Girls' Division Magazine 2021-22

This edition of the Girls’ Division Magazine, brings us to the end of an exciting year, which has marked our first full year in school since 2019 and my first year as Head. You will see that in ‘getting back to normal’ this has also been a year of firsts and we were particularly thrilled to launch the inaugural Platt Fisher lecture. You can read more about Dr Sheila Fisher and the first event on pages 4-5. This year has afforded us much celebration in a whole host of ways: we enjoyed celebrating the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee and held assemblies, competitions, and charity events across the School, as well as sharing our experiences of life in the reign of Elizabeth II with our Old Girls and local community at the Jubilee Tea in the Riley. Our own anniversary was also celebrated with our

first Founders Assembly led by Head of Foundation Mr Britton, and you can read about this aspect of our history on page 7.

I am immensely proud of all we have achieved this year and this edition is testament to the spirit and determination of all our pupils. I am so pleased that our students have been able to participate in trips, sports and outdoor pursuits once again. On page 20 Miss Lindle has given a full summary of all we have on offer for outdoor adventuring whilst pages 44 to 51 chart our sporting endeavours and successes over the three terms. As ever, we have had a creative year showcasing pupils’ talent with a host of wonderful drama, music, art and design. The year closed with an uplifting production of ‘Matilda’ which was enjoyed by pupils, staff and their families across the Foundation.

It is an absolute privilege to be Head of a school where pupils are so committed to making the most of the opportunities our staff work hard to offer; I look forward to seeing what the next year will bring.

Mrs Lynne Kyle Head of Girls’ Division

THE PLATT FISHER

April saw the beginnings of a new tradition. Mrs Kyle was delighted to inaugurate the Platt Fisher Lecture in her first year as Head of Girls’ Division. This annual public talk aims to inspire, and began with an address from its namesake: Old Girl Dr Sheila Fisher (née Platt, Class of 1970).

Dr Fisher took the audience on a captivating review of the many roles she has held in her life so far: maxillofacial surgeon, wife and mother, Bolton School Governor, minister and more.

Her school years had a huge impact: she said of her primary school headteacher, ‘Without his inspiration, I wouldn’t be standing here.’ Her time in the Girls’ Division gave her so much more than a good academic education: not only lifelong hobbies and friendships, but also the school’s ethos and the confidence to believe in herself. ‘Much is required of those to whom much is given’, a line in the school prayer, describes an attitude she has carried throughout her life.

She offered the audience advice for ‘the time life goes pear-shaped’ through her own, deeply personal experience of losing two uncles to cancer while her father became seriously ill. She knew she somehow had to find a place within cancer treatment, but didn’t achieve the

grades to study medicine as planned. She accepted an offer to study dentistry, and in her final year discovered the field of maxillofacial surgery, which required a dental degree in addition to full surgical training! She therefore encouraged the audience to recognise their dreams and never give up on them.

The next decade of surgical training was everything she had dreamed of, particularly because it was a time of revolutionary inventions and innovations within the field, and she was at the forefront.

She recapped her career as a surgeon, eventually becoming a consultant, training surgeons and pioneering new techniques. She also talked about her ‘very different but equally rewarding second career’ when she took a senior lectureship position at Leeds.

Dr Fisher spoke in depth about working in a male-dominated profession: only once in her entire career was she interviewed against a woman. Dr Fisher noted that, despite much progress, ingrained perceptions and misogyny are unfortunately not dead, but also that working with men has been a real pleasure! She advised girls to gain respect in male-dominated spheres by showing commitment and skill to prove they are not just a token presence.

LECTURE

She talked about asking herself after she married, ‘Was I Mrs Fisher, the wife, or Miss Platt, the surgeon in training?’ and posed the question of women’s identity in the workplace, encouraging girls to think about the role this plays in society before making the decision for themselves.

On balancing work with motherhood, she said, ‘It may be controversial of me, but I certainly feel that for me, and for many other women, you’re actually better following your own vocation’. However, she described her children as her ‘greatest blessing’. She was determined to have time with them and therefore worked flexibly: finding alternative ways of doing the job fully, but making it work for her. Finally, Dr Fisher addressed retirement, not as stepping back but as a time when there is ‘so much to offer, so much still to do, so much more life to be lived to the full’. This time the unexpected element was Covid, and she spoke about helping with the vaccination programme. She also mentioned her work in ministry and her position on the Bolton School Board of Governors. Looking towards the next decade, as a Trustee of Wigan and Leigh Hospice, Dr Fisher hopes to see the amazing end of life care that is available in hospice brought to the wider world.

Addressing the young people in the audience, Dr Fisher said: ‘Know yourself. Know what matters most to you. Value your friends. Go for your dreams and never be afraid to pursue the opportunities that life offers. Treat others, and treat our world gently and with respect, and always strive to do good for others as well as for yourself. Despite the challenges of today, and we don’t live in an easy world, we know that, you are the ones who hold our hopes for a better world, and you all have the skill and the confidence to make it so. So, I wish you all every blessing as you go forward, learning from your own lives.’

In answering audience questions, Dr Fisher spoke about the impact of luck on her life, and advised those listening to go for the opportunities that present themselves. She enthusiastically recommended medicine as a career, emphasizing the need to build relationships and trust. Her final piece of advice was to ‘prove that you’re good, always be courteous, always be firm’ and ‘try to work with people’, while never giving up on your dreams.

Following the huge success of the Platt Fisher Lecture, Dr Fisher returned to speak with an incredible turnout of 75 girls from the School’s Dymond Society, and a more intimate Sixth Form aspiringmedic group.

Watch the inaugural Platt Fisher Lecture:

JUBILEE CELEBRATIONS!

