From the Head of Primary Division
As ever, this Annual Review is simply bursting with detail of the many varied and exciting activities the children across the Primary Division have been involved in over the course of the last academic year and I am delighted that the Nursery are included in it for the first time this year. Throughout all of their activities, what shines through for me, both within this wonderful summary but more obviously as I visit each of the settings, is the joy the children share as they engage in their learning, whether that is taking their very first steps in the Babies Room or stepping off into the gorge in Year 6, they do everything with determination and great enthusiasm. This year we have seen a further increase in the collaboration between our Primary Division settings with children from the Nursery enjoying working with their PreSchool friends in Beech House and sharing their garden spaces too. The Nursery even went so far as to move into Beech House during the long summer break, though everyone was delighted to move back into their newly refurbished space just in time for Beech House children to return from their holidays – I don’t think they left anyone behind!
One fantastic whole Division event, which very successfully demonstrated the great compassion our children and their families show for others in need, was our Charity Walk to raise funds towards building a school in Malawi. The Primary Division itself raised just over £12,000 for this fantastic endeavour. Well done to everyone who got involved on what must have been one of the hottest days of the year.
I do hope that you enjoy looking through this magazine with your children, friends and family and am sure you will agree that these pages reflect a busy, vibrant group of schools where your children are able to grow and learn in an environment which provides them with so many opportunities to be the best that they can.
Mrs Sue Faulkner
Primary Division
A Mesmerising Visit
Author Helen Rutter visited Bolton School to share her new book ‘Reggie Houser Has The Power’ with Junior Boys and Junior Girls. Her talk was engaging from the moment she walked onto the stage: she talked about how mind control works, both in reality and in her book, and also discussed main character Reggie’s ADHD and her journey as an author.
Celebrating Planet Earth
In honour of Earth Day on 22 April, Bolton School held an Eco Week with activities across all areas of the Foundation. Nursery and EYFS children explored recycling and repurposing rubbish to make art, while Infants learned more about Earth Day by reading ‘Dear Earth’ by Isobel Otter and through themed parental engagement sessions. Year 6 Junior Girls also raised the Eco flag during their trip to Patterdale Hall.
Hulton Lecture
Old Girl Alisha Whitehead (Class of 2011) was the guest speaker at the second annual Hulton Lecture, held in the Girls’ Division Great Hall. Since leaving school Alisha has completed a BSc in Psychology at Sheffield Hallam University and an MSc in Clinical Neurology at the University of Sheffield. Now, Alisha manages the brain research centre in Manchester, which aims to improve the lives of patients living with neurological conditions, including brain tumours, strokes and Parkinson’s disease through research. She shared her fascinating career in a way that was really accessible to the young audience of Primary Division pupils and visiting primary school pupils, and even included a simulated ‘double blind clinical trial’ to show everyone how these work in the real world.
ESSA Cadets Water Polo
The girls joined forces with the Park Road boys for this water polo competition in June: the players developed their skills over the course of the games and performed well. The A team won the cup following a thrilling final match against St Ambrose A Team!
Bolton Swimming Competition
Bolton School came in first place at this gala and the team of Year 6 boys and girls were awarded gold medals and the trophy. Congratulations to all of the Primary Division swimmers!
Children in Need
Spots and Pudsey ears were very much in evidence at the Junior Boys’ and Junior Girls’ Schools, where pupils added colourful accessories to their normal school uniform in exchange for donations. Meanwhile, the Infants enjoyed a pyjama day! The Primary Division raised a total of £1,071.25.
Creative Thinking Review
Over six hundred pupils from across the Foundation engaged with this year’s Creative Thinking Review, which took place across three days in the school’s Arts Centre. Year 6 Junior Girls shared capstone projects focused on science, oracy and media presentation, while Junior Boys in Years 4–6 displayed work exploring the environment and sustainability. The work focused on the three tenets of Bolton School’s creative and characterful learning: curriculum, co-curricular and community. Sessions exploring project work allowed pupils of different ages to explore together intellectual curiosity in Science, English, Geography, History and Art with an eco-advocacy and community cohesion focus.
Church Service
Pupils from across Bolton School Primary Division, overseen by teacher Mrs Julia Marsden, led a service at Bank Top United Reformed Church in Bolton in March. Their voices blended together in harmony as they sang, led prayers and readings and shared their vision with the congregation about their Malawi school fundraising campaign. They spoke too of their desire to let their light shine throughout the world.
Blood Bag Project
Textiles artist Leigh Bowser visited the Junior Boys and Junior Girls in Year 6 to introduce the Blood Bag Project, which aims to raise awareness around blood donation and the blood condition Diamond Blackfan Anaemia. Pupils crafted their own individual textile artworks based on blood bags in their workshops.
Careers
Carousel
Year 6 Junior Girls and Junior Boys enjoyed an afternoon with former pupils and friends of the school, learning about a range of careers. They heard from vet Sophia Saunders (Class of 2007), dentist Dr Richa Sharma, Tales to Inspire and StoryOak founder Krish Patel (Class of 2010) and lawyer Paul Johnson (Class of 1985).
Water Polo Festival
Year 6 water polo players from the Junior Boys’ and Girls’ Schools joined forces to play in a sports festival hosted by the City of Manchester Water Polo Club. They enjoyed lots of games against water polo clubs from across the region and the improvement in skills across the day was great to see.
Clarice Bean: Smile
Lauren Child, author of the Clarice Bean books, spoke about her new book ‘Smile’ for an excited audience of Primary Division pupils. She read several extracts from the book and also revealed where she gets her ideas and inspirations. Overall, her aim was to promote the idea of daydreaming as positive: it is good for being creative, coming up with new ideas and problem solving.
Remembrance Day
On Friday 10 November, Bolton School pupils in the Primary Division commemorated the Armistice with assemblies after learning about the importance of Remembrance throughout the week. Children created poppies in a variety of mediums, and honoured the day with a moment of silence at 11 o’clock.
Ski Trip
Year 6 pupils from the Junior Boys’ and Girls’ Schools enjoyed a fabulous week of skiing in Zell am See during the Easter break. They made excellent progress with their skiing and enjoyed a wide range of activities off the slopes too.
Sponsored Walk
The whole of the Primary Division took part in a sponsored walk at the end of the summer term to raise money for the Junior Girls’ fundraising project, which aims to raise enough money to build a school for street kids in Malawi. Nursery children walked around their garden and Infants through their playground, while the Junior Boys and Girls took over the Senior School Levels for their walk.
World Book Day
Pupils across the campus enjoyed a colourful and busy World Book Day 2024. Primary Division children were encouraged to dress as their favourite characters or books and there were lots of book-themed activities to take part in, from a Book Parade to a Cake and Book Sale to creative storytelling exercises!
Scouting
Squirrels
In October 2023, Bolton School made history by opening the very first Squirrel Scout group in Bolton. Our sessions are packed with outdoor activities, games, arts and crafts, cooking, music and physical activity. We also explore what it means to be a member of the Worldwide Scouting Movement. Squirrel leaders Red, Conker and Acorn (AKA Mrs Field, Miss Findlay and Mrs Brigden) have created a bespoke programme with lots of opportunities for the Squirrels to earn Activity Badges and Challenge Awards, leading to the Top Award of The Squirrels Chief Scout’s Acorn Award! The Challenge Awards themed to teamwork, citizenship, personal development, outdoors and adventure are achievable, age-appropriate, relevant and very exciting. Our Squirrels also use their scouting skills to fundraise and care for those in need in our local community by organising cake sales, collecting items for the local food bank and sponsored events. Our Squirrels are very successful and have lots of badges on their uniforms to prove this – badge night is always very exciting and a wonderful opportunity to connect with our families to celebrate collaboration, determination, resilience and success!
