24 May 2019

Two clutches of ducklings made a splash in the Nursery and Nursery Class this week! The children were delighted to watch the ducklings develop over just a handful of days and had fun seeing them swim for the first time.

Pupils at the Junior Boys' School recently visited the Belgian battlefields of World War One. They held a special assembly to share the highlights with parents and the rest of the school through photos, recollections and readings.

The Boys' Division remembered the School's philanthropic founders and benefactors at a special assembly which highlighted the transformative effects of education. This tradition continues today with one in five Senior School pupils on bursaries.

Junior Boys and Junior Girls in Year 6 started to think about their futures at this year's Careers Carousel. They found out what it is like to work as a designer, police officer and doctor from three alumni and heard about the range of job opportunities are available at a large tech company from two UKFast representatives.

Old Boy Dr Mike Dillon returned to Bolton School all the way from San Francisco to speak to a small group of students about his career in drug discovery. Mike talked about what led him to study chemistry at university, his experiences using chemistry to treat disease, and some highlights from his career.

The annual series of Lunchtime Concerts once again entertained local residents, pupils from local schools and Bolton School Juniors with a wide range of musical performances. Recitals from Bolton School A Level musicians, RNCM Junior Musicians, violinist Mathew Chadbond and guitarist Will Scattergood were arranged across four weeks during the summer term.

At the recent Poetry Festival featuring Liz Berry, a number of pupils read their own creative writing to the audience. A selection of readings can now be enjoyed again via the the following links: 'This Yacht' by Amelia Doherty (Year 12); 'Hairline Fracture Only' by Lauren Pursey (Year 12); 'Traveller's Tale' by Kate Hailwood (Year 11); 'The Heart of the Dead' by Ananya Ajit (Year 9); 'Passing Between My Borders' by Kelly Chae (Year 9).

The beautiful music from this year's May Serenade is now available to listen again on the School's Soundcloud. Press the play button below or click here to listen to a playlist of the whole event:

17 May 2019

A Junior Girls' School pupil in Year 4, has recently launched Engines Off: a campaign to encourage parents to switch off their car engines while waiting for their children at the end of the school day. Harriet's efforts to combat air pollution around school began with a letter to her headteacher and Engines Off has now been promoted across different areas of the School.

The Girls' Division's series of free, public Arts and Sciences Enrichment Evenings recently came to a close for 2018-19 with two final events. Science communicator Dr Pete Edwards gave a fascinating and informative lecture on 'The Dark Side of the Universe', in which he talked about dark matter and dark energy.

In the same week, poet Liz Berry gave readings of her poems alongside the School's young poets at the annual Poetry Festival. Planning is under way for next year's series and you can subscribe to our mailing list to receive updates and reminders about forthcoming events.

This week, voting has been open for the Bolton Children's Fiction Award 2019! A friendly competition between the Boys' and Girls' Divisions saw pupils counting the number of votes to see which half of the Senior School could cast the most.

133 local primary school football teams competed in this year's Football Festival held on Bolton School's pitches. Over 1,000 pupils played across the two days. Years 3 and 4 enjoyed playing 'round robin' matches against the rest of their group, while Years 5 and 6 played in the A Team, B Team or Girls' competition, each with its own cup awaiting the overall winner.

An excellent performance from the Under 14 football team saw Bolton School winning the Greater Manchester Cup for that age group at the Vestacare Stadium in Oldham. This added to the team's Town Cup trophy, which was won before Easter.

There was a strong Bolton School water polo presence at the recent U17 men's European Championships Qualification Tournament: two current pupils and three alumni played in the tournament itself and in exhibition matches. A member of staff is the U17s' team manager, while an Old Boy is also their assistant coach.

Year 13 students in both Divisions began their study leave ahead of A Level Examinations this week. The Boys' Division held a reception on the Headmaster's Lawn after school, and the Girls' Division's annual Leavers' Celebration saw pupils enjoying rounders in the sunshine and a lunch in the arts centre in Musicals-themed fancy dress.

We wish the whole of Year 13 all the best in their upcoming examinations and future lives.

10 May 2019

The annual Battle of the Bands was this year judged by a former winner. Old Boy Rob Jones returned to watch performances from Shaky Foundations, The Tepid Grapes, Youth Concept and Funktionality alongside an enthusiastic audience of Boys' and Girls' Division pupils. He was impressed with all of the bands efforts and particularly praised their original songs.

Battle of the Bands performances are available to watch via the links below:

• Funktionality: Tints (Anderson .Paak) and Mine
• Shaky Foundations: Rock ‘n’ Roll Star (Oasis) and Tell Me The Truth
• The Tepid Grapes: Can’t Stop / Basket Case / Smells Like Teen Spirit Medley (Red Hot Chilli Peppers / Green Day / Nirvana)
• Youth Concept: Soundcheck (Catfish and the Bottlemen) and Dopamine Machine

The Girls' Division May Serenade provided an uplifting programme of varied music from start to finish. For this last whole school music event of the year, a masterclass of solo performances were interspersed with the ensembles and choirs to make the evening special.