Alongside the rest of the United Kingdom, Bolton School marked Queen Elizabeth II’s Platinum Jubilee in June of 2022. The celebrations actually began several weeks before the Jubilee weekend itself with the planting of Jubilee trees as part of the Queen’s Green Canopy throughout May. Eco-clubs and pupils right across the School planted 33 Jubilee trees across the campus: Wild Cherry, Lemon

Balm, Rowan, Oak, Horn Beam and Beech trees have been planted as part of the programme.

Sixth Form Girls also organised a special Jubilee Tea at the Riley, which saw large numbers of local residents bring in Jubilee and royal regalia dating back to the Queen’s coronation in 1953. Guests enjoyed a themed tea party, featuring Coronation Chicken sandwiches, Patriotic Meringues and Platinum Jubilee Trifle,

and shared their memories of the Queen’s unprecedented 70-year reign.

The following day, the whole of both Senior Schools listened to an online Jubilee Assembly by Head of Foundation Philip Britton who, along with the Head Girl and Captain of School, reflected on all that had happened over the 70 years that the Queen has been on the throne.

Watch the Jubilee Assembly:

Founders & Benefactors

The Girls’ Division for the first time held a Founders and Benefactors Assembly, led by Head of Foundation Mr Philip Britton. As this was the inaugural event in the Girls’ Division, Mr Britton began by explaining that this assembly honours the many figures in Bolton School’s history who have helped to create and shape the school into the Foundation that exists today. It is held on or close to 7 May to commemorate the date of the death of one of Bolton School’s foremost benefactors: Lord Leverhulme.

Mr Britton went on to note the long and distinguished history of the Foundation, which stretches back to the founding of a school for boys in Bolton in 1516. Since then, the schools that became the Boys’ and Girls’ Divisions have been refounded on a number of occasions.

The most significant date for the Girls’ Division is the founding of Bolton’s first girls’ school in 1877. Mr Britton invited a number of girls to speak at the podium, to give context to this period.

The girls spoke about the wider world in 1877, which coincidentally was also a Jubilee year: the Ruby anniversary of Queen Victoria’s ascension to the throne. It was also the year

which saw ‘Black Beauty’ published, ‘Swan Lake’ performed for the first time, and the first test match between England and Australia. At the time, Bolton was a boom town, with buildings springing up along Chorley New Road and Chorley Old Road and industry thriving; but with great wealth came increased wealth gaps and great poverty.

Mary Haslam, whose husband was a governor of Bolton’s boys’ school and who was also involved in the Women’s Suffrage movement, was one of the key figures involved in the founding of Bolton Girls’ Day School in 1877. Initially located at the Mechanics Institute and employing just one schoolmistress, it was notably open to all girls, regardless of their class. Bolton Girls’ Day School quickly became Bolton High School for Girls and in 1891 moved to a site on Park Road, where the Junior Boys’ School stands today. This school would go on to join with Bolton Grammar School for Boys in 1915 to become the Girls’ and Boys’ Divisions of Bolton School.

Looking back, Mr Britton drew out a few important themes, the first of which was the disgrace that the town’s girls’ school was established so recently in our history, some 361 years after a school for boys. He also reiterated the importance of Mary Haslam,

who decided to do something about the inequality she saw around her in Victorian England. With a group of friends, both men and women, she created a school for girls at this pivotal moment of change in the country’s history.

The audience was invited to join in with singing ‘Jerusalem’ and the School Song, ‘If God Build Not The House’, which was commissioned for the 80th Anniversary, paraphrasing Psalm 127 and with music written by a local composer.

Mrs Kyle offered up a few words celebrating the enormous contribution that teachers at Bolton School have made to the school’s pupils over the years, and also led the assembly through the School Prayer.

The Head Girl gave thanks on behalf of the pupils for those who have contributed to the school: John Barton, the Benefactor who first founded the school for boys in Bolton; Robert Lever, whose benefaction led to the Civil War refoundation of the boys’ school in 1644; Mary Haslam, whose vision with others founded Bolton’s school for girls in 1877; William Hesketh Lever, Lord Leverhulme, who is largely responsible for the current 1915 Foundation and buildings of the school; and many others through the years.

YEAR 7

What a fabulous year for the Year 7 team!

We got off an unusual start as the Covid-19 pandemic disrupted the students’ induction, meaning they were only able to get to know their form tutors and new forms over Zoom and the dreaded ‘breakout rooms.’ So, when they arrived on the netball courts in September it was quite a daunting experience for all. Despite these challenges they threw themselves into their first day, receiving their planners and iPads and playing ice breaker games with their tutor and form and of course getting to know their way around the school building. They were also able to enjoy some of the legendary Girls’ Division assemblies in the run up to Christmas.

The highlights during the first term included the Autumn concert, where the students performed together for the first time and showed exceptional musical talent. They also went on their first residential trip to the beautiful Patterdale Hall in November where they took part in a day’s hiking, team games, canoeing as well as experiencing the famous ‘Patterdale Porridge’ and singing along to ‘The Greatest Showman’! Hopefully this will be the first of many wonderful trips.

There have been many occasions where the girls have gone out of their way to help others and one of the highlights of this was when they raised £2,139 for Centrepoint with their annual Sponsored Silence. Who would have known that some of them could keep quiet for longer than 5 minutes!

Moving into the Spring and Summer terms, there has been something for everyone to get involved with. We have been delighted to see Year 7 taking part in a range of outdoor activities including sailing, orienteering, water polo and stand up paddle boarding! The year group has also been well represented in the school’s Choir and Music Groups, and many pupils recently performed at the May Serenade. Some have also caught the acting bug, taking part in the school’s production of Matilda which is promised to be the highlight of the Summer Term.

It has been wonderful to see all girls settle into Bolton School life and experience all it has to offer. We have loved being a part of their first year. We cannot wait to see them flourish and thrive as they move up the school, and we wish them all the best of luck as they move into Year 8.