Beavers
We have had a very exciting time at Beavers this year with so much fun and laughter at every meeting. This year we have enjoyed lots of different activities, including learning about the world around us, how to grow plants and how to look after ourselves and each other. We have also enjoyed lots of time outdoors, exploring the woodlands, learning new skills like archery and rounders. There has been lots of fantastic teamwork needed and we have worked really well in our lodges to help each other and have fun together. There were so many highlights but the Year 2 Beavers enjoyed joining the Cub Camp at the beach for the day and their very own special sleepover. Well done everyone.
Cubs
Over the past year, the Cubs have earned an amazing 448 badges including eleven gaining the highest award at this level: Chief Scout Silver. Year 6 had a fascinating evening bat watching at Moses Gate as part of their Autumn weekend camp. They also had fun budgeting, shopping and cooking their own meals. As ever, the weekly activities have been highly varied, from packing Christmas shoe boxes for children with no gifts, to learning to play the Paralympic sport of boccia, visiting the historic Smithill’s Chapel followed by enjoying an ice cream, making chocolate bananas in fire embers and the ever popular ‘Total Wipe Out’ evening. There was an exciting change to our annual camp as, this year, we headed to Lytham St Anne’s. A sandcastle competition was thoroughly enjoyed and highly competitive for both the Cubs and the Leaders! One Six, inspired by our visit to the RNLI station, went as far as creating a sand lifeboat and reenacting a rescue. Fish and chips on the front were of course obligatory.
Scouts
January saw the oldest Cubs moving up to Year 6 Scouts. This provided an exciting flavour of not only what’s to come in the main Troop, but also a taste of life in Senior School. With a good-sized group, lots of teamwork challenges were expertly solved, the Lego production line and caterpillar races being particular favourites. Being introduced to the Bolton rules for rounders was an eye-opening experience for the boys and girls alike. A few days on Scout Long Camp was a brilliant experience, getting to know the older Scouts and being initiated into the traditions of 19th Bolton camping.
Outdoor Learning
Anderton Centre Adventures
Year 2s continued their outdoor learning journey with a trip to the Anderton Centre in the summer term, where they enjoyed a host of fun and exciting outdoor activities, including roasting marshmallows over the campfire!
Infants’ Forest School
The Infants enjoy visiting the Leverhulme Woodland for Forest School sessions where they learn more about the outside world.
Nursery Forest School
Bolton School Nursery makes the most of the green spaces on campus, including the Nature Area at the Junior Boys’ School. Children regularly enjoy spending time outdoors in this space, come rain or shine, exploring and taking part in activities such as painting with twigs and leaves, outdoor storytime sessions and insect hunts!
Nursery Garden
Throughout the year, children had fun looking after plants in the Nursery Garden. From watering plants in the Sensory Garden to growing their own pumpkins, there were so many ways to discover the natural world.
From the Nursery Management Team
A very warm welcome to Bolton School Nursery, where the children join the Bolton School family. Our vision is that all children in our care will develop and thrive by giving them the best start to their Bolton School journey
We are proud to have a highly skilled and dynamic team and to provide the highest calibre of childcare for children aged 0-5 years old in a happy, secure learning environment.
We give all children the opportunity to be creative, imaginative and active through child led indoor and outdoor learning.
Our outdoor area has recently been refurbished and we are privileged to have such a large outdoor space. Here we offer stimulating, challenging and exciting learning experiences. Learning never ends at Nursery, where we offer a wide range of experiences and activities, following a curriculum that is ambitious, child led and enables children to explore the world around them. Alongside all these opportunities we also offer extracurricular activities for our under 3s and our over 3s link with school to take part in PE sessions, use the library and also take part in focused activities with the Preschool Class at Beech House.
Working together with parents, we create an extension to the child’s home through regular communication regarding their child’s progress and development. We encourage parents to be involved in all aspects of Nursery life and to give feedback and share ideas.
When leaving the Nursery for the next stage of their education, children will have become confident to learn more and sensitive to the feelings of others, which is an excellent foundation to build upon during their future years.
Finally, we would like to take this opportunity to thank the Bolton School Nursery team for all their hard work, care and dedication. The team continues to develop their own skills with further training in order to deliver the best care possible for all our children.
Mrs Allyson Hunt, Mrs Angela Smith and Miss Jill Sunter
Christmas Celebrations
The children enjoyed having Christmas Parties to celebrate the festive seasons: from tea parties to visits from elves, there was so much fun to be had!
World Kindness Day
To celebrate World Kindness Day the children at Nursery made hampers for the team at Bolton Hospice to enjoy. They handdelivered these treats in two trips.
St George’s Day
The children and staff at Bolton School Nursery wore red clothes and participated in red-themed activities to celebrate St George’s Day in April.
Special Occasions
Eid Celebrations
All of the children had fun celebrating Eid with varied activities and a party lunch.
Holi
Celebrating Holi was a fun-filled occasion! The children used powder paints outdoors to make wonderful creations and danced to music using colourful scarves.
Graduation
The oldest children at the Nursery were waved off in style over the summer with a special graduation ceremony, complete with gowns and mortarboards!
St Patrick’s Day
Finding gold, creating green pictures and making lots of pots of gold pictures: everyone had lots of fun celebrating St Patrick’s Day!
Stay and Play
The children hosted fun-filled Mothers Day and Fathers Day stay and play sessions to share these special occasions with their loved ones.
Everyday Fun
Beautiful Butterflies
Children in all of the rooms had the opportunity to watch caterpillars pupate into butterflies. They learnt the Makaton signs for caterpillar and butterfly, and made butterfly artwork to display in the classroom. They enjoyed caring for the insects and waited full of excitement for them to emerge from their cocoons!
Foodbank Donations
Butterfly Experience
The babies watched carefully when a butterfly landed close to them in the outdoor area!
Planting Seeds
The pre-school class enjoyed growing carrots in the Nursery garden. They planted the seeds and watched them grow as summer progressed.
Farmyard Yoga
Toddlers used lots of gross motor skills to get themselves into animal poses and enjoyed making lots of animal noises during these sessions!
Children and staff met with representatives from the Farnworth and Kearsley Foodbank, who collected the food items very kindly donated by Nursery families on ‘Red Day’: the children participated in red-themed activities while wearing red, and families were encouraged to donate red-coloured food items.
Football Workshops
Lower Pre-School and Pre-School Class children enjoyed weekly sessions with Football Gary, and earned certificates for their hard work!
Sing & Sign
Baby Room children practised their baby sign language at mealtimes and during their regular Sing & Sign sessions throughout the year.
Feathered Friend
One of the Beech House chickens came to visit the Toddlers! The children were excited to search the garden for their new feathered friend.
Visiting the Dentist
Nursery children learned more about how dentists help to keep our teeth healthy when they visited a local dentist.
Reindeer Visitors
Some of Santa’s reindeer found time to visit the Nursery in December! The children were so excited to meet Frosty and Vixen.
Pre-school Class really enjoyed participating in active daily pre-writing sessions!
Visiting the Library
The Pre-School Class enjoyed visiting the Beech House library and reading some of the books there.
If you go down to the woods today, you’re sure of a big surprise: Nursery leavers having a teddy bear’s picnic party! This was a wonderful send-off for the oldest children at the Nursery.
Squiggle Whilst You Wiggle
Teddy Bear’s Picnic
From the Head of Infants
This section provides an insight into our Beech House family and it is with immense pride and a happy heart that I reflect upon a super year of learning, friendship and fun at Beech House.
Our children and families are at the heart of everything we do at Beech House and this past year it has been wonderful to welcome parents into school for information afternoons and our very popular parental engagement sessions. The children love to show off their knowledge, skills and understanding and enjoy collaborating with their special loved ones to successfully complete learning challenges.
‘Tea, toast and tales’ sessions, World Book Day character parades, author and illustrator visits, visits to the local library and junior reading buddies are just some of the ways we have fostered a love of reading. It has been a privilege to visit our school library and share stories with the children. Cosy and engaging reading areas, created in each classroom, stocked with beautiful new books chosen by teachers and the children have provided the opportunity for the children to read and relax.