The achievements of pupils in both Divisions were celebrated at the annual Duke of Edinburgh Awards Ceremony. Six pupils shared their experiences of completing Bronze, Silver and Gold Awards and all pupils were applauded as they received their Awards.

Bolton School's Under 13 Girls' Water Polo team has been named National Champions! This is the first year that the Girls' Division has entered the competition, and thanks to the dedication and excellent attitude of players, it payed off with a win on the national stage for the U13s.

On the recent Bank Holiday Monday, a Memorial Cricket Match was held at Edgeworth Cricket Club in honour of former Boys' Division headmaster and keen cricketer, Mr Mervyn Brooker, and to raise funds for his Nepal Appeal. The match saw alumni compete against current pupils, and the cup was presented by Mr Brooker's wife Brigid.

The Girls' Division Bake Off competition came to a close last Friday with six Showstopper Signature Bakes! The finalists, all in Years 7 to 9, impressed the judges with their creativity and cooking skills and made it no easy task to choose just one winner and two runners up!

The series of free, public Lunchtime Concerts in the Arts Centre will come to an end next week with a Classical Guitar performance from Will Scattergood. Everyone is welcome to come along on Thursday 16 May at 1.20pm for this musical event.

Finally, Year 11 pupils in the both Divisions started their Study Leave this week ahead of taking their GCSEs. We wish them all the best in their revision, upcoming exams and future lives.

3 May 2019

Children in Bolton School's Nursery Class and at Kidzone took part in 40 Days of Giving. During Lent, instead of giving something up, they brought in one item per day to donate to Urban Outreach. The food and toiletries collected will directly benefit many local families.

At the end of last term, Boys' Division students in Years 9 and up had the opportunity to hear from Holocaust survivor Iby Knill about her experiences. She gave a personal insight into Auschwitz-Birkenau and the horrors faced by victims of the Holocaust. Iby's address is available to view here.

Reception pupils at Beech House, Bolton School's Infant School, were delighted to meet nine new chicks after they hatched overnight in school! The children have enjoyed overseeing their incubation and will look after them for a short time before they are delivered back to a nearby farm.

Four students in the Girls' Division will leave Bolton School after their A Levels and GCSEs this summer to take up places at top performing arts schools and colleges.

Year 7 pupil Gabriella has recently achieved a series of skiing successes after taking part in regional and national skiing competitions.

Meanwhile in the Boys' Division, Year 7 pupil Ben took part in a 'Mundialito' football tournament in Spain with Liverpool FC over the Easter holidays.

Old Boy Hadley Stewart returned to Bolton School to lead two focus groups, one for staff and one for pupils, about LGBTQ+ topics and gender stereotypes. The sessions were based on his chapter 'Masculinity and Homosexuality in Schools' in the book 'Boys Don't Try? Rethinking Masculinity in Schools'.

The Junior Boys' School invited children in Year 2 and their parents to come to a music demonstration, during which teachers talked about the individual music lessons available at Bolton School.

Boys in Year 10 recently enjoyed developing a range of transferrable skills on their Army Leadership day. They took part in a carousel of interesting activities which required them to think, work together and communicate in order to succeed at the tasks.

The Boys' Division series of summer Lunchtime Concerts has begun. There are still two more of these free, public events to come on Thursday 9 May and Thursday 16 May. On both dates, the performance will start at 1.20pm in the Arts Centre Main Hall.

26 April 2019

Bolton School is becoming increasingly popular choice of location for filming television programmes and films. The School's growing list of appearances includes Cold Feet, Bancroft, Our Girl and Last Tango in Halifax, with more filming taking place over the Easter holidays.

Children at Bolton School's Nursery enjoyed celebrating St George's Day with red clothes and themed activities.

The Junior Boys' Upper School Choir has been named Bolton's Last Choir Singing. Their victory at the Bolton and South heat of Last Choir Singing followed another win at the Regional heat of the Music for Youth competition.

The Junior Girls' Choir also enjoyed success when they sang at the Ramsbottom Music Festival and were named joint winners!

The Boys' Division annual Spring Conference helped students to see the relevance and importance of philosophy when looking at contemporary issues. 'Making Philosophy Real' featured three thought-provoking speakers who addressed the issues of financial crime, personal identity and climate change.

Next week, the series of Arts and Sciences Enrichment Evenings hosted by the Girls' Division will draw to a close for 2018-19 with two events. On Monday 29 April, Dr Pete Edwards will explore the dark side of the universe with a talk on dark matter and dark energy. On Thursday 2 May, Liz Berry will give a reading alongside the School's young writers at the Poetry Festival. Both events will start at 7pm.

