23 June 2017

For this academic year, RoughHouse Theatre has been the Boys' Division Theatre Company in Residence. RoughHouse has collaborated with boys in Years 7 to 9 to devise drama based on topics drawn from the wider pastoral curriculum: law, justice, race and democracy. The theatre company has also been commissioned to create a new, original piece of theatre based on the boys' work, which will be performed at the Lower School Drama Festival in July.

A 100-word short story written by Anna Clark in Year 10 has won joint first prize in the Year 7-11 category of the inaugural Oxford University Spanish Flash Fiction Competition. Judges were particularly impressed by Anna's specific focus in the story, while also giving glimpses of the wider context.

Pupils at Beech House Infant School were delighted to meet animals from Bowland Farm. They were able to stroke and feed the animals, and some children were lucky enough to hold the chicks or ducks or lead the alpacas around the playground!

Two swimmers in the Girls' Division achieved highly at the North West Regional Summer Swimming Championships. Lucy Dixon won two silver and two bronze medals and earned a place on the England Talent Regional Development Programme, while Elly Fraser won one silver and two bronze medals and also achieved British National Qualifying Times for these events!

The final of the Girls' Division Parents' Association Future Entrepreneurs competition took place with teams of Year 9 girls pitching their personal safety item concepts to a panel of judges. The external judges arranged by the PA were very impressed by all of the pupils' ideas, but most of all with the concept put forward by SoCAE. The Mayor of Bolton presented the winning team with prizes.

Two Girls' Division pupils have recently been offered contracts with professional football academies. Lizzy Harkness and Anna Phillips have been offered contracts with Everton and Manchester City academies respectively.

The recent Joint Parents' Associations' Gin Tasting Evening was a huge success. An audience of potential gin connoisseurs enjoyed a presentation from Chris Coombs of Turton Wines on the history of gin before sampling gin at the speed tasting tables and moving on to the Gin Bar. The event was so popular the the PAs are now planning further events.

Teja Reece in Year 7 recently received no less than five trophies for her football performance! She was awarded these accolades based on both the players' and managers' assessment of her performance over the course of the season.

The Boys' Division Parents' Association hosted the latest Teenage Journey talk, which was about Choices Beyond School. Bernard Strutt, Head of Undergraduate Admissions at the University of Manchester, gave the evening's presentation which offered helpful advice to parents about the job market, what employers look for and how to help pupils to make the right decisions.

Girls in Year 7 recently invited their former Year 6 teachers and headteachers into School for a special lunch, which they had made themselves. The girls served sandwiches, pastries and cakes along with hot or cold drinks while chatting to their former teachers about life as a Bolton School pupil.