The development of the outdoor curriculum and visits to the Leverhulme woods for Forest School sessions have also been of great benefit to the children and have provided exciting, firsthand learning opportunities. It will come as no surprise to hear the children adore being free in the great outdoors, building dens and bug hotels, going on minibeast hunts and, of course, toasting marshmallows on the fire!
The children planned and designed a sensory garden, an incredible edible garden and a pollination station. They cared for and nurtured the plants and were rewarded with a selection of vegetables and flowers which were visited by lots of minibeasts and bees and butterflies! Learning in action creating life-long memories.
This year we welcomed two very special hens to our Beech House and Bolton School Nursery families! The children take turns with their friends from Nursery to care for the hens, clean their coop with their kindness being rewarded by collecting the eggs and taking them home – it’s a wonderful learning opportunity for the children and they delight in sharing the experience with their parents and families.
Sporting success has continued with the girls, boys and mixed football teams all winning trophies in matches with other Key Stage One teams. Securing first place in the gymnastics competition was another highlight which was quickly followed by success in crosscountry, dodgeball and orienteering. As important as winning trophies and medals are the comments we receive about how kind, caring and well behaved our children are – we are so very proud of them all! The children enjoy taking part in competitions especially when they have the exciting opportunity to travel on the school minibus!
Each Friday I host a ‘Hot Chocolate Café’ and lead the whole school Celebration Assembly and they are the highlight of my week. An opportunity to meet with the children to share in their successes and to recognise, praise and reward their hard work and determination and resilience. It’s also a time to reflect upon the wide range and depth of learning opportunities that the children are exposed to made possible by our talented, creative and dedicated teachers and staff. At Beech House we are committed to making learning exciting, engaging and fun. Our children excel and develop a love of learning ensuring they are fully equipped for the next stage in their learning!
Mrs Jo Field
A Host of Golden Daffodils
The children painted daffodils in their art lessons, and the artwork became part of an exhibition in the dining room for everyone to enjoy during lunchtime!
Colourful Artwork
Children in Year 2 celebrated the work of Kehinde Wiley by creating their own bright canvases.
Super Sock Puppets
Following their individual interests, and with encouragement to have confidence in their own ideas, Reception created their own sock puppets!
Junk Modelling
Parents joined their Year 2 children for a Junk Modelling workshop in November, inspired by the children reading the book ‘The Tin Forest’.
The Conference of the Birds
Great Fire of London
Year 1 travelled back to 1666 to learn all about The Great Fire of London through a fantastic drama workshop with Freshwater Theatre.
The Infants were super excited to welcome theatre company Frolicked and ‘The Conference of the Birds’ to Bolton School in June. Children ventured into the woods to explore this ancient Sufi poem through song and puppetry, and explored the idea of belonging through the story.
Wonderful Watercolours
Reception learnt all about watercolours: they had lots of fun experimenting with different effects and learnt about how to use finer paintbrushes.
Arts
Travelling by Tuba
It was a marvellous musical morning when the Travelling by Tuba duo whisked the children away on a musical adventure to learn about different instruments from around the world. They enjoyed listening to the different sounds they made and even got to play some instruments themselves.
Earth Day Art
The children put together some beautiful artwork featuring sea creatures for Earth Day.
School Life
Book Fair
The annual Book Fair was an exciting occasion! Everyone enjoyed finding new books to read and the children were excited to open up a new book.
Scrumptious Experimentation
Children in Year 1 combined science with snacks in their Changing State chocolate experiment! Not only did they explore, observe and describe the changes in the chocolate, they also made a delicious treat to take home!
Hatching Ducklings
The children at Beech House were delighted to learn all about the life-cycle of ducks by hatching some ducklings in school! They were amazed to see how fast the ducklings grew.
Making Tractors
Crafting Boats
Reception children were challenged to craft their own boats and then tested to see if they would float! There were some beautiful seaworthy creations.
Children in Year 2 made working model tractors as the final part of their Design and Technology and Literacy learning based on their key text ‘Jemima Puddle-Duck’ by Beatrix Potter.
Raising Chickens
Beech House welcomed two new residents in the summer term: a pair of happy hens from Smithills Farm! The chickens proved very popular with the children.
Lego Club
Children put together all kinds of incredible models and creations in Lego Club throughout the year!
Water Path
Putting their critical thinking and teamwork skills in action, Pre-School children worked together to create different paths for the water. They experimented with different pipes and jugs to move the water from one tray to the next.
School Council
The School Council played an important role at Beech House throughout the year and children were excited to join in and get involved.
Reggie Rockit
Author Carl Wheatley visited the Infants to share his Reggie Rockit books! This rocking session ended with everyone on their feet and dancing.
Reading with Daisy Daisy the Pets As Therapy dog made everyone smile with her visits to Beech House throughout the year. She enjoyed relaxing in the library while listening to the children reading her a story.
The Singing Cicada
Weekly Music
Year 2 explored music-making in weekly music lessons: they were able to learn to play different stringed instruments, the recorder and the djembe drums!
Reception and the Pre-School Class enjoyed an interactive, entertaining session with author Ivana Fletcher! They sang along to her book ‘The Singing Cicada’ and, after hearing the story, were very excited by the opportunity of ‘meeting’ the insects!
Sport
Gymnastics
Children in all year groups had fun learning lots of different techniques in their Gymnastics lessons. Some Year 2s competed at the Beth Tweddle Gymnastics Centre, where they remembered their floor routines well and enjoyed participating in the various events: they were named overall winners!
Cross Country
The children were very energetic in cross country sessions.
Ball Skills
Year 1 developed their skills with a ball: practice makes perfect!
Squash Taster
Everyone had a great time learning to play the sport Squash in a fun taster session.
Cricket
Beech House children played cricket as part of their sports lessons this year.
Dodgeball Festival
A group of Year 2 children represented Beech House at a Dodgeball Festival in the Autumn Term. They had a great morning and were a credit to the school.
Tennis Lessons
The children had fun learning to play tennis with a coach from Bolton Arena.
Sports Days
There was lots of fun in the sun in the Summer Term as children took part in year group Sports Days. Their parents, families and special people cheered them on as they challenged themselves in a range of events.
Yoga
The school’s Yoga Club was filled with children enjoying moments of mindfulness and relaxation at the end of a busy day of learning. A brilliant way to wind down.
Brilliant Bolton
Children in Year 2 spent a day learning all about Bolton. They visited Bolton Parish Church and the tomb of Samuel Crompton, had fun exploring the town’s history at Bolton Museum, found The Spinning Mule in the town centre, and even had time for a quick trip to the park on the walk back to school!
Turton Tower
Year 1 learned all about a Victorian Christmas at Turton Tower! Father Christmas read ‘The Night Before Christmas’ by the decorated tree, they played games with the Governess in the parlour, and found out how to make Christmas Pudding in the kitchen.
Oh, I Do Like To Be Beside the Seaside
Year 1 had a fantastic trip to Lytham in June. They learned lots about seaside holidays in the past and how they compare to holidays today, complementing their History Alive sessions. They also visited the RLNI, enjoyed a ride on the miniature rail and had a picnic lunch on the beach before a tasty ice lolly to finish the day!
Farm Visit
The Pre-School Class enjoyed all the fun of the farm on this exciting visit! From meeting lambs and chicks to riding donkeys, it was a day of excitement for everyone.
Trips
Imagine That
In the summer term, children in Reception were excited to visit Imagine That in Liverpool: a science and discovery centre for under 10s that provided hours of educational fun for everyone.
Moss Bank Park
Year 1 and Year 2 children visited Moss Bank Park in spring to take part in Orienteering. They had fun following the map to find the stamps.
