21 December 2018

During the last week of term, Bolton School's Infant pupils raised money for Save the Children with a Christmas Jumper Day! They brightened up the halls and classrooms of Beech House with their colourful jumpers and each donated £1 to this worthy cause.

The target for this year's Christmas Hamper Challenge has been met once again with pupils from across Bolton School gathering 2,782 selection boxes for Urban Outreach's Christmas Hampers! Teams of Sixth Form students led the donation drive, coming up with creative fundraising ideas and encouraging the rest of the School to support their cause.

Girls' Division pupils have also been raising funds through their Christmas traditions. The Year 10 Christmas Post and Prefects' Panto were both as popular and fun-filled as ever, and alongside other festive fundraisers have helped the girls' chosen charities this Christmas.

The Girls' Division Ceremony of Carols was the perfect way to usher in the festive season. Current pupils, parents and members of staff were joined by Old Girls for this special occasion, which featured traditions such as the 'The Holly and the Ivy' sung as a round and 'Jesus Christ the Apple Tree' performed by the Accidentals.

Click the following links to watch and listen to a selection of music from the Ceremony of Carols: Hark! The Herald Angels Sing, O Little Town of Bethlehem, Do You Hear What I Hear (Chamber Choir), Mary Did You Know (Chamber Choir), Away in a Manger (Senior Choir), Little Drummer Boy (the Accidentals), The Holly and The Ivy (Combined Choirs).

The Boys' Division Christmas Festival was a feast of joyful carols, powerful readings and reflections, and a thoughtful meditation from Rev. Simpson which asked everyone to reflect on what the birth of Jesus means for us today. Beautiful musical performances from the choirs made the evening particularly special.

The whole of the Boys' Division Christmas Festival is available to watch again here on Facebook.

Meanwhile, children in the Nursery Class for Three and Four Year Olds were excited to discover a special visitor waiting for them beside the Christmas Tree on their Christmas Jumper Day: none other than Father Christmas himself!

Members of the Girls' Division Christmas Cake Club created real showstoppers this year, which were on display on the evening of the Ceremony of Carols. This year, the girls' cakes were so impressive that the judges decided to award joint first place to Annabelle Gibbs and Kiersten Keogh.

Also in the final week of term, Girls' Division Headmistress Sue Hincks was announced as the new President of the Girls' Schools Association (GSA). Her opening remarks focused on the importance of helping young people to have confidence, critical judgement and a love of learning in order to succeed the rapidly changing environment of the 21st century.

In the New Year, Boys' Division teacher Dr Turner will appear in the BBC's eight-part series Back In Time For School. In this series, she time-travelled to different points in history between 1895 to 1999 to experience what school was like for both teachers and pupils. The series begins on Thursday 3 January and will run for 8 weeks on BBC 2 at 8pm.

Pupils from both Divisions impressed audiences with their performance of 'Great Expectations', which was produced in collaboration with the Octagon Theatre. Pupils in years 8 and 9 worked with BAFTA-nominated writer and director Janys Chambers to bring Charles Dickens' story to life with a new adaptation.

Senior Boys in Blackburn House helped to support the Blackburn Food Bank with an enormous donation of food towards the end of term. Pupils' generous donations will help to provide more than 470 meals for those in crises in the Blackburn and Darwen area.

Year 13 student Abigail is studying Art for A Level with plans to continue her passion at university, and was recently delighted to sell one of her pieces to an Old Boy following the Bolton School Open Art Exhibition!

Junior Girls in Year 6 had fun towards the end of term in a drama workshop led by Coronation Street's Melissa Johns. They thoroughly enjoyed trying out different acting techniques and drama games and threw themselves into every activity with lots of enthusiasm.

Year 7 boys took part in the annual Gymnastics Final, which is one of the oldest competitions in the School. Following competitions within each form, the finalists performed their near-flawless gymnastics routines in front of a supportive audience of their peers.

Two Old Girls from the same year group recently returned to Bolton School to give talks. Hanna Miraftab, who now owns her own dental practice and recently found 'stardom' on The Real Housewives of Cheshire, spoke to pupils in Year 11 about who they want to be and how to make that a reality. Her old friend Hannah Bradley, who is now a Dispute Resolution Solicitor, led a workshop on how to resolve conflict for girls in the Sixth Form.

Old Boy Ashish Choudry also recently returned to the School to address students from both Divisions who are members of MedSoc. He gave an insightful lunchtime presentation about his work as a GP, advising the Sixth Form about the qualities and skills they will need to one day become good doctors.

Earlier in December, Old Boy John Kohorn returned to School to talk to pupils in Year 6 at the Junior Girls' School. He helped to bring their history lessons to life through the story of his family's escape from Nazi persecution in Europe in 1939.

Junior Girls in Year 5 also enjoyed a special presentation on the Rainforest from Bolton School librarian Mrs Caller, who travelled to Brazil with the venture scouts when she was 18 and was able to share her adventures through photos and memories.