmination of the competition launched at the start of the year to produce an article no longer than 500 words highlighting a Human Rights abuse. There were three thousand entries overall from UK schools, and of the thousands of entries submitted, in the end Stephanie's entry on human trafficking earned her runner up in the Sixth Form category - an amazing achievement! And Sixth Form pupils Yasmin Ahmed, Olivia Davidson and Adam Woolley were invited by the Bolton Lads and Girls club to take part in Rolling Globe - a national campaign run by Oxfam, aimed at raising young people's awareness of international issues. The three students attended a series of youth led workshops and discussions with local MPs in Westminster, with the aim of creating more positive change.

The Year 9 Masterchef of 2012 has been crowned, and the winner is Kate Moss who won the judges over with her chocolate bread and butter pudding. The final live cook off between finalists Kate, and fellow pupil Iman Orths was a close fought battle with amazing food being produced by both girls, as each one cooked her 'signature dish'. Iman made a red thai curry, while Kate opted for the bread and butter pudding.

In sport, our International U18 Hockey player Hannah Pike took part in a national charity event for Wellchild called 'The Big Dribble'. The event, organised by England Hockey, involved a 100m obstacle course which was set up in cities throughout the UK, from Edinburgh to London. Hannah attended the Manchester leg of the tour in front of the town hall in Albert Square. She even ended up being interviewed for BBC Newsround as they turned up to film the event. And our Boys' Division U13 and U15 teams are off to a flying start in the AEGON Schools National Tennis Championships. Playing in the group stages, the boys beat schools such as Broughton College, Arnold and Kirkham grammar without dropping a set! Both teams hope to reach the knockout stages later in the year.

Also this week, Beech House’s Ugly Bug Ball saw the Reception class dress up as bugs and insects to celebrate the work they have been doing around exploring living things with dancing and playing games.

11 May 2012

It has been a week of sports stories at Bolton School. A Year 11 Athletics team from the Girls’ Division was crowned town champions, at an event held at Leverhulme Park Stadium.

Meanwhile, in the Boys’ Division, Patrick Whelan Patrick Whelan, a Year 11 student, has won a gold medal with the Manchester Team in the U16s' national basketball finals. Despite a season plagued by injury, Patrick more than played his part in both the semi-final and final, weighing in with 17 points in the final.

Last Friday evening saw the culmination of a two-day football festival for primary schools held at Bolton School. On Day 1, girls and boys from Years 3 and 4 took part in training sessions and coaching drills led by Bolton School and Bolton Wanderers Community Trust coaches. Day 2 saw Year 5 and 6 pupils from across the region battle it out in a 5-a-side competition. This year's A competition winners was Beaumont Primary School who overcame Horwich 2-0 in the final. Eagley Junior Primary School won the B competition, beating Sacred Heart with a golden goal in extra time to snatch a 2-1 victory. The girls' final was won by St Thomas of Canterbury RC Primary School who beat Castle Hill.

Three pupils from Bolton School Girls' Division, Amy Hadjinicolaou in Year 9 and Penny Roberts and Lucy Harper in Year 8, have represented Lancashire in a national U14 tennis competition. In games played over the weekend, they overcame Derbyshire in the first round and then won through against Hertfordshire and Worcestershire in the semi-finals only to lose out in the final against Staffordshire.

Bolton School played their last game of the rugby season as they hosted Regent House School from Belfast. The tourists won a hard fought game15-7 as they took an early lead and then defended vigorously to keep Bolton at bay. The game may have been hard but the relationships between the players and staff from both schools was first class, as Regents offered Bolton the opportunity to tour in Belfast.

4th May 2012

This week Bolton School hosted an evening of fashion and beauty in aid of Bolton Hospice. The evening offered a fashion show with clothes from Matalan and Vicky Martin, modelled by our very own sixth form pupils, and Beauty students from Bolton College provided manicures and massages for those attending the evening. Further funds were raised by the sixth formers holding raffles and setting up stalls selling pretty cupcakes and jewellery. Also The School’s musical talent was also on display with the Girls’ Division May Serenade, not to mention culinary expertise in the Year 9 girls’ Masterchef Semi Final!

A team of Year 7 boys entered the Bolton School's Gymnastics Competition for the first time and Sam Bowden came away with a silver medal! Sam, along with fellow pupils Cian McMahon, and Sammy Gatenby were the only boys in the competition and competed in the Advanced Category against around 55 girls. While Year 2 pupil Hollie Asquith has excelled at the British Roller Skating Championships in Peterborough. Hollie entered the British Tots Free Skating and finished an impressive 7th out of 19. She also competed in the British Tots Solo Dance and finished 10th out of 23.

The Boys' Division Catering team has raised £140 for Firwood House Care Home with an Easter raffle. Catering staff worked hard to sell tickets to boys and staff at the school, with Easter egg prizes on offer, which were donated by catering staff. Representatives from Firwood visited the school to be presented with the cheque, and the money raised will go to improving the sensory garden at the home.

And Sixth Form Girls had the opportunity of a lifetime when they visited the US and got to go inside the White House! The rare chance came about through an Old Girl who was the PA to a 91 year old attorney at the White House, and organised for the Year 12 History and Government and Politics students to gain access while on their trip to Washington. Meeting the president's dog was just one highlight as was leaving the building by the front door and waving to the tourists on the other side of the railings! The girls also visited the main sights of Washington and New York, and even stooped off at some Amish farms in Pennsylvania on the trip.

