Junior Girls' Review 2018-19

From the Head...

I hope that you will enjoy looking through the pages of this Review, which offers a snapshot of life at Hesketh House. Alongside their more formal studies, we pride ourselves on offering a wide range of activities for the girls, including valuable experiences outside the classroom. Opportunities to try something new are seized with enthusiasm and the girls really embrace these additional challenges. Important skills such as determination, resilience and perseverance are developed and nurtured and everyone is encouraged to ‘have a go’. Hopefully we inspire the girls to become not only well-educated, but well-balanced, self-confident and interesting individuals, with a desire to learn more and push themselves out of their comfort zone on occasion.

We also have a lot of fun along the way!

Laverick

Carol

Ambassadors

Year 6 girls have once again provided the Junior Girls’ School with invaluable assistance throughout the year by acting as Ambassadors. All pupils in their final year at Hesketh House take up this post for one term and enjoy the additional responsibilities that it brings.

Ambassadors help out with many aspects of school life and reflect the values of the Junior Girls’ School: respect, honesty, kindness, resilience and responsibility. They welcome guests on Open Morning and provide interesting tours that give a pupil’s view of the school. They also act as young leaders, helping out teachers when needed and becoming important role models to younger pupils.

Spring Term Ambassadors

Autumn Term Ambassadors

Summer Term Ambassadors

Music and Drama

Singing Success

Members of the Choir in Years 4, 5 and 6 took part in the Ramsbottom Music Festival. They finished in joint first place after a magical performance of two pop hits: ‘Glorious’ by David Archuleta and Clean Bandit’s hit ‘Symphony’. Choir members in Years 3 and 6 also sang at the AJIS Music Festival and received positive comments from the adjudicator.

Celebration of Music

Young musicians had a chance to shine at the annual Music Festival, which showcased the wide variety of musical talent at Hesketh House across two days. Almost one hundred girls gave individual performances, with even more involved in the Ensembles class! A Beginners class ensured that all levels of ability were included and celebrated.

Olivia Year 6 pupils put on a show with the feel-good musical ‘Olivia’, a fresh take on ‘Oliver Twist’ by Charles Dickens, which charts a downtrodden orphan’s journey to become a star of the stage! The performance explored the world of Victorian London, introduced a host of famous fictional and historical figures and delighted audiences with humour and song.

Drama Workshop

Girls in Year 6 enjoyed a day of drama with ‘Coronation Street’ actor Melissa Johns. Together they worked through a series of fun and engaging activities and particularly enjoyed working in groups to create a series of ‘freeze frames’ to tell a fairy tale.

Travelling by Tuba

The whole school learned about musical instruments from around the world with the Travelling by Tuba duo. The interactive concert was fun from start to finish and allowed pupils to get involved and try their hand at playing some of the more unusual instruments.

The Shepherd’s Story

Adapted from Michael Morpugo’s book ‘On Angel Wings’, the Junior Girls’ version of the nativity was a story told by an old shepherd who was the very first visitor to the newborn baby Jesus. This Christmas performance combined clear narration, great acting and entertaining songs, including the traditional French carol ‘Entre Le Boeuf Et L’âne Gris’.

Gala Concert

The Joint Gala Concert at Manchester’s Bridgewater Hall brought together musical talent from across the Bolton School Foundation for a stunning evening performance. Sixty Junior Girls formed the Hesketh House Choir for this event, performing a sensational rendition of Clean Bandit’s hit ‘Symphony’. The girls also sang with the massed choirs for the grand finale: ‘A Tribute to the Beatles’.

Tales of Hesketh House

The Summer Concert allowed pupils to share the variety and humour of school life with the audience. Uplifting songs, funny poetry recitals and interesting facts about the history of education weaved together to form an entertaining snapshot of life at the Junior Girls’ School.

Special Occasions

Engines Off!

Year 4 pupil Harriet launched a campaign encouraging parents to switch off their car engines while waiting for their children at the end of the school day. She wrote to her headteacher Mrs Laverick about her concerns regarding air pollution and its effect both on the environment and on everyone’s health. The ‘Engines Off!’ campaign then spread across the whole of Bolton School. Junior Girls reiterated this message on Greater Manchester’s Clean Air Day in June.