We also remember one member of Year 7 who sadly passed away in December: we will always remember Anastasia Costello as a kind and spirited classmate with a wonderful sense of humour. Recently, many of the year group attended a memorial concert organised by her parents to remember Anastasia.

Mrs James & Mrs Holliday

Year 7 Year Tutors

Author Anne Fine spoke to the whole of Year 7 about her books

8B:

The highlight for us has been that our year group has finally been able to be together after the separation and home school of Year 7. Friendships developed – some old, some new – and being able to mix was what we had all missed in our first year. The long-awaited trip to Patterdale brought us closer together. Sporting fixtures were back on too and this meant that Year 8 girls could represent the school in netball, hockey lacrosse, tennis, climbing, water polo and football. Performing Arts events and live audiences were another welcome return to normality. Lunchtime clubs have been keeping us busy too and interform competitions have fostered a spirit of competition and team building. Year 8 has given us the chance to succeed in all areas of school life and to contribute more to the school community.

8S:

Our class have had many memorable moments. Firstly, we won inter-form Netball and Lacrosse, which everyone enjoyed playing in. Another top moment came when we were isolating and we created the pepper cult as well as the shrimp group, where we all changed our Zoom backgrounds to shrimp. Even when we were working from home, 8S have been able to keep our form spirit! We have all loved Year 8 and we are looking forward to Year 9, especially the Duke of Edinburgh award.

8G:

8G has had a fantastic year, from winning the inter-form maths challenge to the great teamwork and support in the inter-form lacrosse. As a result of the hard work and determination, we came second in the interform netball competition. We’re are looking forward to future competition and sports fixtures. 8G supported the WWF charity with a sell-out sweet sale raising a lot of money! What great work from 8G’s charity representatives and all the volunteers!

8C:

Many interesting things have happened this year, thank you to Bolton School. We have had many fun projects such as our RS and English videos. Patterdale was great fun as it gave us a chance to have fun with our friends. There were many challenges held this year, including the Wellgood maths competition which we won. There has always been something going on in Year 8 every day, creating great memories that we will all cherish.

8D:

Highlights of the year for 8D include the trip to Patterdale because we got to develop our team building skills. We went kayaking and we all fell in! We loved hosting a sweet sale and raising money for charity. We loved our sailing trip even though the water was freezing! As a form, we have thoroughly enjoyed all the activities available this year.

YEAR 8

YEAR 9

It has been wonderful to return to see life in Year 9 return to ‘normal’ after such disruption due to Covid. It is safe to say that students in Year 9 have certainly embraced everything School has had to offer in terms of enrichment and extracurricular activities! It is pleasing to see so many pupils getting involved in the Middle School drama productions and embracing the challenges of the Bronze Duke of Edinburgh Award. It has been a real pleasure to be their Year Tutor over the last couple of years and seeing all the great things that they have achieved.

Miss S Gunshon Year 9 tutor

Dragon’s Den

In the week of our Practice Duke of Edinburgh expedition, the Parent’s Association organised a wonderful day for the Year 9 pupils in Girls’ Division. We had the opportunity to become business entrepreneurs for the day, working in teams of 5-8 students. They kindly provided us with complimentary beverages and snacks to keep us motivated and working hard throughout the day. Our task was to design and present a mindfulness product aimed at Year 6 pupils. Each team created a product and spoke to experts in the fields of product design, business, mindfulness and marketing, as well as a focus group of Year 6 students in Hesketh House. We then pitched our ideas to a panel of judges who were experts in the business industry. It was a fantastic experience which expanded our business knowledge. We thank the Parent’s Association for this experience.

Elsie Nethercott (9B), Beatrice Foy (9B) & Harshini Madhushankar (9G)

Duke of Edinburgh

During the practice expedition, I experienced a rollercoaster of emotions within my group and witnessed many hidden talents my fellow companions had gained. Many memories worth cherishing ranging from the funny, happy times but also sadder, less enthusiastic and ready to give up moments. However, collectively we motivated each other to keep going, also while sharing laughs and helping one another to navigate, which indeed was a fun skill to gain.

In my opinion, I fully support the idea that the Bronze award is compulsory, due to the fact that it gives the students a different perspective in life and how to feel more grateful for the things you admire. I honestly did enjoy my practice expedition even though it was my first time camping and I was definitely a little nervous. However, you really get to reflect on the funny, adventurous and happy highlights. I would definitely say it’s an experience to try with some of your most cherished friends, even if you think it’s not your cup of tea.

Nikki Patel (9D)

Sports Day

This year’s Middle School Sports Day was bursting with fun and enjoyable events. Undoubtedly, we found the staff relay very amusing. It was highly entertaining to see all the teachers with a rarely witnessed sporty and competitive persona.

All students were supportive of each other throughout the entire event. We cheered each other on, and were willing to take one for the team in desperate times. The event was really inclusive: not a single student was left out, with each of them participating in a different activity to try and earn points for their form.

Overall, we immensely enjoyed sports day. It was definitely a memorable day: the Mexican wave finished it off perfectly! We would like to congratulate all the year, especially the winners, 9C, for their excellent performance and great teamwork. All students would also like to give a big thank you to the staff included in organising this day for us.

Saffiyah Hariff & Aditi Prashant (9B)

YEAR 10

Year 10 soon settled into their new form groups thanks to a visit from the One Day Film School. Students were asked to act in, film, produce and edit a ten scene movie by the end of the school day. The afternoon was complete with their very own “Oscars” ceremony! The year group put these newly acquired skills to the test in December when faced with the monumental task of the Christmas Post, a staple of the Bolton School experience. For the very first time, students were asked to produce their play as a film rather than deliver it live. Year 10 swung into action, and navigated the guidelines on social distancing to produce six excellent performances. Only the Christmas Post experience can bring you The Kardashians, Timothée Chalamet, The Grinch, and Frozen’s very own Olaf, all in under an hour. Who knows, maybe this year group have trailblazed a new Bolton School tradition? Amongst all the fun, Year 10 managed to raise a staggering

£1,862.87 for Period Poverty UK. This is equivalent to over 20,000 sanitary pads for those most in need.