Martin Mere
Year 2 children at Beech House learned about the life cycle of ducks at Martin Mere! This complemented their reading of ‘The Tale of Jemima Puddleduck’ by Beatrix Potter.
Special Occasions
Chinese New Year
To celebrate the ‘Year of the Dragon’, Infants enjoyed a celebration assembly that featured singing, traditional dancing, ballet and Kung-Fu. After a week of activities, they had a wonderful showcase of all the Chinese things they learned and every child in the school contributed a piece to the dragon!
Easter Egg Competition
The difficult task of choosing the winners of the Easter Egg Competition fell to Head of Foundation Philip Britton this year. The children were even more excited when the Easter Bunny arrived to hand out the prizes!
The whole school leaned about the Hindu festival of Diwali in November. Year 2 children visited a local Hindu temple and explored how Diwali is celebrated. They enjoyed their visit and were full of curious questions.
Easter Extravaganza
This was the perfect way to celebrate the end of a super Spring Term! The PA organised the Easter Extravaganza, with delicious cakes to buy, egg decorating fun and lots of other themed activities to enjoy!
Diwali
Fathers Day
The children put on a show for their dads, grandads and special people on Fathers Day!
Mothers Day
A special assembly celebrated all the mums, grandmas and special people in the Infants’ lives on Mothers Day.
Pirate Party
Pre-School had lots of fun at the swashbuckling pirate party in the Summer Term. The children managed to win the games against the pirate captains and collected lots of treasure as their prize.
Ramadan
The children in Reception learned all about Ramadan and made their own special artwork to celebrate.
St George’s Day
On 23 April, Pre-School enjoyed learning about St George’s Day: they had lots of fun pretending to be Knights and Dragons while role-playing the exciting story!
Nativities
Each year group performed their very own Nativity for an audience of parents and special people at Christmas. Year 1 performed ‘Shine, Star, Shine’, and Year 2 performed ‘The Angel who nearly missed it all!’
Charity
Bolton Hospice
The Parents’ Association organised the Luxury Hamper raffle and refreshments at the Nativity plays, and the money raised was donated to Bolton Hospice. The children were delighted to present the Hospice with a cheque for £450!
Endeavour
In April, Bolton School’s Infants presented local charity Endeavour with a cheque for £450. The money was raised by children and their families through collections at Christmas events. Endeavour is a charity that provides a variety of domestic abuse services for people and their pets in Bolton.
Sprinkle of Kindness
Beech House families donated Christmas presents as part of the annual ‘Sprinkle of Kindness’ campaign. This is the fifth year that the school has run the campaign. The children thoroughly enjoyed delivering the gifts, clothes and food and understood the importance of each visit.
Harvest Festival
Led by Year 2 children, the Infants explored the history of the Harvest Festival and harvest around the world in an assembly. Mr Dave Bagley from the local charity Urban Outreach spoke about the importance of loving, caring and sharing with others. The school stage was full of food items kindly donated by Beech House families.
Tea at the Riley
Year 2 spread some
extra festive cheer by bringing the music from their Nativity to the Girls’ Division’s regular tea party for local elderly residents. These special guests agreed that the children were fabulous and more than earned their treat of a festive biscuit!
Poppy Appeal
Poppies, slap bands and key charms went on sale to support the Royal British Legion’s annual Poppy Appeal. At 11am on Friday 10 November, Year 1 and Year 2 children observed a minute’s silence in honour of Remembrance.
From the Head of Junior Girls
As ever, looking through the items in this publication brings an enormous sense of pride in all that has been achieved at Hesketh House over the last academic year. The huge number of opportunities that the girls have made the most of this year is testament to the dedication, creativity and energy of the staff team, who are always looking for exciting ways to enhance learning and enjoyment for all of the pupils. The success of all the events and activities is down to the girls, who always take on new experiences with determination and enthusiasm, embracing everything that comes their way.
As a parent, once you have flicked through and found all of the photographs and articles which involve your own child, I would urge you to look again at the whole publication, which offers a great snapshot of life in the Primary Division of Bolton School. Our days are busy and full of excitement and challenge, making this an exceptional place in which to grow and develop. I should also stress that we do work hard in all our lessons as well, and the pupils make super progress in the academic side of life too!
Mrs Carol Laverick
Hesketh House Habits
Curiosity
Architecture Workshop
Year 5 enjoyed making a Saxon roundhouse and a Viking longship in an architecture workshop. As well as enhancing work in their History topic, they also learnt a great deal about structures and building with strong shapes.
London Calling
Bolton Museum
Year 4 pupils enjoyed an Egyptology adventure at Bolton Museum in September. The trip provided many hands-on experiences, adding tremendously to classroom and home learning. This relates to their studies of researching the importance of artefacts in Ancient Egyptian life.
Brockholes
Year 3 had a wonderful visit to Brockholes. One workshop linked to their science topic of plants, and the other was about maps. The girls used a map to navigate around Brockholes and also used natural materials to make their own map.
Dentist Visit
Dr Samira Mohamed delivered a talk about teeth to Year 4. They learnt about the different types of teeth and the importance of a healthy diet. They also looked at the amount of sugar in various drinks and were very surprised by the outcome.
Stockport Air Raid Shelters
Bridgewater Hall
Year 4 girls attended the ‘Cities Around the World’ concert at the Bridgewater Hall. They enjoyed listening to pieces from Rome, Vienna, Beijing, Africa, London and India. It was great for the girls to be able to see and hear the orchestra at close quarters.
Year 6 had a fabulous time visiting the Stockport Air Raid Shelters and Museum. They learnt so much from the interactive experience and this helped to bring to light the period of history they were studying.
Chester Zoo
Year 5 had an amazing trip to Chester Zoo in December to further develop their understanding of the work they had done on the Amazon Rainforest. They enjoyed a very informative workshop as well as exploring the zoo.
During October half term, Years 5 and 6 had a fabulous trip to London. They visited the Science Museum, London Eye, Tower of London, Houses of Parliament, enjoyed a cruise on the Thames and saw an amazing production of The Lion King. A firm favourite with the girls was their visit to the Harry Potter Studios.
Viking Visitor
A Viking visitor met with Year 5 and shared with the girls what life was like during his lifetime. This really helped to bring the topic they were studying to life and they were very fascinated by his stories.
River Study
Year 4 enjoyed engaging in practical outdoor activities on their river study trip to Cuerden Valley. The River Lostock presented exciting opportunities for the girls such as measuring, sketching and identifying small river creatures which supported their Geography ‘Rivers’ topic.
Roman Visitor
Year 4 became Roman recruits for the day! They were drilled to respond to commands and pay attention to detail by the Roman Commander. A Roman artefacts handing session allowed them to work as archaeologists. All activities helped the girls to immerse themselves learning about ancient times and understand the influences those times have on their lives today.
AJIS Music Festival
The Year 6 girls performed in the AJIS Music Festival in March. They sang two songs beautifully and were commended on their clarity and engagement with the audience.
Music Recitals
Musicians in all year groups performed in two Music Recitals in the Summer Term. There were some excellent performance on both occasions. The audience enjoyed music played on a range of instruments and some vocal pieces.
Creativity
Informal Concert
There were some fabulous performances on a range of instruments at the Informal Concert in November, with the biggest ever programme for this event.
Music Festival
Young musicians took the stage across two days during the annual Music Festival. There were excellent performances in all classes, with girls playing a range of instruments and also performing in groups. The adjudicator gave both very positive and useful feedback to the girls.
Travelling by Tuba
All of the girls enjoyed a special session with Travelling by Tuba in September. They were taken on a musical journey around the world, finding out about a variety of different and unusual instruments.
Compassion
Anti-Bullying Training
A selection of Junior Girls enjoyed anti-bullying training, which they found very useful and informative. The event was attended by children from schools across the North West. The girls were inspired by everyone’s determination to combat bullying.
