4 October 2019

Bolton School and Patterdale Hall, its outdoor adventure learning centre based in the Lake District, have become a supporting partner of AdventureSmart.UK. This important new initiative encourages people to make good choices when they go on outdoor adventures.

The Junior Girls celebrated National Poetry Day by enjoying lots of poems and even writing some of their own! They worked together in pairs to create acrostic poems which they were encouraged to share throughout the day.

Over the summer holidays, a group of Sixth Form girls visited Cambodia with World Challenge. As well as taking in the culture and trekking in the jungle, they completed an important community project which assisted a school.

Year 4 pupil Brody made an incredible donation of £525 to Bolton Hospice on his ninth birthday, after asking for charitable donations instead of presents. The Hospice was delighted with his generosity.

The 2018/19 tennis season closed with a big success for the Year 10/11 team in the Girls' Division! The girls won all of their matches in the local round of the AEGON Team competition and went on to win at the Regional Finals as well!

27 September 2019

Richard A Shirres gave an insightful address at the first of this year's Enrichment Evenings hosted by the Girls' Division. He spoke passionately about climate change and its imminent, numerous and dire consequences. His talk also covered the work done by the United Nations, both historically and today, to champion global ecological stewardship and discussed what needs to be done to mitigate the current climate emergency.

The full programme of free, public Enrichment Evening events for 2019-20 is available here. Click here to subscribe to our mailing list and receive updates and reminders about forthcoming events.

Pupils, parents and members of staff from across the whole of Bolton School took part in various coffee mornings and cake sales to raise money for Macmillan Cancer Support. Even the children in the Nursery Class got involved: they made tasty cupcakes and invited parents to a Coffee Afternoon to raise over £600!

For her 9th birthday, instead of asking for presents, Year 5 pupil Dhatri asked for charitable donations. She raised £280!

Children at the Nursery enjoyed a whole week of swashbuckling activities in honour of Talk Like A Pirate Day! They built ships, played in a miniature world of pirates, drew treasure maps and enjoyed dressing up.

Year 10 pupil Will has been named English trampolining champion (13-14 years category) after winning gold at the English trampoline finals in Sheffield! His impressive routine can be viewed in full on the page linked above or on YouTube here.

The Young Film Academy visited Bolton School to give girls in Year 10 the experience of learning about filmmaking and visual media creation. Pupils attended workshops and created their own silent ten-shot film, all of which were screened at the end of the day with a prize to the overall best effort.

Junior Girls rescued 'Horatio' the hedgehog when he limped into the middle of their PE lesson! This gave pupils the opportunity to find out more about hedgehogs, including how he will be taken care of until he is ready to be released back into the wild.

Sixth Form girls recently took part in the Business Enterprise and Skills Training Day which helped to instill and develop skills for the workplace. A range of workshops and presentations, including the Bin Bag Challenge, gave them lots of opportunities to work together and pick up tips for interviews and applications.

The inaugural Medical Sciences Dinner brought together the School's aspiring medics and former pupils who have gone on to roles within the medical profession. The drinks reception and dinner gave current students plenty of opportunity to connect with alumni and ask questions. Old Girl Professor Jill Clayton-Smith was the evening's after-dinner speaker and gave an inspirational address.

A series of galleries featuring Girls' Division students' GCSE and A Level art and technology coursework final pieces are now available to view via the following links: Art | Food Technology | Product Design | Textiles.

20 September 2019

Over the summer holidays, a group of Boys' Division students visited South Africa with Operation Wallacea. This unforgettable experience saw them conduct important wildlife and vegetation surveys and discover more about the biology of the local ecosystem in two locations.

It was a magical afternoon for pupils in Years 5 to 7 when author, illustrator and former Children's Laureate Chris Riddell visited Bolton School. He shared pages from his sketchbooks, completed a series of live drawings as he talked about his inspirations and introduced some of the characters and locations from his new book 'Guardians of Magic'.

Record numbers of Sixth Form students are enrolled on the A Level PE course at Bolton School! Now in its twelfth year, the subject continues to go from strength to strength.

Pupils from both Divisions discovered more about careers in  the cyber security sector through fascinating workshops with an industry professional. Emma Kirby of SANS talked to pupils about data breaches and cyber attacks on both large and small scales, and introduced a competition designed to help young people learn new security skills through puzzles.

Don't miss the Careers and Higher Education Convention at Bolton School on Thursday 3 October, 6.30pm - 8.30pm! This is a fantastic opportunity for all local students in Years 9 to 13 to meet representatives from universities and companies, and to attend seminars on a variety of subjects: Law, Medicine, apprenticeships, student finance and Oxbridge application. This event is free and open to everyone.

Looking further ahead, Hallie Rubenhold will visit Bolton School on Thursday 10 October at 7.00pm to give a talk based on her Sunday Times Bestseller 'The Five; The Untold Lives of The Women Killed by Jack the Ripper'. This free, public event promises to reclaim the voices of the Ripper's victims with a focus on facts to tell the surprising and poignant stories of their lives.