In the summer term, the year group were visited by the Ministry of Science. The pupils were treated to an interactive lecture on atomic structure and new subatomic particles have deepened our understanding of the atom. Some might want to visit the Large Hadron Collider at CERN one day!

Many Year 10 students have been working towards their Duke of Edinburgh Silver Award after completing the Bronze Award. At the time of writing, all groups are preparing for their qualifying expedition.

Good luck Year 10!

Mr T Winrow Year 10 Tutor

YEAR 11

Year 11 was most certainly a step-up from previous years, but nothing like what we expected. The year seemed to travel faster than sound, with more and more teachers talking about exams and results and organisation - which a few people were certainly lacking in to begin with! What seemed like days after beginning in September, we unzip clear, regulation pencil cases, stuffed to the brim with black biros, and pencils, and four protractors, just in case three spontaneously shatter in the exam hall. We fill in forms - Sixth Form, A Levels, coursework authentications, preparing for the startling fact that upper school doesn’t last a lifetime.

When the classroom doors flew open, however, a more entertaining environment took hold. From Just Dance at Christmas, to endless games of Jenga in the forms - being competitive is part of our daily routine, we assure you. Fuelled by hot chocolate from the machine that was more often out of order than in it, we threw ourselves into the school

life we had missed over the past two years, while half-termly celebration assemblies in the theatre gave each of us the chance to congratulate the rest of the year on the hard work, time, and effort spent within the classroom walls.

Within school, we relaxed with extracurricular activities, interspersed with subject clinics, the gentle nag of exams rooted in our minds. In a year of budding geographers, historians, actors, and designers, time outside of school has been equally exciting. The History department took us back through the history of health on a trip to the Thackray Museum of Medicine, while Geographers explored the Christmas Markets in Manchester, and dramatists found themselves immersed in productions of ‘Six’ and ‘A Curious Incident of a Dog in the Nighttime’. Year 11 has been intense, but standing at the end of the year, we’ve got to say wholeheartedly that it was worth every second.

Lola Rigby & Charlotte Lowe

YEAR 12

It all started back in September as the excited but slightly nervous Year 12 cohort stepped into the Riley Centre and sought to establish themselves in their new environment. We were delighted to welcome thirteen new girls to the group and they quickly got to grips with the intricacies of Bolton School life! Although the first half term was a little bumpy at times, particularly once assessments had started, everyone settled in well and threw themselves into Sixth Form life with gusto. It was a very busy first term and all were ready for the rest over Christmas, despite the looming January exams.

Life in school has remained very varied, with Olympiad papers, concerts, field trips, Tea at the Riley, interviews skills evening, film evenings, International Women’s Day and Duke of Edinburgh expeditions all involving Year 12 pupils. They have certainly packed a lot into a very short space of time! Volunteering is a huge part of Year 12 and we have been very pleased for a return to more normality post-Covid, with a good number of Year 12s starting to amass a

huge number of volunteering hours. The joint Community Action Celebration Evening recognised those who went above and beyond with 50 or 100 hours of service this year.

As we moved towards Easter, a number of pupils were delighted to be made prefects and are now wearing their gowns in school with pride after the traditional gowning ceremony in assembly. A new level of focus rippled through the year group as they started to look towards university applications, with work experience, online courses, aptitude tests and, the all-important question of where to actually go to university on the agenda. It has been very pleasing to see pupils working with Miss Jones and supporting each other through this and they will be in a strong position to finalise some competitive applications next year.

Year 12 have been a great year group made up of great individuals –we can all look forward to watching their successes next year!

Mrs S Rich Year 12 Tutor

YEAR 13

Leavers’ Celebrations

Year 13 enjoyed a celebratory send-off as they approached their final days as students. Girls continued the tradition of dressing in their old school uniforms for the final non-uniform day of the year. For the first time, both Divisions came together for a fancy-dress Fun Run in aid of charity: they raised £140 for Ukraine appeal, and enjoyed ice-creams afterwards. There was also a special lunch for boys and girls on their last day in school.

Prefects’ Panto

The popular tradition saw the Head Girl and her team of Prefects caricaturing in a play based this year on ‘Snow White and the Seven Dwarves’! The girls raised £289.40 for local charity William’s Gift, which provides care packages for children in hospital with serious and life-limiting conditions and their families.

Presentation Evening

Presentation Evening 2021 was a double celebration as GCSE and A level leavers from 2020 and 2021 received commendations, prizes and awards.

Dr Sheila Fisher, Old Girl and then ViceChairman of Governors, was the evening’s first speaker. She said: ‘It is a joy to be able to join you this evening as we finally come together again in this beautiful hall – a chance to celebrate together at last after a very difficult time.’

Referencing the pandemic, Dr Fisher offered her thanks to those who pulled together to get Bolton School through these difficult times, from the Senior Leadership team to support staff in the Estates Department, Sergeants, cleaning staff and catering staff. Looking towards family life and friendships, she spoke of the importance of supporting one another as we look to the future in hope. Her parting wish was for girls to ‘build on the foundation for life you have been given’ and for ‘every happiness and success in the years to come.’

Mrs Kyle delivered a warm and humorous address. She said: ‘You have worked hard, shown determination and resilience, and the staff and I are immensely proud of you. I have heard many reports from both teachers and parents saying how impressed they have been with the enormous efforts that have been put in to ensuring that the last two

years were successful for you, and also by the enthusiasm and maturity with which you have approached your studies in somewhat difficult circumstances. Well done to you all.’