Citizenship Workshop
A group of Year 6 girls enjoyed an afternoon of drama with a visiting theatre workshop on Thursday. They slipped straight into character as members of a council assembly discussing climate change. It was a very thought-provoking session.
Charity Day
Year 6 girls set up stalls and activities in the Hesketh House playground to entertain younger pupils, and at the same time raise money for a good cause. They raised £1,494.85 which will go towards the school’s Malawi campaign.
The girls supported Comic Relief in March by coming to school in their own clothes with a ‘red’ theme. Hesketh House raised a wonderful £355.70 for this worthy cause.
Children in Need
The girls supported Children in Need and added spotty and Pudsey-themed accessories to their uniform to raise money for the charity. They managed to raise a fantastic £385.35!
Comic Relief
Bolton Schools
Cross Country Competition
Though this competition was badly affected by poor weather conditions, meaning the season was judged on the results of two races, the girls were delighted that they managed to finish in first place!
Bebras Challenge
AJIS Cross Country
Girls in the Year 5 and 6 Cross Country teams had a fantastic day at Rossall for the AJIS Cross Country event in May, with perfect course conditions and excellent performances. The Year 6 team finished in first place overall with a score of just 78!
The girls took part in the Bebras Computing Challenge. This is organised across the world and designed to encourage logical thinking and problem-solving skills to get pupils excited about computing. Each participant had to answer questions on computational and logical thinking.
AJIS Chess
A group of girls took part in the AJIS Chess competition. Many girls played in their first tournament and their skills and confidence grew throughout the day. Three of the girls managed to bring home bronze medals.
Cross Country League
The girls ran very well in the Cross Country League, with all of the top scorers improving their positions from the first to the second race. With a fantastic team score of 42, they finished in first place in the league competition.
Commitment
Dance Festival
AJIS Quiz
A team of six girls answered a huge variety of questions at the AJIS Quiz with rounds on topics such as maths, music and monuments. The girls worked collaboratively and responded to the challenge admirably.
Bikeability
Girls in Year 6 really enjoyed their Bikeability sessions in the summer, with everyone passing the Level 1 course and many achieving their Level 2 award.
The Year 3 and Year 4 girls took part in the Bolton Dance Festival at the Albert Halls in March and, as the Barbie Girls from Thornleigh High School said, ‘They were the cutest little Minions!’ Their hard work in preparation showed in their amazing performance.
Ski Club
A group of Year 6 girls started their Ski Improvers Course at the Chill Factore in November. They continued to improve their skiing skills each Thursday throughout the year.
EPSCA Chess
Two teams took part in the EPSCA Chess Tournament in March. There were some challenging matches and the coach was very pleased with the progress in the girls’ skills over the competition. The U11 team managed to earn themselves a place in the National Semi-Finals.
Challenge
AJIS Netball
Netball teams in Years 4, 5 and 6 took part in the AJIS competitions for their year groups, playing challenging matches against rival teams.
AJIS Cricket
All three teams who competed in the AJIS competition played very well. The U10 A Team won all of their games, including the cup final, to be crowned overall winners: a fantastic result!
AJIS Hockey
The hockey team made it to the final of the Plate Competition in the AJIS Hockey Tournament in February. They lost in the final to Rossall School but were very pleased with their achievements over the course of the day.
AJIS Sportshall
The AJIS Indoor Sportshall Competition in January was attended by Year 5 and Year 6 athletes, who enjoyed taking part along with pupils from other Independent Schools across the North West. They had a successful day which involved plenty of medals.
AJIS Swimming
Swimmers in Year 6 competed in the AJIS Swimming Gala in May against Independent Schools from across the North West. They finished in second place which was an excellent achievement for them.
AJIS Athletics
Young athletes competed in the AJIS Athletics Competition in June: all performed very well, with two girls achieving gold medals and two girls achieving silver!
Lacrosse Tournament
The Year 6 lacrosse team competed in the Greater Manchester Lacrosse Tournament in March, where they made huge progress throughout the day and became runners up in the Plate Competition.
ESSA Swimming
Swimmers competed at Everton Park in the annual ESSA Swimming Primary Championships. They finished second in both the freestyle and medley relays, meaning they earned a place in the next stage of the competition!
Dodgeball
The Year 4 girls enjoyed taking part in a dodgeball competition in November at Bolton Arena. They played ten games against other school.
Football Festival
Year 3 and 4 girls thoroughly enjoyed their first tournament in May showing lots of improvement over their matches. The Year 5 and 6 team played brilliantly and managed to get through to the later stages of the competition. After a tense semi-final and final they ended up being overall winners.
First Football Tournament
The Year 6 footballers took part in their first competitive tournament in November. After a nervy start, they gained confidence and ended up winning a sudden death penalty shoot out to earn a place in the Plate semi-final.
Dragon’s Den Year 5 girls spent some time assisting Girls’ Division Year 9 students in their Dragon’s Den activity. They formed focus groups and gave feedback on products that the girls were designing: they were all very impressed by their ideas!
House Cross Country
The House Cross Country Competition took place before the October half term. Despite the wet and blustery conditions, the girls ran very well and enjoyed the challenge.
Quiz Club
Year 3 Quiz Club teams took part in the area heats of the national competition. Their knowledge was tested on a wide range of subjects from across and beyond the curriculum. They had to consider the best strategy for their team to maximise points earned, which was a chance for them to communicate and collaborate.
Sports Day
Collaboration
Neurodiversity Workshop
In celebration of Neurodiversity Week, Year 6 girls enjoyed a neuro-friendly workshop led by by Girls’ Division Year 10 Anti-Bullying Ambassadors. They explored learning differences, inclusion and what they can do to be more accepting of neurodiversity.
The whole of the Junior Girls’ School and their parents enjoyed the annual Sports Day, which this year took place in bright sunshine! There were all the usual sporting activities, and the girls had fun competing alongside and cheering on the rest of their House.
House Days
Throughout the year, the girls enjoyed working in their Houses on a variety of activities linked to Hesketh Habits on House Days. These included sessions in art, dance and poetry, eco-workshops and outdoor learning based on woodlands. They welcomed the opportunity to work with pupils across the school and getting to know people in other classes and year groups.
Communication
Shakespeare’s Eleven
In English lessons, Year 4 became football managers and selected a ‘Shakespeare’s Eleven’ football team using characters whose traits would transfer to positions of a winning football team. To check their choices, they were given an informative and interactive presentation and enjoyed a ‘To be or mot to be, that is the question’ quiz.
Volcanoes Assembly
Girls in Year 3 presented an assembly which gave lots of information about the Volcanoes topic they studied in May. The pupils were delighted with the support shown from the audience.
English Speaking Board
In June, girls in Year 6 took their ESB examinations. Everyone scored a Merit or above, with four pupils scoring a Distinction!
World Book Day
On World Book Day, book characters, both fictional and true life, took over classrooms. Year 4 pupils provided an assembly and told the tale of ‘The Story Stealer’, describing a world without the wonders of books – but there was a twist! Every child was invited to finish the tale and these ideas were used to create a story tree, showing the importance of being imaginative and creative.
Young Shakespeare
In March, Year 5 and Year 6 girls enjoyed a fabulous interactive production of ‘A Midsummer Night’s Dream’ in conjunction with the Young Shakespeare Company.
Earthshot
There was an amazing response to the School’s Earthshot competition with over 150 entries from girls in Hesketh House, resulting in many prize winners.
MFL Day
Girls enjoyed a wonderful MFL Day this year. The activities were all based on the theme of France and the Paris Olympics, and included art, music, a quiz, mini-Olympics and the very popular French café, plus lots of language work too!
Black History Month
Girls took part in a Black History Month Poster Competition. Their work was enlarged and displayed at Bolton Central Library. All the girls were awarded a special mug and the top 3 places in the competition were won by Bolton School Junior Girls!