27th April 2012

Katie Clinton, a former pupil, returned to Bolton School in her capacity as a Director at KPMG to launch to Sixth Form students, the chance of a 4 week paid vacation programme at KPMG in Manchester. Katie told Sixth Formers about the unique scheme, which sees one girl and one boy undertake meaningful employment with the accounting giant, spending two weeks in the Financial Services Audit team and two weeks in the Corporate Finance team. Students were asked to apply for the work placement as if they were applying for a full-time position - the two that are chosen will be involved in client work and will be "at the coal-face" undertaking real research.

It was Claypool Primary School from Horwich who emerged winners of the Bolton School Big Quiz for local primary schools held this week. Twelve teams had pitted their wits against one another over the course of 11 testing rounds, which covered everything from entertainment to maths puzzles and from sequencing skills to fruit and vegetable knowledge! And this week saw the quarter final of the Year 8 girls’ Masterchef competition - girls created vegetarian main meals with things hotting up ahead off the big final on the 11th May.

In sport news, Year 9 pupil Dominic Walker has set a new British U14 50m backstroke record. Dominic broke the previous record with a time of 28.68s at the Lancashire County Championships. He is aiming to set another British record for 100m backstroke when he competes at Manchester Aquatics Centre in May as he is only half a second away from beating the current record. The Year 8 netball team has won this year's Bolton Schools' U13 Netball Tournament, remaining unbeaten throughout the 15 team tournament. The girls came up against Turton in the final, where they secured a 5-1 victory to become tournament winners. And the boys’ U14 water polo team has won through to the English Schools final by finishing first overall in the qualifiers at Manchester Aquatic Centre. The boys beat off competition from Manchester Grammar School, Ripley, KES, St Bedes and Kings to finish top of the table. The final will be held in Walsall on 26 May 2012.

Also this week, Bolton School's Governing Body has given the official go ahead for the construction of the new Sixth Form Centre, which will be built in the heart of the Chorley New Road campus. Architecturally, the glass and sandstone building promises to provide a dramatic contrast to the School's Neo-Gothic façade and turrets. Work on the £7 million three-storey, elliptical building will begin in mid-July after the Summer Term has ended. It is expected to take a year to complete, meaning Sixth Form students will be able to enjoy their new Centre from September 2013.

20th April 2012

The Easter Holidays have flown by at Bolton School and the Summer Term is upon us once again.
In conjunction with local marketing company Silk Group, we are proud to announce the opening of our new online store. The new store boasts an exciting range of quality Bolton School branded items - whether you are a young pupil from Beech House or whether you left the School 50 years ago, the site promises something for everyone! Please visit: http://www.boltonschoolmerchandise.org/. All profits made from the enterprise will go into the School's bursary fund.
We can also announce that tickets for the Beech House Spring Ball are now available, costing £50 each with money raised going to kiDs of Bolton, a charity set up By Kevin Davies to help disadvantaged children in and around Bolton. The event will take place at the Reebok Stadium in the Lion of Vienna Suite on Saturday 12 May at 7pm. Download a ticket order form. Opportunities are also available for sponsoring aspects of the evening and advertising within the programme and we also need donations of raffle prizes. To support the ball in this way complete this form.
Good news for Rachel Flanders, who left Bolton School in 2009, and is set to carry the Olympic flame when it is processed through Bolton on Thursday 31 May and Friday 1 June! During her time at the School, Rachel, aged just 17 at the time, became the youngest person ever to row across the Atlantic Ocean. The torch comes to Bolton on Thursday, May 31, as part of its 70 day journey around the UK and will stay overnight before moving on to the next town. After travelling through the town the flame will arrive at the town hall before continuing on to Queens Park, where Bolton is hosting a free evening ticketed celebration. The torch will leave Bolton on June 1, just after 6am, from Victoria Square and will travel on to Chorley New Road, go down Scholes Bank in Horwich before arriving in Chorley at approximately 7.20am. Fingers crossed that Rachel will get to carry it past her old school!
And you may have seen another Old Girl, Professor Jenny Clack, on BBC4's Beautiful Minds programme on Wednesday 11 April. Jenny is a professor at Cambridge University a pioneering palaeontologist who made evolutionary history by discovering how we on earth went from water to land dwellers. The programme was the first in a series of three programmes where three influential scientists explain how their thoughts and discoveries have revolutionised the way the world is perceived.
And it’s not just the Old Girls in the limelight, Old Boy Chris Fairweather, aged 21, rowed in number 2 position for the ISIS (Oxford) crew that won this year's reserves' boat race. Chris left Bolton School in 2009 and is still an undergraduate at Oxford. The ISIS crew gradually pulled away during the course of the race and won with a comfortable margin of 5 lengths. Their finishing time set a course record for the reserves race and was equal to the third fastest time the course has been completed in the history of the race.
Pupils from Years 7, 8 and 9 in the Girls' Division have shown real imagination and flair in their entries to a Maths Photography Competition run by the Oxford University Press (OUP). The girls were asked to submit a picture that somehow related to something mathematical and were allowed to use up to 20 words in their caption. You can see many of their submissions on the OUP site here.