13 September 2019

The highlight of the summer was certainly the two Results Days, during which Bolton School celebrated alongside students collecting GCSE and A Level results.

In the Boys' Division, A Level students achieved an impressive three quarters of grades in the A*-B category, while GCSE students attained the best set of results in recent years!

In the Girls' Division A Level students celebrated the best results in a decade and GCSE students set a new pass rate as well.

Individual successes were numerous across both year groups and both Divisions. Notably, Shreya Kamath not only received a stunning set of GCSE results but also an Arkwright Scholarship, and linguist Emily Manock achieved excellent A Level grades to earn her place at Oxford. Four more Bolton School students will also head to Oxford and Cambridge for university.

During the summer holidays, a strong contingent of former and current Boys' Division students helped the Lancashire U19 cricket team to victory in the county championship; Old Girl Dr Becky Smethurst, who recently returned to the Girls' Division to talk to pupils about her career in astrophysics, was featured on the BBC News during the holidays for creating an inspiring science YouTube channel; and children in the Butterfly Room graduated from the Nursery in a special ceremony.

The Autumn Term began with the official opening of the new all-weather sports surface at the Leverhulme Pavilion site on Chorley New Road. The synthetic turf pitch, which was installed predominantly over the summer holidays, will be shared with the local community.

The Girls' Division's first event of the year was the annual Presentation Evening. The guest of honour was Old Girl Julie Dean, UK Fund Manager and Director at Sanditon Asset Management, who in addition to presenting prizes and certificates offered her 'unchanging principles' for success in life in an address packed with great advice.

Chairman of Governors Mr Michael Griffiths gave his annual report on the past school year and, as this will be his final Presentation Evening before his retirement from the role, also looked back on his many years of association with Bolton School. His speech is available to watch in full here.

Recent leaver Siân Rowlands, who collected her A Level results this summer, gave an expressive rendition of 'Still Hurting' from the musical 'The Last Five Years' by Jason Robert Brown at Presentation Evening. Her performance can be viewed here.

The Boys' Samba Band helped to spur on runners at Bolton Hospice's Bubble Rush event at Queen's Park. Eight pupils enjoyed playing for the participants in this fundraising event and helping to add to the carnival atmosphere.

Next week, the Girls' Division will host the first of this year's Arts and Sciences Enrichment Evenings. Richard A Shirres till talk about "The United Nations: Working to save the biosphere and our future" on 18 September 2019 at 7.00pm. This event promises to look back on the UN's long history of involvement with ecological stewardship and the climate change challenges of the modern day.

This year's programme of Enrichment Evenings is now available to view here, and you can subscribe to our mailing list to receive information and reminders about forthcoming events.

Coming up later this term is the Careers and Higher Education Fair hosted by Bolton School on Thursday 3 October, 6.45-8.45pm. Universities, companies and training providers will be on hand as exhibitors and instructive seminars will be held during the evening. This free event is open to all and promises to be useful for students in Years 9 to 13 and their families.

19 July 2019

Year 7 pupils enjoyed an inspiring afternoon with Britain's first astronaut Helen Sharman CMG OBE. Helen's talk about STEM subjects and her experiences travelling to and onboard the Mir Space Station in 1991 was preceded by a morning of exciting experiments and hands-on science with Dr Peter Hoare.

An exciting summer project is now underway at the School's Leverhulme Pavilion site on Chorley New Road! A new all-weather sports surface will be created during the School holidays to be ready for pupils upon their return and for community usage in September.

As the school year drew to a close, Girls' Division pupils in Year 10 enjoyed a session with Commando Joe's to work on their problem-solving, teamworking, leadership and communication skills. The military-style challenges helped them to build transferable skills.

Niall Gaffney, who undertook his teacher training at Bolton School under the School Centred Initial Teacher Training (SCITT) programme has won this year's Manchester Evening News Student Teacher of the Year Award. The School is delighted with his achievement.

The Junior Girls' Year 6 Production of 'Olivia' is now available to view in full on the School website here.

12 June 2019

The 'mane' event at the end of the school year for Junior Boys was the Year 6 production of Disney's The Lion King. The stunning costumes and pupils' brilliant performances made this a very special occasion to bring the boys' time at Park Road to a close.

The Junior Girls also arranged a production for Year 6 pupils, which year year was Olivia. This feel-good musical is loosely based on Oliver by Charles Dickens and features cameos from a host of famous figures, both historical and fictional. The girls put on a fantastic show in both performances.

The guest speaker at this year's Prizegiving was Mr Michael Griffiths, who will retire from his post as Bolton School's Chairman of Governors at the end of December. In his address, he recalled his schooldays as a pupil in the Boys' Division, spoke of his career and offered sage advice to current students. Headmaster Philip Britton gave the traditional review of the academic year, which can be viewed in two parts here: Part 1 and Part 2.