Remembrance
For Remembrance Day, the Year 6 pupils presented a thought provoking and moving assembly attended by the rest of Hesketh House and many Year 6 parents. They spoke about the conditions faced by soldiers in World War One, the history of Armistice Day and explained why the poppy has become such an important symbol. The readings, songs and poems were a fitting tribute to those who died during the war.
Celebratory Concert
The Music Festival award winners were invited to perform in a special concert held in the arts centre. The event was filled with amazing musical talent on show as well as plenty of joy and enthusiasm.
Celebration
The Shepherd’s Story
Hamper Raffle
Congratulations to everyone who won a hamper in the raffle draw! Thank you to the PA for organising this and to everyone who donated a prize.
Christmas Disco
Dancing, games, nail painting, hair braiding and Christmas and the very popular photo booth were among the activities at the Christmas Disco, organised by the PA. There was even an elf in attendance giving out Christmas gifts! The girls had an amazing time.
Hesketh House Tales
The summer concert was thoroughly enjoyed by all who attended. The girls shared music and poetry with a great deal of enthusiasm!
Breakfast Club
The girls enjoyed their Breakfast Club organised by the Parents’ Association and their volunteers. They enjoyed a variety of treats before the start of school and made the most of the extra opportunity to socialise with friends.
The Junior Girls’ Christmas performance 2023 was ‘The Shepherd’s Story’, a tale adapted from Michael Morpurgo’s ‘On Angel’s Wings’, which tells the story of an elderly shepherd remembering the very first Christmas night when he was just a boy. The girls’ acting, singing, dancing and recitations took the audience along on the journey through his memories.
Shakespeare’s Birthday
To celebrate the Bard’s birthday on Tuesday 23 April, Year 4 examined facts about his life in a biography comprehension and an interview. They learnt about the themes of revenge, forgiveness and magic by reading an abridged version of the story ‘The Tempest’ and watching the play.
From the Head of Junior Boys
Of course I know that I am biased when it comes to talking about Park Road, but as I reflect on yet another wonderful year at the Boys’ Junior School I am filled with pride at the commitment, hard work and endeavour of the boys, staff and parents as we continue to make our school a truly great and exciting place to learn. That a great deal of hard work and learning goes on in every classroom is of course what we expect, but I am struck by the excitement that the boys show in their lessons each time I visit a classroom. Whether they are investigating a problem in Maths, reading the latest class novel, mastering their latest piece of art work or learning how to use some new tools, the level of commitment and enthusiasm for learning never fails to inspire me. It is always a pleasure when the boys are sent to me with their best work as they love to talk about what they have learnt and are rightly proud of their achievement.
Beyond the classroom we have seen a wonderful variety of activity with the boys excelling in sport, music, drama and charitable endeavour. Sport continues to have a feeling of breadth to it, with boys competing in a range of sports including hockey, rugby, water polo and, of course, football. This year the U11 swimmers reached the national finals of the ESSA relay competition, our water polo team retained the ESSA north-west cadet cup and our football, hockey and cricket teams have had some great success in their respective competitions. We continue to be highly competitive in chess with the U9 and U11 boys winning their local competition in the EPSCA event. Music has continued to grow in terms of participation and performance with a wider range of ensembles in action and the quality of music improving all the time. This year the
massed voices of Y6 joined with thousands of other children at the Young Voices event held in Manchester Arena, their dancing moves were also a sight to behold.
Our annual trips to Patterdale continue to be a real highlight for everyone and, for the most part, the weather was pretty kind to us this year. The boys always enjoy the great variety of activities on offer and it is fantastic to see them getting involved in lots of new activities and enjoying the company of their friends and teachers in a different environment.
The Year 6 production of Aladdin was most entertaining; great singing, fabulous choreography and acting and wonderful costumes came together to captivate a near full-house audience on each of the three nights. As well as being a brilliant performance in its own right, as an example of the talents and team-work the boys have developed, it is hard to surpass.
Sports Day is always a highlight of the school year for me and not just because it is on the last day! Watching the boys coming together in their Houses to cheer each other on, congratulating each other on races well run whatever the outcome, sums up the strength of community and character that we work hard to develop at Park Road.
As we close the doors on another school year I look back at all that the boys have achieved and look forward with great excitement to what fabulous opportunities lie ahead for those who remain with us at Park Road and also to those who move on to pastures new, even if they’re not so very distant. Well done and good luck boys.
Sue Faulkner
Fabulous Flatbreads
The sound of smashing plates and the Harry Lime theme filled the air as the Year 3 classrooms were turned into a Greek taverna for some food tasting. Boys tried some new and familiar things and recorded their thoughts on smell, texture and ultimately how tantalising they were on their taste buds! The boys all enjoyed trying something new and exploring new textures!
Giacometti Sculptures
Artists in Year 5 created armatures out of wire as the starting point for Giacometti inspired sculptures. They made some amazing expressive sketches responding to the Artist’s work. The boys developed new skills as they manipulated wire and tinfoil into a figure which were then covered and painted. It was tricky but the boys showed great resilience and perseverance while helping and supporting each other.
Gallery of Artistic Expression
Park Road boys had the amazing opportunity to see their work exhibited in the Arts Centre as part of the school-wide gallery review. Real world opportunities to present their work combined with the ability to connect with pupils across the school and their work are an essential part of developing creative thinking skills and understanding how learning is applied. The exhibition was the culmination of lots of different art skills.
Creativity and Portraits
The weather helped Year 4 artists create “freezing garret” conditions, this had the advantage of giving an extra layer of authenticity to Vincent van Gogh inspired portraits! The boys studied the work of Vincent van Gogh, developed detailed portrait drawing skills and posed as Vincent in photographs, before finally creating a painting in the style of van Gogh. The aim was to use small brush strokes as well as bold and vibrant colours.
Clay Club Fun!
Art
The boys from Drop-in Art Club headed to Senior School to glaze the clay pot boards they had made in Art lessons. The boys learned some good basic clay skills and collected their pots after they have been glazed. The sculptors developed their understanding of the manipulation of this media and progressed onto clay models inspired by the Park Road cockerel!
Inspired by Nature
Year 4 learned all about natural dying techniques, observational drawings and paintings from nature. They enjoyed looking at the work of William Morris to create their own nature-inspired flags. There were some great results from the tie-dyeing especially from the use of rust, and some stunning examples of teamwork. Meanwhile, boys from Year 6 went out in the school grounds and sketched the urban environment. They developed their drawing skills and learned that art can take place anywhere, asking complex questions! These kind of openended, inquisitive tasks are an important part of embedding critical thinking and developing self-directed learners.
Drama
A Whole New World!
Year 6’s Genie-us Aladdin performance left everyone wishing for more! Confidently performed by the boys, delivering pitch-perfect vocals and exhibiting exceptional talent by all! There were lots of strong vocals and the songs were well choreographed and from start to finish, Aladdin performed with effortless style. The interaction between Aladdin’s friends, along with elements of comedy, was outstanding and not to forget their vocal talents too which were showcased throughout. Jafar’s evil characteristics were totally embraced throughout - his voice was exceptional and his two side kicks, playing the role of Iago added elements of humour and sarcasm which were perfectly timed. The scene changes throughout the play were slick and seamless, with scenery looking realistic and produced to the highest quality. It was clearly obvious that a lot of time and energy had been put into the set design. When the lamp was eventually rubbed, the audience were treated to superb choreography again, which even involved a few drum fills where The Genie could show off his “Phenomenal cosmic powers.” The highlight of the evening was seeing how every boy thoroughly enjoyed his part in the production and worked together as a team. Thank you to everyone involved in making this production possible. The Year 6 boys set off to discover their own ‘new worlds’ having left their mark with such a fabulous production.