Careers Carousel

Year 6 pupils were joined by their counterparts from the Junior Boys’ School for an afternoon learning about potential career paths and skills that are valued in the workplace. Old Girl Samantha Williams described working as a graphic designer while Old Boys Andy Walton and Dr Ashish Chaudry talked about working in the police force and as a GP. Pupils also learned about the exciting work environment at UKFast.

European Day of Languages

Girls shared the languages they speak at home on European Day of Languages through nursery rhymes, songs, poems, story books and special objects. Pupils also learned a song in five languages on the day’s theme, ‘We all Smile in the same Language’.

Bolton Children’s Fiction Award

Girls in Year 6 took part in the Bolton Children’s Fiction Award and spent the year reading the six shortlisted books and voting for their favourites. They attended the Award Ceremony, where Penny Joelson’s book ‘I Have No Secrets’ was announced as the winner, and enjoyed a book signing and sessions with authors Natasha Farrant and Juliette Forrest as part of the occasion.

Taste of Italy

On this year’s Modern Foreign Languages (MFL) Day, pupils were whisked away from their usual timetables for a day celebrating the language and culture of Italy. The girls learned to count to twenty in Italian, built their own ‘leaning towers’, made masks for the Venetian Carnival, discovered more about the Italian love story Romeo and Juliet, researched to create information maps and wrote Italian messages in hand-made Valentine’s Day cards.

Makers of Mischief

The Junior Girls became ‘Makers of Mischief’ on Roald Dahl Day. Pupils were invited to celebrate the master storyteller’s birthday by making party hats and entering into the spirit of celebration with stories, reading and imagination.

Remembrance Day

The Junior Girls commemorated the 100th anniversary of the signing of the Armistice at the end of the First World War with a special assembly led by Year 6. The year group created poppy artwork for the assembly and in their language lessons wrote French poems describing ‘un poilu’ (a French soldier).

World Book Day

Year 4 led a special assembly for World Book Day by presenting the story of ‘The Friendly Giant’ and its important message: don’t judge a book by its cover!

Pupils also dressed up as fictional characters for the day which gave everyone plenty of opportunities to talk about and share their favourite stories.

Writing Retreat

Eight young writers from Years 5 and 6 joined a group of Senior Girls for a week of creative writing at Patterdale Hall, which included a boat trip and a walk to Aira Force to get the creative thoughts flowing. The girls worked on both poetry and prose and were inspired by other poets, the natural surroundings of the Lake District and each other.

Sports

Athletics

Junior Girls took part in two AJIS Athletics competitions this year. At the Indoor Sportshall event in January, the Year 5-6 team achieved the most successful performance yet, winning fifteen medals between them. The summer outdoor competition saw many girls reach the finals in their events and the team returned with two more medals for the collection. The team also won silver medals in the Bolton Schools’ Athletics Championships.

Basketball

A team played in the Bolton Schools’ Mixed Basketball Competition following a few practice sessions during netball club. The girls absolutely loved the experience and won five out of their seven games to come third overall.

Swimming

At the Bolton Primary Schools’ Competition, Year 5 swimmers came first overall and were selected to represent Bolton at the Manchester School Games, where they qualified for four out of six finals and came away with a gold medal! A Year 5 and Year 6 team attended the AJIS Swimming Gala where they made the finals in twelve events out of fourteen, including both medley and freestyle relays. Swimmers also competed in the ESSA North West Division Relay Championships.

Cross Country

The Year 3/4 and Year 5/6 teams won the Bolton Schools’ Cross Country Championships in April after both teams earned first and second place in their respective races! Despite difficult conditions at the annual AJIS competition, the girls put in a fantastic effort and the Year 6 team came second overall. The girls also ran brilliantly throughout the year to win the Bolton Cross Country League. Four pupils were selected to represent Bolton at the Greater Manchester Cross Country Championships.

Water Polo

The Junior Girls and Junior Boys joined forces for a number of mixed fixtures this year. The highlight was no doubt entering three teams in the English Schools’ Swimming Association U11s Cadet Tournament: the A Team won the trophy while the B Team came second and the C Team took fourth place.

