26 October 2018

Harvest was celebrated in the Junior Girls' School with reflections on the origins of the festival and the importance of sharing what we have. Meanwhile the Junior Boys' Harvest assembly asked pupils to think about others. The Senior Girls' Harvest celebration also focused pupils' minds on what is really important: Year 7 pupils asked what being 'rich' really means. Year 2 pupils led the Harvest Assembly at Beech House with the story of a village where no one was willing to share.

The donations of food and other essential items from all three schools were given to local charity Urban Outreach.

The Boys' Division sponsored walk at the end of last year has raised £10,000 for charity. The money has been split between 10 local and national charities, with each receiving £1,000, and representatives recently visited the school to collect the funds.

Old Girl Joyce Tyldesley returned to give a concise and interesting lecture on our obsession with the Ancient Egyptian Queen Nefertiti and the iconic bust that has made her so famous. Delving into the history of the bust and the facts we know about Nefertiti herself, Dr Tyldesley discussed why so many people are drawn to the queen and the issues that arise from this.

Bolton School hosted a fantastic presentation about the growth mindset, based on the message of Matthew Syed's book 'You Are Awesome'. The Boys' Division Great Hall was filled with local primary school children, including some Junior Boys, who listened to inspiring accredited speaker Rob Carpenter.

Children in Year 1 were delighted to have the opportunity to meet and learn about owls, all of which were rescued by Lancashire Hawks and Owls. Margaret and Michael gave pupils a few facts about the different types of owl they had brought with them, and everyone had the opportunity to stroke each of the magnificent birds.

'It's a Numbers Game' enthralled Girls' Division pupils in Year 8 as they discovered from representatives of BAE Systems, the RAF and the Royal Navy how maths is used every day, often without anyone realising it. The presentation also introduced them to a robot and showcased many different types of engineering.

Infant pupils in Year 2 had an interactive presentation through which they learned all about what it was like to go to school in the Victorian period.

Boys' Division pupils in Year 8 have the exciting opportunity this term to take part in a radio production project with Bolton FM. The boys began with a presentation on what local radio is all about and progressed to planning their own show and even visited the studio to find out more.

The inaugural round of the Historical MasterChef competition was held in the Girls' Division. Pupils had spent previous weeks researching the chosen time period to create a feast of Roman-inspired treats for the judges.

Pupils from both Divisions in Years 10 to 13 got to grips with the wide range of careers relating to the environment that are available to them. Several alumni returned to share their workplace experiences and explain how different jobs relate to helping the environment.

There has been a glut of sporting success in the Girls' Division. A number of Girls' Division pupils have been selected to join the U19 Lancashire Lacrosse A and B teams. In netball, both the U15 and U16 teams have won the Bolton Schools' Tournament, and a Year 8 pupils has been invited to join the U13 Lancashire Academy Centre of Excellence for Netball. A year 7 pupils has been named North West Champion for her age group after winning a gymnastics competition, and ten pupils in Years 7 to 10 have been asked to represent Bolton town at the Greater Manchester Schools' Cross Country Championships.

Twenty-two musicians from all year groups in the Boys' Division entertained with a Musical Evening held in the Arts Centre. A huge range of musical styles and instruments made this an enjoyable evening for everyone. The next will take place on Thursday 16 May 2019 and a warm invitation is extended to all.

Ahead of Bonfire Night and Halloween, the Junior Boys were given a presentation about staying safe at this time of year from the local fire service.

Old Boy Chris Harbour, who reached the quarter-finals of MasterChef, returned to School to talk to Girls' Division GCSE Food Technology students, exactly one year after filming his last episode. He spoke about his passion for food and inspired them with some of his favourite dishes, both from the show and from cooking at home.

Recent leaver Stewart Knights gave a presentation about the architecture of the Eden Project at the national Art Out Loud Festival held at Chatsworth House. His talk was part of the ‘ARTiculation: Inspired by Buildings’ category.

Coming up after half term, Jo Fairley, an award-winning journalist and co-founder of the global ethical chocolate company Green & Black's, will give a free talk in the Girls' Division on Monday 12 November at 7pm. Everyone is welcome to come along to what promises to be a fascinating evening. Full details are here and the talk is part of the Girls' Division's ongoing series of Enrichment Lectures.

Bolton School Services Limited (BSSL), which this year celebrates its 25th birthday, is the business that keeps on giving. All of the profits generated are used to finance bursaries, which support pupils aged 11 years and over at Bolton School.

5 October 2018

The full set of six new short films about life at Bolton School is now available! Watch them all together on our website here.