Verse Speaking Competition
This annual competition did not disappoint! There was such a range of different poems on offer, from more traditional offerings such as ‘The Owl and the Pussy Cat’ through to the more contemporary ‘Revolting Rhymes’. The boys demonstrated such great timing when delivering their verses and there was not a dry eye in the house during the finals, such comedic skills!
Romeo, Romeo..
This year’s ‘Shakespeare Week’ concentrated on the classic tragedy ‘Romeo and Juliet’. The boys really enjoyed throwing themselves into learning all about the key themes, language and all the gory bits too! They acted out scenes from the play and spent time trying to focus on voices and movement when delivering lines. The younger boys engaged with ‘Shakespeare Week’ through the film ‘Gnomeo and Juliet’ where they used AI to generate their own gnomes!
“Going for Gold!”
Year 4 travelled to Liverpool to hear the Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra at their annual school concert . This year it focused on the Paris Olympics” with all songs having a sporting link. They listened to lots of wonderful pieces of music that had been studied in lessons over the term and they also joined in singing with “Personal Best”, which was specially written for the concert. All the boys had a great time, loved seeing an orchestra right in front of their eyes and came away with lots of smiles.
Music Demonstrations
Year 5 had an African drumming workshop with Ian Bamford, concluding their topic about beats from around the world. The boys all had chance to play djembes and learned a variety of rhythms, along with how to produce different sounds on the drums. They worked well together and managed to put several rhythm patterns together with call and response. Year 4 were also lucky enough to have a brass and a percussion demonstration, hoping to inspire the next generation of musicians!
Young Voices
Year 6 loved a trip to the AO Arena to be part of the Young Voices 2024 choir, involving around 9,000 children! There were many songs and dance moves to learn but they enjoyed the experience of singing with so many other schools and joining in with pop artists. The beatboxing and disco lights went down very well too! We had brilliant seats, right next to the stage, and the boys all had a great time and sang their hearts out!
Music
Year Group Concerts
Boys continued to excel in demonstrating their musical talents! Each year group hosted a special concert showcasing the boys’ musical abilities! The audiences were treated to pieces on piano, drums, cello, violin, guitar, saxophone and even the ukulele! All classes played a piece of music on their recorders and the songs which concluded the concerts all related to topics the boys had studied in class. There was a lovely atmosphere at all the concerts, watched by very proud parents and teachers!
Music Festivals
The Upper School Choir travelled to Bury Grammar School to take part in the AJIS Music Festival. They competed against other schools and needed to sing 2 contrasting pieces. The choir performed brilliantly receiving some lovely feedback from the adjudicator. The annual Park Road Music Festival certainly did not disappoint! There were 120 entries and the adjudicator, Miss Karen Humphreys was so very impressed by the level of music happening in school. The Best Individual Performance went to a confident and impressive drum solo of ‘Stereo’.
Around School
Christmas Jumper Day
The annual tradition of ‘House Morning’ did not disappoint for the boys this year. The boys showed great commitment and camaraderie to decorate school ready for the festive period. Trying to be eco-conscious this year, the activities were designed to try and use things we already had and recycle as much as possible. Seeing the Year 6s help the Year 3s shows how caring and responsible Park Road boys are.
Hajj Workshop
In January, Year 6 had their very own Hajj workshop in the hall, led by a special, generous man who comes around to different schools every year. The boys really enjoyed it and learned a lot about the famous Islamic pilgrimage. They also learned which things they would do on each day and famous stories from the past! Afterwards, the boys got to have dates and they found them really delicious. The boys were all really thankful for the opportunity and all hoped they could do it again!
Gary the Roman Gary the Roman came to visit Year 4 and told them lots of things about life in Ancient Rome. The boys were enthralled listening to his vast knowledge and it provided a perfect introduction into their topic. The best part of the day was learning how to attack, using shields and shouting to put fear into their opponents! The boys also made a Roman oil pot out of clay!
Eco Committee
The Eco Committee continued to go from strength to strength this year with the boys undertaking a range of different tasks. Boys in gardening group planted seed potatoes in June and they were lucky enough to harvest them. They loved discovering them in the soil! After washing and sharing them, most of the boys had potatoes with their tea. Another wonderful tasks was the annual daffodil planting, this will leave a lasting legacy for the benefit of not only future pupils but also the wildlife on our premises. The boys have also completing several litter-picking walks where they were astounded by the amount of rubbish that they collected!
ICT in Action
ICT continued to be at the heart of stimulating education at Park Road, the boys have a vast array of experiences with ICT. The Year 3s start their journey with learning how to programme Spheros and then benefit from the Year 6s experience through their coding club. The ‘Genius Bar’ proved popular for anyone who would like a bit of extra help with their iPads, teachers included!
World Book Day!
The boys had a wonderful time celebrating this annual event. Inspired by the school trip to the Octagon Theatre before Christmas, to watch the fantastic production of ‘Around the World in Eighty Days,’ all staff dressed up as the iconic locations visited by Phileas Fogg including New York; London; Dublin, Paris, India; Japan; San Francisco; China; Singapore and Liverpool. In the assembly, boys had to listen carefully to Phileas Fogg’s clues to unlock his journey around the World and correctly guess the teacher dressed as the location too. In forms, boys decorated their class doors linked to a book of their choice, had class photographs to celebrate and share their costumes, shared their favourite books, listened to teachers reading them a chosen story, took part in a World Book a day BBC live lesson book and enjoyed a treasure hunt at lunch time too.
Science Experimenting!
‘I hear and I forget, I see and I remember, I do and I understand’ is a key message for Science teaching at Park Road. A range of different experiments are carefully planned to allow the boys the chance to discover things on their own, predicting and concluding are such important skills.
Sewing Club
STEM Challenge
Four of the Year 6 pupils joined with teams from 60 local primaries to participate in a STEM Challenge hosted by Bolton School Girls’ Division. The activities tested the boys’ creative design and problem solving skills across a range of disciplines and ranged from designing and making a moon lander to solving mathematical number problems. The boys all worked brilliantly together showing great teamwork, communication and perseverance when challenged. Above all though, they clearly had some fun!
Warhammer Club
Warhammer Club has gone from strength to strength this year with the boys continuing to develop their skills in strategy and logical thinking. The boys have enjoyed playing their own matches, whilst also building and painting models to enhance the game. The club promotes the boys’ communication skills, whilst drawing on their perseverance not to give up!
A new addition to the lunchtime extra-curricular provision was sewing club this year. The calm, peaceful club taught Year 4s some new skills and all the boys took home their masterpiece. Should any socks have holes in them then the boys’ new found skills will be able to be put to good use!
Primary Engineer
Well done to Park Road boys who were presented with their prizes at Manchester Metropolitan University as part of the Primary Engineer Programme. Out of over 72,000 submissions, one boy was one of the 22 winners and another received a distinction in his category. The winning invention was a device to help people who suffer from high pollen to reduce the risk of allergies.
Sport
AJIS Athletics
Boys from Years 5 and 6 travelled to Wigan to compete in the AJIS Indoor Athletics. For some, it was the first time they had competed in certain events but it was brilliant to see how they embraced the challenge and competed well for their school. They competed in a variety of different events through the afternoon and some boys even managed to win medals!
‘Movies and Musicals’
Nine boys represented school at the Bolton School’ s Dance Festival at The Albert Halls in Bolton. The boys enjoyed the afternoon not only perfecting their own Footloose dance moves, but also enjoying a range of dances by other schools taking part, including: The Lion King, Avengers, Cats and many, many more! They performed brilliantly showing great energy and an infectious enthusiasm with their dance moves, putting everything into their final performance.
