26 January 2018

Dick Moore spent the day at Bolton School Boys' Division, providing students, staff and parents with his personal insights into 'dealing with your adolescent'. His hard-hitting presentation recapped his story: how he had been a successful teacher, eventually becoming a headteacher, and brought up four boys. He then revealed that one of his sons, Barney, took his own life at the age of 21. Dick touched on depression, stress, self-harm and other mental health issues in his talk. He also spoke about the importance of talking about emotions, not expecting perfection, and teaching self-management, social awareness, relationship skills and responsible decision making.

Mrs Browning reflected on a wonderful and busy first term as the new teacher of Bolton School's Nursery Class for Three and Four Year Olds. She talked about the wide range of exciting activities and experiences that the Nursery Class provides and the joys of teaching this age group.

Pupils at the Junior Boys' School were captivated by a performance from the Boys' Division Senior School Brass Group at lunchtime. The junior pupils thoroughly enjoyed listening to the music, which included recent hits like 'Uptown Funk' and demonstrations of the trumpet and trombone.

Old Boy Jarlath Pratt returned to the Boys' Division to talk to Year 13 students about his career in law. He was able to reveal the realities of the job, from what it's like to be a junior lawyer to the intricacies of his current role as Head of Legal in Europe at the Government of Singapore Investment Corporation.

The U14 Badminton team are now Greater Manchester champions and will go on to play in the North West final. They beat tough competition in the group stage and semi-final before breezing through the final to victory!

There are a number of exciting events coming up as the Girls' Division's calendar of Arts and Sciences Enrichment Lectures continues. All of the following talks are free and open to the public, and begin at 7pm in the Girls' Division Great Hall.

Next week, on Wednesday 31 January, philosopher and theologian Dr Peter Vardy will give a talk about Sexual Ethics. Dr Vardy is well known for engaging young people with big ideas that are important to them, and this promises to be a useful evening for those interested in religious studies, philosophy, or ethics and values.

Dr Michael Scott will visit the School on 20 February to speak about 'Sicily - An Island For Everyone'. His address will be based on his most recent television programme, Sicily: Wonder of the Mediterranean, which was shown on the BBC and charted the island's history from the Neolithic period to the present day.

On 5 March, the School will host the Royal Statistical Society's annual William Guy Lecture, which will be given by Jeff Ralph from the Office for National Statistics. He will talk about 'Society and teenagers - how statistics reveal the changes in young people's lives through the last century'.

If you would like more information about any of the forthcoming events, or would like to confirm that you will be attending one of the talks, please contact the Girls' Division Coordinators for Academic Enrichment:

Arts: Mrs J Hone (jhone@boltonschool.org)
Sciences: Mr B Ickringill (bickringill@boltonschool.org)

19 January 2018

Bolton School is to be at the forefront of a new Department for Education drive to recruit more Mathematics, Physics and Modern Foreign Languages (MFL) teachers. The School will be the Northern hub school for the National Maths and Physics SCITT (School-centred Initial Teacher Training), as well as the National Modern Foreign Languages SCITT. These initiatives hope to spearhead subject specific teacher training in shortage subject areas, and buck the trend in declining applications for Teacher Training.

Pupils at the Junior Boys' School had lots of fun learning about Great Britain and British values with Pop Project. The presentation involved lots of meaningful music and the boys sang along to classics like 'Love Train' and 'We Are Family'. They also found out more about the four countries that make up Great Britain through costumes and musical instruments.

Junior Girls' School pupil Coco is appearing in the Octagon Theatre's production of Jane Eyre, taking on the role of Adèle, Mr Rochester's ward. This is the first time Coco has been involved in the full rehearsal process, and she has really enjoyed working with the rest of the cast and crew in the run-up to her opening night.

Children in Year 2 at Beech House Infant School went on a trip to the Maritime Museum to learn more about the Titanic. This was a great day out for the pupils, who were able to discover many more details about the sinking of the ship and how people were rescued.

The School Archivist, Eric Fairweather, has written a new book about the history of the Girls' Division. From the formation of Bolton Day School for Girls in 1877 to the present day, the illustrated book looks at the tenure of each Headmistress and the changes the school has undergone through the years. Pride in the past; confidence in the future can be purchased from the Bolton School Merchandise website for £15.00.