There was excitement at Bolton School as the shortlist for the 2019 Bolton Children's Fiction Award was announced at a lunchtime ceremony. Pupils from primary and secondary schools across Bolton will enjoy reading the six shortlisted book in the coming months and will vote for their favourites in May.

At the Junior Boys' Harvest Assembly, pupils and their families were encouraged to think about others and give thanks for all that they have. Dave Baggley of Urban Outreach was the guest of honour for the occasion. He thanked everyone for their generous donations, which will help Urban Outreach to feed those who are less fortunate during the winter months.

The A Level PE cohort at Bolton School continues to go from strength to strength.

A delegation of 55 Chinese pupils in Years 8-11 from Huang Gang High School, Beijing, visited Bolton School on Tuesday as part of their trip to the North West. They joined boys in lessons during the afternoon.

28 September 2018

The school has released another short film, this one focusing on Bolton School's place in the wider community. Press the play button below or click this link to watch the film and see how pupils develop character, learning and empathy as they interact with the local community.

The Boys' Division has received a Platinum Artsmark. This standard mark acknowledges that arts and cultural provision in the school is of the highest standard. Two years of development across all areas of the arts led to this achievement, which recognises the work done not only in school but also in the wider community.

Local accountancy firm Cowgills launched their Future Stars Programme to an audience of Sixth Form students at Bolton School. This work experience opportunity gives two Year 12s the chance to experience the world of business and finance first-hand and gain valuable experience in all of Cowgills' departments.

Year 12 students in the Girls' Division worked on their business and enterprise skills on BEST Day. The girls took part in a series of four workshops designed to enhance attributes that are valued in the workplace, such as teamwork, creative problem-solving and presenting to an audience.

For European Day of Languages, the Boys' Division put together a film showcasing the many different languages spoken by pupils and members of staff. Press the play button below or click this link to watch it in full:

Year 10 pupil Lizzie Harkness has been named as a member of the England U15 football squad after attending Regional and National camps.

Over the summer holidays, Boys' Division pupil John Oxley-Harrison in Year 9 qualified individually for the Junior British Show Jumping Nationals. He placed 5th, making him one of the top showjumpers in the UK!

Many different areas of the School took part in the World's Biggest Coffee Morning on Friday, raising money for Macmillan Cancer Support.

On Thursday 4 October at 7pm, Old Girl Dr Joyce Tyldesley will give a free, public talk  entitled Nefertiti's Face. The talk will be based on her latest book Nefertiti's Face: The Creation of an Icon and should be relevant to anyone with an interest in Egyptology, archaeology, geography or visiting ancient sites. This is part of an ongoing series of Arts and Sciences Enrichment Evenings hosted by the Girls' Division.

21 September 2018

Today we unveiled another short film designed to offer a glimpse into pupils' experiences. Click this link or press the play button below to find out how each child can reach their potential through our wide range of curricular and extra-curricular activities:

This year's series of Enrichment Evenings hosted by the Girls' Division began with a talk on synthetic biology from Dr Jack Heal. 'Do Scientists Dream of Synthetic Sheep?' asked and attempted to answer some of the issues and ideas surrounding this rapidly developing $10 billion industry and was sprinkled with humour.

The Junior Boys raised an amazing total of £8,000 from their charity Fun Run at the end of the last academic year. The money will be split equally between four charities chosen by the boys. Alzheimer's Society was nominated by Crompton House pupils and boys were very pleased to present a representative with a cheque for £2,000.

Headmaster Philip Britton gave an assembly commemorating the birthday of Lord Leverhulme, Bolton School's benefactor. He spoke of him as a public figure and the wider accomplishments of the philanthropist.

Artwork by Year 12 student Lauren has been chosen to adorn the cover of the 2019 Specialist Crafts catalogue. 'Camden' was chosen from a field of national entries and was part of her GCSE coursework.

Also in Art news, Year 12 student Antonia was announced as the runner-up in the YPO Art Competition Secondary Category with her colourful portrait. Her work will be featured in the YPO catalogue.

Millie in Year 12 travelled to Poland with the Wales team to take part in the U20s European Lacrosse Championships, where her team achieved bronze.

The Samba Band spurred runners on as they completed the 5K course at Bolton Hospice's Bubble Rush event. Their carnival-style music helped to keep everyone's spirits up.

Well done to Year 7 pupil Zara who has been selected to join the Hallé Children’s Choir! She is now enjoying rehearsals and looking forward to her first performance.