Football

The football team put in a great effort in their fixtures this year, playing at both the AJIS Football Festival and the Bolton Schools’ Football Festival.

Olympic Inspiration

Year 6 pupils were invited hear from Olympians Beth Tweddle and Eilish McColgan when the two athletes visited Bolton School as keynote speakers at the national GSA Girls’ Go Gold sports conference hosted by the Girls’ Division. Beth and Eilish recapped their inspirational careers and girls had the chance to hold their surprisingly heavy medals while posing for photographs.

Sports Day

The weather was beautiful for the annual Sports Day! Many parents came along to cheer the girls on in their events and activities, which included traditions like the sack race and egg and spoon race alongside sprints, long jump and an obstacle relay.

Netball

Throughout the year girls in all age groups have enjoyed netball matches against a variety of local opponents. The Year 6 team took second place in the Bolton Schools’ Netball Tournament following a very closely fought final that required extra time. This qualified them to represent Bolton at the Greater Manchester School Games. Despite a poor start, losing to Oldham Hulme, they went on to win every other match all the way to the final. Once again facing Oldham Hulme, the girls were nervous but battled hard to emerge victorious as Greater Manchester Netball Champions!

Charity

Selection Box Challenge

The Junior Girls helped with Bolton School’s annual Hamper Challenge, providing Urban Outreach with tasty ingredients to fill their festive Christmas hampers for those in need. Pupils across the Foundation not only smashed their target and collected a total of 2,782 selection boxes, but were also able to make an additional donation of £202.40.

Concert Collections

Retiring collections were held at the Christmas and Summer Concerts to raise over £1,000 in support the Junior Girls’ chosen charity: Chisomo Children’s Club in Malawi, which aims to bring about longterm change in the lives of children living and begging on the streets. Over the past few years, the Junior Girls have built strong links with this charity through Mrs Marsden’s involvement with Chisomo.

Harvest

The annual Harvest Celebration led by the Charity Representatives focused on the origins of harvest and the importance of sharing what we have with those in need: messages echoed by guests Mr Baggley from Urban Outreach and former teacher Mrs Head. Donations made by girls and their families were given to local charity Urban Outreach.

BOLTON

Children in Need

The Junior Girls raised £384.81 for Children in Need by decorating their school bags with colourful spots. There were some amazing creations from pupils and the spotty bags brightened up the whole school for the day.

Charity Afternoon

Pupils in Year 6 girls worked hard to organise and run the annual Charity Afternoon. The stalls sold a variety of treats to eat, drink and enjoy and pupils could also play games to raise even more money for good causes.

Comic Relief

Pupils attended school wearing their own clothes with a red theme – and of course lots of Red Nose Day accessories – to raise money for Comic Relief. The donations raised just over £340 for the charity.

Learning Challenges

Chess

Hesketh House once again entered teams into the EPSCA National Schools’ Chess Championship. The U9s and U11s earned podium positions in the initial round and qualified for the semi-finals in Prestatyn. The U9s finished in the ‘Silver’ category of the tournament while the U11s were placed in the ‘Bronze’ group following a tricky set of second day matches. Three teams also played in the regional round of the ECF National Schools’ Team Championship: the A Team won the competition and earned a place in the national final, where they finished in sixth place. There was excellent play in all categories at the AJIS Chess competition in November, with six pupils returning with medals and one girl winning the U11A cup. The Bolton League saw impressive chess played throughout the year; lots of girls achieved individual medals and teams won first place on several occasions.

Discovering Rainforests

Pupils in Year 5 travelled to Chester Zoo as part of their work on rainforests. They enjoyed a talk about rainforests which included information about how they can help to save these unique habitats.

Victorian Workshop

Pupils in Year 6 learned about the Rainhill Trials of 1829 and the invention of locomotives and the railway in a workshop about the Victorian period. They also found out about Morse Code and the development of photography and re-enacted the coronation of Queen Victoria.

Young Mathematicians

A team of pupils took part in the first two rounds of the National Young Mathematicians’ Awards. Their problem solving abilities and teamwork skills alike were put to the test by this challenging competition.