She congratulated students on their superb academic results, but also considered the wider curriculum and the strong sense of community within the Girls’ Division. She commented that, from sport to drama, music to debating, trips to educational lectures, academic pursuits to creative endeavours, there really is something for everyone, and these activities are critical in preparing pupils for the wider world. The Head also praised her staff and urged girls to thank them personally. She brought her address to a close with a thoughtful and comic poem that she had penned especially for the leavers.

Both Mrs Kyle and Dr Fisher paid tribute to Sue Hincks, who stepped down from her duties as Headmistress in the summer of 2021 following a decade of unparalleled success for the school.

Current students and recent leavers from the past two years then processed onto the stage to collect their awards and receive recognition for both academic and extra-curricular achievements and endeavours.

The audience also heard from not one but two departing Head Girls on this special evening.

Lucy Stiles (Head Girl 2019-20) recalled her time at the School, which began back when she joined the Nursery! She spoke of visits to Patterdale and Cambodia, performing in school productions, taking part in the Ceremony of Carols, and her favourite memory of all: the Prefects’ Panto. She talked about the importance of volunteering and encouraged girls to give back. Before wishing everyone success and happiness, she offered four points of advice: believe in yourself and aim high; don’t be afraid to fail; put yourself out there and be prepared to try something new; and don’t rush and to try and enjoy yourself along the way.

Lucy then ceremoniously passed on the Head Girl’s gown to Sarah Walker (Head Girl 2020-21). She said that although there were girls of different ages throughout the Hall, there were two things that everyone had in common: ‘the famous evolution of a Bolton School girl assembly’ and memories of a first day at school with bags that were too big and skirts that were too short. She offered her congratulations to all the leavers before passing on the gown to this year’s Head Girl, Summer Kay, who offered her own best wishes and a Vote of Thanks to all the speakers.

The evening concluded with rousing renditions of Jerusalem and The School Song.

Sharing Perspectives

Perspectives Lectures continued this year with panels of Old Girls offering up their insights on a range of careers via Zoom.

CREATIVE ARTS

Careers in the creative industry were explored by a group of Old Girls with varied careers, from acting, singing and painting to less wellknown behind-the-scenes roles in film, TV and theatre:

Luci Fish (Class of 2010): actor and award-winning voiceover artist with clients such as Pokémon, Sainsbury’s, Spotify, NSPCC, H&M and Coca-Cola

Nicola Currie, née Darley (Class of 1974): contemporary still life and botanical painter, Artist in Residence at Spetchley Park Gardens

Caroline Blaire (Class of 2018): soprano currently studying at the Royal Academy of Music, Academy Bach soloist and involved with Royal Academy Opera

Deanne Cunningham (Class of 2001): Head of Development at Synchronicity Films with experience as a freelance script editor and producer

Eilidh Gibson (Class of 2016): freelance theatre director and facilitator, currently Resident Assistant Director at Theatre by the Lake in Keswick

HEALTHCARE

This panel delved into just a handful of the many potential career paths within the health sector, and offered insight into the realities of working in heathcare:

Julie Littlehales, née Barwise (Class of 1990): Chartered Physiotherapist who has worked for the NHS, for Wilmslow Rugby Union Football Club and internationally in Australia and New Zealand

Helena Bird, née Read (Class of 1995): Chief Pharmacist and Controlled Drugs Accountable Officer at Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust

Catherine Collinson (Class of 1999): Consultant Anaesthetist at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh working in obstetric anaesthesia, acute pain management and anaesthetising patients undergoing gynaecological cancer surgery

Helen Wall (Class of 2001): Clinical Commissioner GP at Bolton CCG, responsible for all commissioned health care services in the town, who helped to lead Bolton’s response to Covid

Eleanor Gibbons (Class of 2019): student of Midwifery at the University of Salford with experience working during the Covid-19 pandemic

ARCHITECTURE

The year began with a focus on architecture, a career which the guest speakers agreed combines both arts and sciences, creativity and problem-solving:

Chloe Granger (Class of 1998): Director of Crosby Granger Architects Ltd and a Technical Advisor for SPAB (Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings)

Fiona Hazlitt (Class of 2017): student completing her Masters degree in Architecture at Nottingham

Emma Roden, née Platt (Class of 1990): Director of Kimble Roden Architects Ltd

SPORT

A group of five sportswomen shared their experiences working in the sport sector and the broad range of career options available:

Beth Coton (Class of 2013): Tennis Coach and Customer Service Manager at Kooyong International Tennis Academy in Melbourne

Catherine Rees, née Salmon (Class of 1994): founder of Move PR, a sport and lifestyle PR company, and non-executive director of the FA National Futsal Series

Dr Rosie Arthur, née Poynor (Class of 2001): is a Lecturer of Sport and Exercise Psychology at the University of the West of Scotland

Jasmine Howarth (Class of 2021): student of Sport and Exercise Medical Science at King’s College London

Annabel Ault (Class of 2014): Media Analytics and Strategy Manager, City Football Group

SIXTH FORM ENTREPRENEURS

In January 2021, Year 12 students from both Divisions joined the pilot cohort for the School’s Sixth Form Entrepreneurship Scheme, a concept devised by Old Boy Rob Dobson (Class of 1982). The scheme aims to develop business and entrepreneurial skills through oneto-one mentoring sessions, which run alongside group activity and enrichment sessions delivered by the Alumni mentors.

The mentors are Old Girls Juhi Gore (Class of 1993) and Elizabeth Newton (née Whyatt, Class of 1979), and Old Boys Rob Dobson, John Craven (Class of 1982) and Tony Wadsworth, CBE (Class of 1974).

