23rd March 2012

The curtains went up and the roof was raised on opening night of one of the biggest and most ambitious stage shows ever undertaken at Bolton school - a stunning performance of the musical We Will Rock You. The musical was a complete sell out immediately and over 800 paying guests will watch the production in the Girls' Division Theatre over five performances in four days. Pupils from Year 7 to the final year of Sixth Form, along with many teachers, have been involved, not only in acting but in the creation of costumes, theatrical make up and stage sets, and recreating the sounds of Queen's greatest hits.
Anne Edwards, whose grandfather, William Thomas Settle, was in the same form as Captain Arthur Henry Rostron at Bolton School, visited her former school this week to exhibit her Titanic memorabilia and to promote her charity, Honour the Rescuer. Anne feels not enough recognition is given to the heroism of Captain Rostron, who was the Master of RMS Carpathia - the only rescue ship to the Titanic - which saved 706 survivors that were already in the lifeboats. Anne put her memorabilia alongside that of the School's and the co-exhibition provoked a lot of local media interest - Granada Reports and North-West Tonight both interviewed her for programmes that will run on Wednesday 11th and Thursday 12th April.
Old Girl Anjali Pathak of Indian food giants, Pataks returned to Bolton School to give a masterclass in Indian cooking this week. She teamed up with top local chef, Mike Harrison and The Starlight Supper, held at the School’s Arts Centre, became an instant sell-out. Old Girls from Anjali’s year as well as from other year groups enjoyed a cooking class which revealed the secrets of gourmet Indian cuisine. During the course of the evening, the guests were taught how to deliver a perfect three-course Indian meal and then had the pleasure of devouring it! All funds raised on the night will be donated to MacMillan Cancer Support. Andy McAllister from Water4Ethiopia also visited the Senior Girls' Division this week on World Water Day, to raise awareness, along with money for the charity. Along with help from the girls, Andy and teacher Miss Rose Wilson sold Water4Ethiopia's own bottled water in the Main Hall at break and lunchtime. And at Beech House pupils got into the Sport Relief spirit on Friday with a cake, book and dvd sale to raise money for the cause.
In sport, a team of four Senior boys has achieved the remarkable feat of progressing through to the English Schools' Badminton Championship final, joining eight other regional school winners. Following their triumph at county level, the boys played against four other schools, encompassing the winners of Merseyside, Lancashire, Cumbria and Cheshire, to compete for the right to represent the North West region. The National final is to be held in late April. While our Junior Boys enjoyed a resounding 7-0 win over Arnold School in this year's final of the U11s' AJIS Football Cup.