12 April 2019

Bolton School has been shortlisted in the student-led Goldsmiths' Company Community Engagement Awards for 2019. The School won the place in the final thanks to a group of Sixth Form students, who presented their programme of volunteering work and answered questions from the judges at a regional final.

On the last day of term, Beech House pupils brought in their 'Eco Easter Bonnets' to be judged. Created from recycled card and paper, the bonnets were stunning.

Three Sixth Form students in the Boys' Division achieved four Gold Awards between them in the Biology, Chemistry and Physics Olympiads. Forty students in total were awarded Bronze, Silver and Gold Awards in this national competition, with a significant number of boys receiving certificates in more than one subject.

Also in science news, Yasmin in Year 10 was awarded the Jacqui Clee Award for Student Achievement when she joined her teammates in Birmingham for the RSC's Top of the Bench competition. The four pupils in Years 9 to 11 won their place at this national level after winning the regional Chemquiz last summer.

Three Boys' Division teams competed in football Cup Finals during the last week of term. The First XI played for the Greater Manchester Cup, while the Under 14s and Under 12s were in Town Cup Finals.

In addition, Year 9 pupil Jamie has recently won gold medals in two Judo competitions.

A team of Girls' Division pupils has reached the North West Final of the Young Enterprise competition. The 'Explore' team gave a memorable presentation to the judges at the Greater Manchester final and, in addition to winning a place at the next level of the competition, also came away with several other awards.

Three Year 7 pupils in the Girls' Division took part in the regional final of the Spanish Spelling Bee. All three girls learned 150 Spanish words and their English translations, and as Adifah came second she will go on to the National Final in July.

One of the last events before the Easter break was the Junior Boys' Spring Concert: a fabulous evening of varied music from the school's ensembles and choirs. The evening culminated in a wonderful ABBA medley sung by the whole school.

Halima in Year 9 was invited by Bolton's Faith Leaders Forum to take part in Bolton's memorial for the victims of the New Zealand mosque shootings in March.

The final event in the Girls' Division series of Arts and Sciences Enrichment Evenings is coming up shortly after the Easter Holidays on Thursday 2 May. The Poetry Festival will feature readings from award-winning poet Liz Berry and from pupils in all year groups. This event is free and open to the public, and will begin at 7pm on 2 May in the Girls' Division Great Hall.

Subscribe to the mailing list to receive updates and reminders about forthcoming Arts and Sciences Enrichment events.

5 April 2019

Author and political journalist Tim Bouverie discussed the failure of appeasement prior to the Second World War for an audience which packed the Girls' Division Great Hall. He not only gave a fascinating insight into this period of history, but also commented on the importance of countries working together and the problems with isolationaism.

This was the latest talk in the School's series of Arts and Sciences Enrichment Evenings. You can subscribe to receive reminder emails about forthcoming enrichment lectures.

Following World Book Day, the Boys' Division held its own celebration of books and reading with an assembly and activities in the library. Pupils were challenged to solve 'Murder by the Book', an exciting murder mystery challenge appropriately set in a school library.

Sixth Form girls celebrated their success in this year's Chemistry Olympiad after picking up bronze and silver certificates.

Girls' Division pupils studying Food Preparation and Nutrition for GCSE enjoyed an informative talk and demonstration from butcher and award-winning chef Lewis Gallagher from the Provenance Food Hall and Restaurant.

Ahead of the Easter holidays, children in the Nursery Class created a range of Easter Bonnets. Pupils at Beech House Infant School also held an Eco Easter Bonnet competition, making their creations out of recycled paper and card.

Another group of Beech House pupils with a passion for science visited the Girls' Division science labs to conduct a series of interesting experiments with help from older pupils. Read about the very successful first visit here.

A gallery of photos from the Bridgewater Hall Gala Concert is now available on the School website, and a number of performances can be enjoyed on Bolton School TV. Click the links below to access these videos:

• Joint Drum Corps - #AC1DC
• Hesketh House Choir - Symphony
• Park Road Choir - Look at the World
• Joint Tuned Percussion Ensemble - Toccata in D minor
• Boys' Division Senior Guitar Group - Hotel California
• Massed Voices of Year 7 - Strangers, Talking to the Moon & Reach Out I'll Be There
• Girls' Division Middle School Choir - Adiemus
• Joint Chamber Choir - Tonight Quintet
• Joint Senior Orchestra - Baccanale
• A Tribute To The Beatles Finale

After the Easter holidays on 29 April Bolton School will host a talk from Durham University's Dr Pete Edwards on 'The Dark Side of the Universe'. He will explore dark matter and dark energy: the glue that is holding the universe together and the force that is tearing it apart. This event is free and open to the public, starting at 7pm.