The scheme’s pilot drew to a conclusion in January 2022 with the students, now in Year 13, putting forward their ideas at a Dragon’s Den style pitching event in the Arts Centre. Fabeha Shafaat pitched a free education tool, Sofia Carrera-Knowles demonstrated an aid product for the blind or visually impaired, Aimen Iqbal talked about her ambition to launch her own law firm and Summer Kay explained her loneliness-fighting project. Boys’ Division students Umar Awais and Matthew Syers partnered on a fruitflavoured chocolate.

WOW TALKS

The School’s Development Office organised a series of Women of Work talks for Year 10 girls throughout this academic year. The virtual talks, which took place over Zoom during morning form time,

Our thanks go to the five Alumni mentors involved with the Entrepreneurship Scheme for dedicating their time and expertise to guide and support the students’ ideas and personal growth during the past year, and the Old Girls and Old Boys who assisted Summer in completing her market research during the Autumn Term. The next cohort of Year 12 pupils will join the Entrepreneurship Scheme in September, at the start of the new academic year.

who shared their career experiences and answered questions. These talks encouraged the Year 10 cohort to think about their future and the directions they may take in their future careers.

• Rachael Moulton (Class of 2010)Chartered Engineer: Senior Safety Risk Consultant, Atkins

• Luci Fish (Class of 2010)Actor and award-winning voiceover artist

• Saamin Cheema (Class of 2016)Data Scientist, Wellcome Sanger Institute

• Stella Pickford (Class of 1999)Director for Northern Europe Warehousing, Procter & Gamble

• Emily Hilton (née Speak, Class of 1999)Chartered Surveyor, Peloton Real Estate, with a background in performing arts and filmmaking

• Stephanie LewinEnvironmental Advisor, J Murphy & Sons

connected pupils with a group of diverse women, mostly alumni,

International Women’s Day

Eighteen Old Girls returned to Bolton School to celebrate International Women’s Day. The keynote speaker for the morning’s assembly was Melanie Doherty, a dentist, naval captain and Chief of Staff to the Surgeon General, the highest-ranking medical officer in the UK.

Melanie began with her main takeaways: analyse the situation and pick your battles. She then circled back to give an overview of her career. She joined the Army after training as a dentist at Sheffield University. She said that the military is good for a portfolio career and opportunities to travel: her job has involved training and competing in downhill skiing and two-man bobsleigh, completing three Masters degrees, and doing dentistry work around the world.

Melanie talked in depth about competing in the Biathlon for the British Army team. She was one of the top twelve at the Army Skiing Championships, qualifying for the men’s team: on this occasion, an advocate fought for her right to compete alongside men at that level. She called this a ‘defining moment’ and said, when she collected her prizes, ‘everyone recognised that I’d done it … I could compete on an even peg’.

She went on to speak about being one of the first three women selected to attempt the Commando Course for entry to work with the Royal Marines. She passed all of the initial requirements, but was recalled by her commanding officer. As other women were going forward, she felt she could step back to continue her dentistry career instead.

Finally, she talked about how her time at Bolton School gave her valuable education skills and the ability to talk to anyone. Involvement in school sport taught her to be a team player, and that the team is only as strong as the weakest link.

Melanie returned to her conclusions and advised that to make big changes, it’s important to be

strategic. Things change and it’s not just about you, but about the bigger world. Finally, she recommended a book: ‘The Moment of Lift’ by Melinda Gates.

Earlier in the morning, a group of girls from Years 12 and 13 interested in studying dentistry or joining the army or navy enjoyed an informal breakfast chat with Melanie in the Head’s Study.

The day continued with careers sessions for Years 9 and 10. In the Sutcliffe Studio, girls met with alumnae to ask questions and learn about soft skills from these inspirational women. In the Theatre, four alumnae gave more in-depth presentations: Alex Aspinall, Global Social Media Manager at Belmond; Stella Pickford, Director UK Business Planning at Procter and Gamble; Rebecca Richards, Senior Policy Advisor at UK Research and Innovation, specialising in Research Financial Sustainability; Amanda Nuttall, Partner at Keoghs.

At lunchtime, Year 12 came to the Great Hall for careers ‘speed dating’: these mini mentoring sessions allowed the girls to gain an inside perspective on various careers.

The day closed with a set of PSHEE sessions themed around International Women’s Day. Year 7 heard from Natalie Armer (Senior Lecturer at Manchester Medical School) about the challenges girls overcome and how women support each other. Year 8 enjoyed an interactive workshop with Stella Pickford focussed on personality types. Chloe Granger (Director at Crosby Granger Architects) addressed Year 11 about stereotypes and the skills women bring to their working lives. Year 13 visualised their ambitions with Melanie Doherty.

In addition to the day’s careers-focused sessions, former staff returned to school and joined the speakers for lunch. This was a lovely opportunity for everyone to catch up with the visiting alumnae.

RACHAEL ACTON

née Ainscough (Class of 2011)Chief Executive at Ainscough Group

ALEXANDRA ASPINALL (Class of 2012) - Global Social Media Manager at Belmond

CHARLOTTE BENJAMIN née Whalley (Class of 1993)Director of Legal and Governance Services at Middlesbrough Council

REBECCA BRAYSHAW

née Hayton (Class of 1997)Director at Umbrella World

CHERIE CUNNINGHAM (Class of 2005) - Channel Director (Dave) at UK TV

KAREN DIGGLE (Class of 1976) - Managing Director at Chamberlain Doors

MELANIE DOHERTY née Jones (Class of 1989) - Chief of Staff to Surgeon General at Defence Medical Services

VICTORIA GUEST née Robinson (Class of 1999)Headteacher at Lostock Primary School

CHLOE GRANGER née Maher (Class of 1998)Director at Crosby Granger Architects

VICTORIA HODGKINS née Heaton (Class of 2000) - Head of Service at Trafford Council

CHARLOTTE HOLDEN (Class of 2014) - Statistician, Department for Education (Civil Service)

AMANDA NUTTALL née Pinkerton (Class of 1991)Partner at Keoghs

STELLA PICKFORD

née Selva (Class of 1999) - Director UK Business Planning at Procter and Gamble

REBECCA RICHARDS (Class of 2013) - Senior Policy Advisor at UK Research & Innovation

RADHIKA SHARMA (Class of 2015) - Mechanical Engineer at British Antarctic Survey

NATALIE ARMER (parent)Senior Lecturer at Manchester Medical School

AMANDA GRUNDY née Killelea (parent) - Feature Writer at Daily Mirror

The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award

The Duke of Edinburgh’s award is a life-changing experience, a fun time with friends, an opportunity to discover new interests and talents, a tool to develop essential skills for life and work, a recognised mark of achievement which is respected by employers.