The annual Volunteering Fair took place this week, helping to introduce our Sixth Form students to some of the many different ways they can give back to the local community. Students in Year 12 are encouraged to volunteer for at minimum of 20 hours before the end of the academic year, with many achieving far in excess of the target.

A gallery of photos is now available from last week's Girls Go Gold event. Click the link to see what happened throughout the day of the conference.

On 4 October at 7pm, Bolton School will host a talk from Old Girl and Egyptologist Dr Joyce Tyldesley. This will be based on her latest book, Nefertiti's Face: The Creation of an Icon. This event is free and open to the public.

14 September 2018

We have recently released two new films showcasing different aspects of Bolton School's all round education. First, discover the flourishing Creative Arts in the below video and see how pupils express themselves through music, art and drama:

Next watch this video to find out how Sport and Outdoor Learning play an integral part in the Bolton School experience:

With the start of a new school year, the Girls' Division once again celebrated pupils' achievements at Presentation Evening. The guest of honour was the Rt Rev Dr Jill Duff, an Old Girl who was recently appointed Bishop of Lancaster. She presented the prizes and gave a passionate address, telling girls to 'unfold your wings' and 'set the world on fire'. Watch her address in full here.

Girls Go Gold was hosted by Bolton School on Thursday. Olympic athletes Eilish McColgan and Beth Tweddle gave inspirational keynote speeches which provided the perfect frame for a day of discovering where sport can take you. The conference was arranged in conjunction with the GSA for pupils in Years 10-13 who are either elite sportswomen or studying PE.

The two keynote speakers at Girls Go Gold also found time to talk to younger girls in Years 6 and 7. Pupils were delighted to hear more about Eilish and Beth's experiences and the highs and lows of their careers, and even had the chance to hold their medals.

See how the story of Girls Go Gold 2018 unfolded at Bolton School via this Twitter Moment.

At the end of the first full week of term, staff at Beech House, Bolton School's infant school, were delighted to report that Reception children are settling in well.

The Junior Boys' Annual Review for the 2017-18 academic year is now available! Click here to download a digital copy of the Review.

7 September 2018

It's the start of a new school year at Bolton School, and we welcomed pupils and teachers back to the news that the 100 Campaign for Bursaries has reached its target of £5 million! The campaign was launched in 2015 as part of the School's 100th anniversary celebrations, and has been supported right across the School community. The money raised will help to provide deserving children with a Bolton School education. Click here to watch a video about the achievement, or press the play button below:

It has been a busy summer for Sixth Form student Sharon Daniel: not only did she complete her GCSEs and receive a stellar set of results, she also took part in the UK chess championships, winning at the Mega-Final and the Northern Giga-Final to win a place among the final 72 at the national Terra-Final!

At the end of last year, the Senior School Parents' Associations presented the School's Bursary Fund with a £10,000 donation. The money was raised at the hugely successful 1920s-themed Bolton School Ball 2018.

The Girls' Division will once again host the Historical Association: Bolton Branch lecture series. These talks take place on the first Monday of each month and feature a wide range of topics. Full details, including dates and information on each lecture, are available here on the School website.

24 August 2018

Students receiving their A Level and GCSE results recently celebrated their successes at Bolton School.

The Boys' Division enjoyed the best set of A Level results in a decade, with 52.4% of papers marked at A*-A! The Girls' Division received similarly excellent results, with the percentage of passes at A* rising to 15.9%. Five boys and two girls go on to study at Oxford or Cambridge, and numerous students in both Divisions combined their A Level studies with extra-curricular interests and achievements.

There was success on GCSE results day too. Almost half of papers in the Girls' Division were graded at 8 or 9, the equivalent to A* or better. Boys' Division pupils also excelled with 17.5% of papers marked using the new number system achieving the very top grade of 9.

Some of those pupils celebrating on GCSE results day were actress Charleigh, who has appeared in Coronation Street and Car Share, who achieved eleven top grades; twins Joseph and Oliver; and indoor climbing champion Zoe.

Over the summer, two pieces of artwork by Bolton School pupils were placed in the final 10 of the national YPO Art Competition Secondary Category! A watercolour featuring birds by Zainab Emritte and a portrait by Antonia Jameson are both in the running to win and both await the judges' final decisions.

Looking ahead to the next academic year, the Girls' Division will host a free, public talk from Dr Jack Heal: Do Scientists Dream Of Synthetic Sheep? Taking place in the Girls' Division Great Hall at 7pm on Wednesday 19 September 2018, this event will introduce the fascinating world of synthetic biology, sometimes called “genetic engineering on acid”.