Chess Success
Chess continued to be a highlight of the boys’ lives at Park Road! In November, Park Road hosted the annual AJIS chess competition where the region’s finest chess players gathered to battle to see who would emerge victorious. The boys all played at least five games of chess in their respective age categories, in some tense and high-skilled matches. As the dust settled and the results came in, the Bolton Boys’ team emerged as joint winners alongside old adversaries, Manchester Grammar School. In March, the U11 and U9 chess teams took part in the EPSCA Chess Tournament at Park Road. Nine other schools, including the girls of Hesketh House, gave battle to become the champions and the boys of Bolton School rose to the challenge. The U9 team emerged victorious in first place, whilst the U11s finished a respectable 3rd in what was the toughest competition seen in many a year.
Cricket
A valiant effort from our U11 AJIS cricket team saw them nearly hold off a run chase by King’s Macclesfield. The game was tied going into the last over and, unfortunately for our boys, King’s Macclesfield grabbed a quick single with only four balls left. After a very positive run in the AJIS cup, our boys were sadly knocked out in the semi-final.
ESSA Swimming
Four boys from Year 6 travelled to Sheffield to take part in the annual English School Swimming Association relay championships. After taking in their surroundings and undertaking a warm up, the boys finished the afternoon with two PBs in both the 4x25m freestyle relay and the 4x25 medley relay. This was a wonderful achievement considering the standard of other swimmers. The boys really did their absolute best! Other swimming success came in the form of the same boys representing Greater Manchester in the regional gala.
Cross Country Running
Year 5 and 6 runners took part in the Moss Bank Cross Country League, with 210 boys running in total! The boys ran extremely well and showed great sportsmanship encouraging each other as a team, managing to achieve first place in the Cross Country League. They then competed in the Greater Manchester Cross Country Championships at Heaton Park in Manchester where, again they competed fabulously, showing determination and resilience to succeed.
Hockey
In March the hockey team travelled to Chester to take part in a tournament with the North West’s finest hockey teams. The boys played in three closely contested games and finished the tournament in 3rd place. One of our players was given the Man of the Match award three times by the opposing team for his mesmerising midfield displays. Some boys from each year group competed in the hockey festival, held at the Leverhulms Pavillion. They played in a number of competitive matches with a focus on enjoyment and learning new skills.
Football
Football continued to be a central part of Park Road life this year. At the start of the year, the U11 team started their season with a double victory at Bury Grammar School, with both teams putting in excellent performances and scoring some brilliant individual and team goals.
Nine boys from Year 4 battled through the wind and rain to take part in the Bolton Schools’ Football Festival last week. They played very well over the course of the group matches, improving every game and finished with a 1-0 win in their final match.
We had an exciting fixture for the Year 4 pupils as they all travelled to King’s School in Macclesfield to take part in four football fixtures. A calm journey meant the boys were well rested and ready for the challenge ahead. It was amazing to see plenty of smiling faces and some excellent football skills.
Eight boys were lucky enough to take part in the first Year 4 Everton Youth Academy Festival at Finch Farm. The boys played some of their best football, narrowly missing out on topping the group. An excellent morning of football at one of the best training facilities in the country.
Rugby Fun
The boys have enjoyed lots of opportunities to show of their rugby skills, from year 4 up to Year 6 including our very own Challenge Cup! The boys showed how much they have taken on board in rugby training sessions by demonstrating some super attacking and defensive plays.
Pickleball
A new introduction to the Park Road extra-curricular timetable came in the form of ‘Pickleball’. Fast becoming one of the most popular racket sports in the world, pickleball combines elements of tennis, badminton, and ping-pong. Players can play as both singles and doubles, using paddles to hit a plastic ball between them. The boys really enjoyed the challenge of a new sport and it was a very popular club!
Squash Taster
Fabulous Fishermen! Another after-school highlight is ‘Angling Club’ where some Year 5 and 6 boys learn new skills and try and catch the biggest fish! The boys worked towards achieving awards to show they had mastered different skills and their commitment, resilience and enthusiasm was praised by the instructors.
A coach from Markland Hill came to show the Year 4s how to play squash. The boys loved the rebounding nets and were amazed to see how hard the game was! Boys who already played tennis were able to use their super hand-eye coordination to great effect. An introduction to a new sport hopefully inspired some new recruits!
Charity
Concert Collection
The Christmas and Spring Concert collections were for one cause: the Hesketh House Building Together project, which supports the development of a school in Malawi.
Children in Need
The famous charity was supported by both staff and boys alike through wearing spotty accessories. Different activities were completed to show support for this wonderful cause.
The Diana Award
The boys and staff enjoyed celebrating World Mental Health Day by taking part in ‘Hello Yellow’. Wearing different items of yellow clothing really brightened up everyone’s mood! A variety of different activities took place throughout the day, the highlight being the ‘Hello Yellow Photo Booth!’
The Diana Award Anti-Bullying Programme raises awareness of bullying behaviour and supports schools and young people to tackle it across the UK and beyond. Park Road boys and teachers became ‘Anti-Bullying Ambassadors’ and even had a dance along the way!
Hello Yellow
River Deep!
Year 5 spent a super day at Ordsall Hall in Salford learning all about Tudor life. The day started in ‘The Great Hall’ where lords, ladies, merchants, farmers and a jester all sat down to dine. Following an introduction to Tudor life, they learned all about the Lord and Lady of the Hall. The boys made their own posies, choosing their own herbs and scents. The Tudors believed lovely smells would keep bad things away!
Year 6 donned their flat caps and tucked their trousers into socks and became Victorian mill workers for the day at Quarry Bank Mill. They learned all about Victorian life, from the food that workers ate, to the various jobs and machines needed. They saw the machinery in action and learned about the dangers Victorian children would have faced when working on them.
York
During the October half-term, Year 6 adventurers embarked on a three-day excursion to York. The boys visited a variety of locations, including York Minster and The Jorvik Viking Centre. Their busy days culminated with an evening of tenpin bowling and also a spooky ghost walk around the cobbled streets of the ancient city. Their final destination was the incredible ‘Forbidden Corner’ where the boys solved puzzles and navigated a maze!
Trips and Visits
Year 6 boys embarked on a half-day trip to Cuerden Valley as part of the Geography curriculum. The boys pulled on their wellies and enjoyed a range of activities to learn more about river processes and the wildlife living in and around it. They went river dipping to find living creatures to test how clean the water is and even had a duck race to test the speed of the river. The boys impressed the educational leaders at Cuerden Valley with their technical vocabulary and were able to apply their knowledge from the classroom into real life experiences. Despite the wet weather a great time was had by all!
Challenge workshops
Many boys deepened their understanding of English, Maths and Science this year. Attending a workshop run by North West Gifted and Talented, the boys were given challenging problems, designed to promote discussion and resilience. The Year 4 maths workshop encouraged the boys to discover π!
Climate Change in Action
Year 4 had a fabulous time at Martin Mere. They learned the difference between climate and weather and impressed the ranger with their vast knowledge of climate change! Watching the otters being fed was a highlight. Time on the adventure playground was a blast, and fun on the umbrella swing and zip wires was the perfect way to let off steam before they enjoyed a walk around the park.
‘Carried by the Wind’ Boys in Years 4, 5 and 6 watched a play by Goofus Theatre, performed entirely without words and using puppets, masks and music. Many boys asked insightful questions and were engaged with this different way of storytelling. Year 3 also took part in ‘The Conference of Birds’, an interactive retelling of an ancient Sufi poem.
Walk like an Egyptian!
Right at the end of the year, Year 3 had the pleasure of visiting Bolton Museum to learn more about Ancient Egypt. They also had the exciting opportunity to visit the aquarium and the newly refurbished library! The boys had a fantastic time and really wowed the tour guide with their knowledge. They even got to see a few mummies (not just our parent helpers)!
The Wonderful Wizard of Oz!
Some Year 6s saw ‘The Wizard of Oz’ at The Palace Theatre in Manchester. There was a starstudded cast and the songs and dancing were out of this world. The boys were on the edge of their seats through the performance, even jumping out of them at times.
Terrible Tudors!
Quarry Bank Mill