SILVER AWARD

Iman Javaid, Y11

Although I was initially apprehensive to undertake my Silver Duke of Edinburgh Award, it has provided me with the invaluable opportunity to discover myself as a person. I started volunteering with a local youth led group. This involvement led to me having an interview with the BBC and I was given the opportunity to experience a ‘take over day’ at the pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca. One of the most poignant moments of volunteering was volunteering for Salford’s Holocaust Remembrance Day. Meeting the family of survivors taught me countless life lessons. Hearing their testimonies affected me more deeply than any lecture, book or film. It was an unforgettable experience as I was able to engage in authentic interactions. Inspired by this day, a group of volunteers and I went into a primary school to teach the children about sensitive issues such as hate crimes and sexism.

At first if you told me that I would enjoy the expedition I would have laughed. As a team our experience of hill climbing was very close to nil. Despite this, I found myself thoroughly enjoying the expedition. We all brought lots of different skills to the team ranging from master chef to the human incarnation of Google maps. I now feel gratitude for the memories and the skills I am equipped with because of DofE. More importantly I’ve been able to reflect on a year full of challenges and learn the importance of giving time to others.

SILVER CANOE EXPEDITION Ammarah Patel, Y10

For my Duke of Edinburgh Silver, I chose to do canoeing for my expedition, and it was truly worth it. When it came time for my expedition I was dreading every second of it, but it was even better than I hoped. I didn’t know many people in my group and I was nervous that I wouldn’t be able to enjoy myself, but being on a canoe on a river really helped me make friends. Even though I found some parts difficult and I had to eat most of my dinners in the dark, my silver expedition was a lot of fun, and a very good opportunity to take.

It has been a busy year with the return of overnight stays, the canoe expedition for the Silver Award and the Silver and Gold Celebration Evening. Here are some insights into students’ experiences...

DUKE OF EDINBURGH EXPEDITIONS

After two years of restrictions we were finally able to get back to overnight expeditions. Bronze, Silver and Gold students have already completed their walking practice expeditions. Highlights so far have included: wild camping in the Lake District, boil in the bag meals and walking over 25,000 steps in one day! In addition, two teams of Year 10 silver students completed their expedition in canoes, venturing along the LLangollan and Shropshire canal for their practice and then on the River Ouse for their qualifier.

GOLD AWARD

Celia Logan, Y13

For my gold Duke of Edinburgh, I volunteered at my local Beavers pack. It was good fun listening to their earnest stories about how they had definitely seen a dolphin swimming in the reservoir. Despite having only a team of four, we worked well together on the expedition and managed to get through the four days of walking through the Lakes efficiently without getting lost, which is an achievement in itself. I also would recommend bringing a variety of food as I personally couldn’t look at pasta and pesto for a long time afterwards. Another tip is that if a footpath is not marked in green, don’t follow it. One highlight was waking at five in the morning to hike up Helvellyn, although at least we were back with plenty of time to sunbathe. I did my residential at Patterdale, helping at a multisport summer camp with children from all over the country. I was given a group of about twenty 8- to 11-year-olds for whom I was responsible. It was a lot harder than it seems! Overall, I really enjoyed my DofE and would recommend it to others.

This year a huge number of Year 13s completed their Gold Award. Congratulations to:

Millie Ashton, Hannah Berisford, Isabel Brennard, Katie Burgess, Victoria Cook, Audrisha De, Sophie Edwards, Lilian Featham, Suzi Howell, Amerleen Hundle, Madihah Jiva, Summer Kay, Maia Latchford, Celia Logan, Manahil Masood, Feryal Mirza, Aliza Nirodi, Isha Nunkoo, Kaitlyn Paton, Louise Perry, Dhanishta Puveenthirarajan, Ani Sastry, Katie Schaffel, Fabeha Shafaat, Holly Stevenson, Fizaa Valli, Victoria Wong.

OUTDOOR LEARNING

Miss E Lindle Girls’ Division Outdoor Learning Tutor

CLIMBING CLUB

Climbing club has had a very busy year with students making the most of the school wall, local indoor facilities and, in the summer term, travelling across Lancashire visiting many of the local crags, for example Anglezarke, Troy Quarry and Denham Quarry. Over the last year, students have developed their footwork, balance, coordination and problem-solving skills. Each week students are trying new routes that test them both physically and mentally. I look forward even more climbing next year!

SNOWSPORTS CLUB

During the winter months, fifteen students took to the slopes at the Chill Factore. Ten students signed up to the beginner sessions and meanwhile five were honing their skills on the main slope. At the end of the 10-week course, all students had mastered the basics of stopping and turning and were able to gracefully glide down the main slope. It was fantastic to watch everyone make such great progress.

TENACITY OF BOLTON

During May half term, eight intrepid explorers went venturing along the south coast of England onboard the Tenacity of Bolton. Here is Emily Fox’s personal account:

SAILING

This year sailing has become an integral part of school life in the Girls’ Division, with students having the opportunity to sail during PE lessons, at Patterdale Hall, after school and at the weekends. Students have loved the chance to try something new while developing important character attributes such as communication, collaboration and resilience.

