SCHOOL NEWS

Stunning Bridgewater Hall Sell-Out

house enjoyed a variety of performances from the Primary Division to the Sixth Form, from organists to ensembles, from choirs to concert bands.

Putting the pandemic and lockdowns firmly behind it, Bolton School returned to the Bridgewater Hall for the first time since 2019 to present a joyous Gala Concert.

In a musical – and logistical! – extravaganza, 600 musicians took to the stage to showcase talents from across the Foundation. The pupils relished the opportunity to perform at such a prestigious venue, and a packed

School has a New Website

We are thrilled to present the new Bolton School website to all of our Alumni community and hope that you enjoy browsing through the site. Sections that may be of particular interest to Old Boys include the Alumni Events, Volunteering Your Time, Supporting School and the Contact Development pages. There is also a link to the Old Boltonians’ Association page which is full of useful information.

As always, we love to hear from Alumni and value being able to stay in touch with Old Boys and Girls as well as Former Staff. If you would like to update your details with

School Comes Together for Malawi Orphans

A chance encounter between Mrs Julia Marsden, a teacher at Bolton School’s Junior Girls’ School, and a parent, Mr David Armstrong, led to pupils from across the Foundation collecting stationery and toiletries to fill bags for over one hundred orphans from Malawi. The School also donated Primary Division uniforms and cuddly toys.

The bags duly filled, each class wrote a short letter to ‘their’ orphan to wish them all the best at their new school and in life and stapled it to the bag with the child’s name on it.

Many Old Boys will have fond memories of previous concerts at the Bridgewater Hall and will endorse Mr Britton’s closing comments in which he praised the School’s incredible Music Department and all those who helped behind the scenes to put on such an outstanding show.

You can watch the concert here: bit.ly/40LAJwb us please do so by clicking on ‘Update Your Details’ in the Alumni and Giving Back section.

We hope you enjoy the new website and seeing how full and vibrant School life is. There is a welcome from the Head of Foundation, Philip Britton, and pages for each area of the Foundation as well as updates about Bolton School life, the extended School community and news stories from across the campus, which really capture the essence of what an education at Bolton School has to offer.

Mr Armstrong, who flew out to a cyclonehit Malawi to deliver the goods, said: ‘I am so grateful to Bolton School. The children will be so excited to receive these uniforms and bags and for their new school to open!’

Mrs Marsden’s own fundraising campaign has raised over £10,000 towards its target of £40,000.

AO Sponsors School Sports Kits

AO, the Bolton-based electricals retailer founded and led by Old Boy John Roberts (Class of 1992), are the new sponsors of the Boys’ Division’s all-age Rugby and Cricket team kits, as well as the Girls’ Division Netball team kits.

Reflecting on the sponsorship agreement, John Roberts said: “I firmly believe that talent amongst young people is

The Great Gatsby

In 2022 it was 100 years since F Scott Fitzgerald’s character Jay Gatsby threw his lavish parties – and this year’s Senior Joint Production paid tribute to the infamous tale.

The novel was adapted for the stage by Foundation Director of Creative Learning, Miss Naomi Lord (Class of 1998), and the talented cast presented the joy and the freedoms of the 1920s alongside the unsettling prescience of Fitzgerald’s tale of boom before bust – the Wall Street Crash arrived in 1929 and the 1930s rapidly descended into World War II.

The show was delivered in cabaret-style in an immersive Jazz Age environment, opening in Europe and hopping across to the USA with audiences dressed to impress in 1920s attire. The action was accompanied by live music from the Gatsby Band, led by Head of Boys’ Division Music, Miss Hannah Sherry, who also arranged the music.

evenly distributed but opportunities are not, which is why we support a wide range of youth sports teams, including our kit sponsorship for the rugby, netball and cricket teams at Bolton School. As sponsors of Sale Sharks, Manchester Thunder Netball and Lancashire County Cricket Club’s youth and medical teams, we can help to create lots of opportunities for young people interested in these sports.”

Park Road Welcomes the World of Warhammer

Pupils in the Junior Boys’ School are learning from the best in their new Warhammer Club!

Warhammer is the most popular miniature wargame in the world and involves two players battling it out in a game of strategy and tactics. Year 6 teacher

Mr Mike Porter recently competed around the world in the Warhammer International Tournament Circuit, making it to the finals in Las Vegas at the end of January where he finished the season in third place overall in the World Rankings.

After many of his pupils were inspired to take up the game following Mr Porter’s success, he decided to set up the Warhammer Club, where the boys will learn how to build and paint models and understand how to play the game itself.

Mr Porter commented: “At its heart, the hobby is a wonderfully creative experience which encourages social skills, logical thinking and mathematical processes which I hope to pass on to as many boys as possible!”

Coronation Lamps

In honour of the coronation of King Charles III on Saturday 6th May the front cover of this Newsletter features one of the School’s coronation lamps.

In early 1953 the Governors discussed how they might commemorate the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in the School. Since all children in the Borough were to be given souvenirs it was agreed that something of a permanent nature should be given to each Division. After reference to the Headmaster and the Headmistress it was decided that the Governors’ gift to the School should be electric lanterns at the entrance to the Quadrangle.

In recent years the lamps were relocated: anyone wishing to take a closer look at them will find them under the Main Arch to the Riley Quad.

Foundation comes together for Christmas Hamper Campaign

Children and parents from across the Bolton School Foundation, from Nursery to Sixth Form, stepped up once again this Christmas to smash their target of collecting 2,500 selection boxes for Urban Outreach’s 'Christmas Dinner on Jesus' campaign.

This is the tenth year that Bolton School has taken part in the charity event, which involves the School collecting one or more items for hampers that are delivered to those families and individuals in most need in the town. This year, Urban Outreach were delivering chicken, vegetarian and halal hampers as well as individual collections. The target for the School was to procure 2,500 selection boxes, with over 2,800 boxes eventually collected by the eight schools within the Foundation.

Forty Sixth Form students made up six teams who encouraged pupils around the campus in the campaign and helped with the counting and collecting of items. Students also undertook several fundraising events – a bake sale and a raffle at the community ‘Tea at the Riley’ event – with the monies collected used to buy more boxes.

The Development Team Welcomes Liz

In January, the Development Office welcomed a new team member, Elizabeth Lupton, following her appointment as the department’s Alumni and Development Assistant. Liz previously worked in HR for Bury Council and British Gas. She will be responsible for the bookings and preparations for many of the Alumni events and will be the friendly first port of call for Old Boys and Girls who contact the Development Office to reconnect with School.

A Royal Visit

There was great excitement throughout the town when King Charles III and Camilla, Queen Consort, visited Bolton in January. The visit came 150 years after the King's great-greatgrandfather, the future King Edward VII, officially opened Bolton Town Hall in 1873. Representatives from Bolton School were among the thousands who filled Victoria Square to welcome the Royal couple.