Vikings!

Pupils in Year 5 were delighted to welcome a Viking visitor to introduce one of their topics. The girls looked at Viking artefacts, heard all about life in Viking times, listened to some traditional Viking tales and even witnessed some ‘Viking magic’! History and mathematics lessons were combined in an architecture session which challenged pupils to work together to create a Viking longboat and an AngloSaxon roundhouse, discovering more about 2D and 3D shapes and these ancient civilisations along the way.

The Second World War

Year 6 spent the year discovering more about the Second World War. They enjoyed creating and playing their own board games based on the time period, while a visit to Stockport Air Raid Shelters helped them to experience life on the Home Front. The girls also met Old Boy John Kohorn, who told the incredible story of his family’s journey to England to escape Nazi persecution in 1939, and WW2 veteran George Davies, who shared his experiences as an RAF fighter bomber and navigator during the war.

Parents’ Association

Breakfast Club

Members of the Parents’ Association welcomed girls to school in November with a delicious selection of food and drinks as part of the annual Breakfast Club. Pupils enjoyed socialising over breakfast with their friends before the school day.

Easter Bingo

Pupils really enjoyed Easter Bingo sessions! Everyone who took part was given a crème egg, with the winners receiving larger Easter Egg prizes.

Christmas Hampers

Thank to generous donations, the PA put together eleven hampers filled with luxurious gifts for their Christmas raffle.

Leavers’ Party

The PA once again organised a fantastic farewell for Year 6 girls who departed Hesketh House at the end of the school year. Canapés, mocktails and a DJ were all part of the fun, and the Oscars Award Ceremony was the highlight of the evening.

World’s Biggest Coffee Morning

The Parents’ Association hosted part of the ‘World’s Biggest Coffee Morning’ and invited parents to join them in the hall at the start of the school day to raise money for Macmillan Cancer Support. The event raised £320.94 for the charity.

Disco Dancing

One of the last events of the Autumn Term was the popular Christmas Disco. Pupils danced the night away and also enjoyed party games, the chocolate tombola, the sweet stall and pamper sessions at the nail bar.

Spring Fair

The Spring Fair is always one of the highlights of the school year and 2019 was no exception. There was fun to be had at the photobooth, netball shooting and rodeo bull and prizes up for grabs at the tombola and raffle. There was also lots of tasty food on offer, from pizzas and pasties to ice cream, pancakes and sweets.

Patterdale Hall

Pupils in Years 4, 5 and 6 visited Patterdale Hall in the Lake District to take part in a packed programme of outdoor activities: gorge walking, canoeing, low ropes, climbing, kayaking, sailing, archery, bush craft, paddle boarding and more! Year 6 had the added challenge of working on the John Muir Conservation Award during their time at Patterdale.

Outdoor Learning

Adrenaline Centre

A group of girls in Year 5 visited The Adrenaline Centre in Rossendale for a ‘Grip and Go’ session. They thoroughly enjoyed exploring the various climbing walls.

Ski Trip

Forty pupils enjoyed an action-packed week of skiing in Claviere during the February half term. The weather was beautiful and the snow conditions were excellent. In addition to daily ski lessons, the girls also enjoyed a pizza night, karaoke, bingo night, quiz, bowling and skidoo rides.

Bikeability

The whole of Year 6 took part in Bikeability sessions to learn safe cycling skills, encourage a healthy lifestyle, boost confidence and develop independence. Everyone passed the Level 1 course and most achieved their Level 2 award as well.

Outdoor Learning Day

Year 3 developed their teamwork and communication skills through a carousel of outdoor learning activities designed to prepare them for their future trips to Patterdale Hall. The day included team building activities and orienteering.

Roman shields (scuta) made using decorative designs inspired by Roman gods, wings, eagles and lightning bolts (Year 4)

Can the Earth shake, rattle and roll? Chalk pastel pictures to complement the Year 3’s lessons on volcanoes and earthquakes

Patterns in the rainforest using watercolours (Year 5)

The Study of the Blue Majestic Tiger (Year 5)