Prizegiving also included a number of musical performances, some of which are available to watch again via the following links:

• 'Ave Maris Stella' written by Senior Young Composer of the Year Adam Whitmore, Year 12
• Introduction from Stravinsky's Suite Italienne (Victor Chow, Year 13)
• Gavotta from Stravinsky's Suite Italienne (Victor Chow, Year 13)

Unfortunately poor weather meant that Sports Day at Beech House Infant School was cancelled. However, Year 1 and Year 2 still held their races during lessons and had fun taking part in this friendly competition.

Girls' Division pupils in Years 7 and 8 whisked their teachers and parents on a journey across African at their Celebration Evening at the end of the year. Musical performances were scattered throughout the evening and girls were presented with various prizes and awards.

A number of performances from the year 7 and 8 Celebration Evening are available to watch via the following links:

• 'When You Believe' (The Prince of Egypt)
• 'Any Dream Will Do' (Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat)
• 'Banaha' (Congolese traditional folk song)
• 'Jambo Bwana' (Kenyan traditional welcome song)
• The Lion King medley: 'Hakuna Matata', 'Can You Feel The Love Tonight', 'I Just Can't Wait To Be King, 'Circle of Life'

The Junior Girls ended the academic year with 'Tales of Hesketh House', a spectacular summer concert which focused on the variety and humour of school life. Combining songs, poetry recitals and snippets of narration about the history of education and life at Hesketh House, the performance remembered all members of the school community and celebrated the girls' potential.

Three Girls' Division pupils in Years 7 and 8 have been selected to join the U16 North West regional water polo academy! They will now play in a series of inter-regional matches.

Children in the Butterfly Room graduated from the Nursery ahead of going to 'big school' in September. A ceremony attended by parents and family members recapped an exciting year at the Nursery, followed by a balloon release which can be viewed here.

Like and follow the new Bolton School Nursery Facebook page to keep in touch with the Nursery through photos and news.

5 July 2019

Penny Joelson's novel 'I Have No Secrets' has now been announced as the Bolton Children's Fiction Award winner for 2019! The Award Ceremony was attended by hundreds of pupils representing 19 local schools, who also enjoyed sessions with five of the six shortlisted authors throughout the morning.

When Old Boy Sir Ian McKellen celebrated his 80th birthday at Bolton School, it turned out to be an unforgettable night for Bolton School pupils past and present who were delighted to perform as part of the evening's entertainment. A small group of pupils and recent leavers joined Old Boy Ralf Little to reprise some of Sir Ian's schoolboy roles as part of a once-in-a-lifetime performance in front of the UK's acting elite.

The School acknowledged the 10,637 hours of voluntary work completed by Year 12 students from both Divisions at a Celebration Evening held in the penultimate week of term. The whole year group received certificates for their efforts and a group of students shared their experiences as part of the ceremony.

Congratulations to the Girls' Division Athletics Teams in Years 7 to 9, who have won the Bolton Town Athletics Championships in all three age groups!

Well done also to the team of Year 6 Junior Girls who have been named Netball Champions following their win at the Greater Manchester School Games!

Year 7 pupils in the Boys' Division celebrated the completion of their Bronze Arts Awards with an  exhibition and peer review session in the Arts Centre. A busy morning of viewing and commenting on each other's work was concluded with readings of creative writing from Year 8 and discovering more about Year 12 student Will Hardy's rotoscope film project.

Recent leavers from both Divisions returned to Bolton School to offer their valuable advice to the current Year 12 cohort. The main focus was on the shift from school to university, but there were also alumni present who could discuss gap year, apprenticeship and employment as options after A Level.

Entrepreneur and Old Boy Rob Dobson also returned as the end of term approached to join the Boys' Division Electronics Club for an afternoon spent helping them on their projects using the equipment he had donated.

A Café Scientifique talk about careers in engineering brought this year's series of lunchtime enrichment sessions to a close. Eddie Walker, a mechanical engineer with over 30 years of experience in fire safety, spoke to Girls' Division pupils about the wealth of options available to them in the world of engineering.

The last week of term saw Boys' Division students put on 'Wastelands', a production created as the culmination of a year-long collaboration with the school's Theatre Company in Residence, RoughHouse Theatre. The piece drew inspiration from T S Eliot's poem 'The Waste Land' and explores the politics of conflict with a particular focus on the First and Second World Wars.

Pupils from both Divisions benefitted from book club sessions focusing on diversity which were run by Chloe from MMU. Pupils in Year 10 had the opportunity to discuss 'The Curious Tale of the Lady Caraboo' by Catherine Johnson and were joined by younger girls and boys to examine 'Liccle Bit' by Alex Wheatle.

Members of the Boys' Division Brass Group visited Brownlow Fold Primary School to share their music with the younger pupils.

In the penultimate week of term, the Boys' Division Prizegiving was held and Mr Britton's review of the academic year is now available to re-watch via the following links: Part 1 and Part 2.