16 March 2018

The School's incredible dominance of the ESSA Water Polo titles continued as the Boys' Division U15 team held their title for a fourth year running. This is the twelfth consecutive English Schools' Water Polo title that the School has won.

Over forty local Year 5 pupils 'graduated' from the SHINE Programme at Bolton School last weekend. A celebration dinner was held to commemorate pupils' achievements over the course of the SHINE: 'Serious Fun on Saturday Mornings' programme and also look back on all the fun they had while expanding their learning.

Click here to watch a video about the SHINE programme, which was made by the volunteer mentors.

The Boys' Division Young Musician of the Year final was held this week, showcasing the breadth and talent of 14 pupils, each the winner in his instrument class. On the night, Junior and Senior prizes were awarded, alongside awards for Junior and Senior Young Composer of the Year and Most Promising Musician.

Listen to performances from the Junior Young Musician of the Year, pianist William Miles; Senior Young Musician of the Year, percussionist Henry Webb; and Senior Young Composer of the Year, Jean-Paul Asumu.

Congratulations to Year 7 pupils Uma Patel and Amelia Cordwell, who presented their 'Parched Plants' project at the national final of the BP Ultimate STEM Challenge this week! They were one of twelve teams selected as finalists, and did a good job of explaining their scientific process and findings.

The Year 11 boys took part in a Young Film Academy where they learned more about film-making and the history of movies before shooting their own short film. With only ten shots to work with and restrictions on some of those, they had to work hard to tell their story. At the end of the day there was a special screening of all the films and an 'Oscars' ceremony.

The Joint Chamber Choir performed this week at the Barnardo's Youth Choral Competition. The choir was one of six secondary school choirs chosen to compete in the final, and sang at the Royal Festival Hall in London. They were supported by the Headmaster, Headmistress, parents and alumni who came to see them in action.

Year 7 pupil Vlada Kozak helped Great Britain to gain second place in the recent European Tennis Finals. Her performance led to her being invited to play in an international tournament at a similar level.

The Boys' Division Under 15 team swept aside opposition from across the North-West in a tense Rugby 7s competition held on home turf this week.

Year 10 pupil Shreya Kamath has been chosen to represent Lancashire in the Under 18 team at the upcoming Inter Counties Badminton Tournament. She is currently ranked the number one female player in the Lancashire U18 and Senior teams.

Five Junior Boys in Year 4 will represent Manchester at the national English Primary Schools' Chess Association (EPSCA) final in April. They were selected after their winning performances at Hulme Court School on Saturday 10 March.

Year 11 pupil Amelia Doherty's poem 'Dandelion' has won first place in the Namedropping Poetry Challenge organised by the Poetry Society's Young Poets' Network. The competition, which was open to anyone under the age of 25 world-wide, received hundreds of entries.

Congratulations to Patterdale Hall, which has won the coveted "Boot and Paddle" competition between northern outdoor pursuit centres! Representatives from outdoor centres across the northern region competed in a range of challenges in an effort to win the award, but it was Patterdale's Ann Hurst and Anthony Kavanagh who emerged victorious.

An Old Girl has been announced as the next Anglican Suffragan Bishop of Lancaster. Rev. Dr Jill Duff, who attended Bolton School from 1980 to 1990, will also be the first female Bishop in Lancashire.

Finally, our sell-out 2018 Joint Production opened this week, offering stunning performances full of talent, creativity and complexity. The magic and drama of Shakespeare's The Tempest continues for two more nights!