SAILING TEAM

CLIMBING TEAM

For the first time ever, Bolton School Girls’ Division entered a full team into the Greater Manchester Schools Competition.

CLIMBING TEAM

Students had three hours to climb 35 problems; points were given based on how many attempts it took to reach the top. Unfortunately, this year we didn’t finish on the podium, however we look forward to participating again next year. Well done to all the students for their efforts and congratulations to Honor Weston who scored the highest in Girls’ Division.

In the half term holiday, a group of Year 8s travelled to Portsmouth to become crew of the Tenacity of Bolton. During our voyage we travelled to many places on the south coast of England, including the Isle of Wight. We learnt many new skills including how to steer the helm (wheel), put up the 4 sails, cook, clean and many different drills. My personal favourite part of the trip was the night sail back to Portsmouth: during this we learnt how to navigate ourselves in the dark by calculating bearings and learning the light sequences of different buoys. This trip was very fun and taught us a lot, I am very grateful that I got the opportunity to be there and would recommend it to anyone who is interested in sailing.

This year Bolton School purchased three new sailing boats for the members of the sailing team to race in regional events. Students who show a real enthusiasm and commitment to sailing during the club sessions were selected to represent the school. Students have been attending Saturday morning sessions in preparation for the British Youth Sailing Regional Junior Championships, held in June on Ullswater.

KAYAK CLUB

SAILING TEAM

At Bolton School we are lucky enough to have our own fleet of kayaks and the girls have been taking advantage of that this year. Students have had the opportunity to build their confidence in the pool and develop their skills on flat water before journeying down the river Irwell. Well done to those who showed great resilience in the winter months! There will be more kayaking opportunities for students next year!

Bing Yu Wang Catherine Xi Shreya Tol Natasha Houghton Roz Caller Sofia Riaz Honor Weston Isabelle Gape Maleehah Patel Aaminah Ahmed

Roz Caller Lucia Baker

Sarah Ali Cheryl Khoo Neve Houghton

COMMUNITY ACTION

Ella Worsley Community Action Prefect

This year has been a momentous one for Bolton School and our endeavours in volunteering and community action. From 40 crates filled with food for the Harvest Festival in autumn to 1,500 tubes of Pringles and 400 Christmas Puddings for the Hamper Challenge, we’ve made some incredible contributions to various charities. Alongside longstanding projects such as Tea@Riley where we were delighted to host 70 senior guests at a Platinum Jubilee party we have also enjoyed working with new organisations such as the Bolton Lions who have taken on volunteers to help with the Toy Appeal and local gardening projects. We’ve truly stood out from other Year 12 cohorts by achieving a huge 7,074 hours of volunteering (that’s over 295 full days!) which is the highest total in the last ten years. This number allows us to award 31 gold certificates to girls who have contributed over 100 hours of volunteering. Since records began, this is the largest number of gold

certificates ever awarded. As pupils, we hope the time we have put in has made a difference to the community, with one student saying that ‘though they can’t give material things like money or gifts, they hope their company has helped those in need’. Our community action efforts go beyond simply handing over items and money, and allow us to make all the more difference to our local area.

Equally, the people we volunteer with have a profound effect on us as volunteers. My time at Devonshire Road primary school has made me a more patient and compassionate individual through experiences I would never find inside a Bolton School classroom. Pupils have said they feel more empathetic and better able to understand the experiences of others through their volunteering, and provided wider perspective which allows them to appreciate our opportunities and privileges. I hope we can continue this fantastic work for many years to come.

CHILDREN IN NEED

Girls raised a total of £1,796.71 for Children in Need through a non-uniform day and a hugely popular sweet sale organised and run by 8D. Aanya Agrawal in Year 8 also raised money selling handmade clay models and homemade rings and earrings.

MACMILLAN CANCER SUPPORT

The Girls’ Division raised £459.22 for Macmillan Cancer Support through a Coffee Morning and cake sales held by Sixth Form students, with teaching staff following suit in the staffroom.

UKRAINE HUMANITARIAN APPEAL

£2,921 was donated to the DEC’s Ukraine Humanitarian Appeal through a nonuniform day. This is one of the most impressive totals the school has achieved for a non-uniform event, particularly in recent years.

Art Exhibition 2022

Madeleine Eccleshare Hornby, 9D

Harriet Kennedy, 7G

Ingrid Caudill-Trafi, 7B Maha Khan, 7B

Letterforms Photo by Hollie Creer, 7S

Texture Wall Hanging by Mariam Adam, 7G Lucy Johnstone, 9C

Eloise Whitwood, 8G

Ayaana Haffeji, 8B

Charcoal Ammonite by Thea Littlefair, 9S Ammonite Collagraph by Zahira Atcha, 9S

DRAMATIC TIMES!

CHURCHILL COMPETITION

The prestigious ESU-Churchill Public Speaking Competition is the largest contest in England and Wales. A group of Year 9 girls, who attended debating club, participated in this competition and made it to the second round. The competition tested our debating skills in various ways such as: speaking in front of judges in an orderly fashion, engaging with the audience and working as a team. We were competing against people in Year 10 and 11. In fact, we were the only Year 9 pupils competing! Personally, I really enjoyed it. I made stronger bonds with people I already knew, and even made new friends.

Maryam Hamam 9C

PERFORMING SHAKESPEARE

On the 22nd of February, I competed in the inter-school final of the Performing Shakespeare competition. Before being chosen for this I had to upload video of me performing a Shakespearian monologue of my choice. I chose to do a monologue from the play ‘Othello’ by a character called Iago. The inter-school final consisted of doing that same monologue in front of a panel of judges and small audience of a Year 7 form. When I found out the news that I had been asked to progress on to the next stage of the competition, I was very excited to continue improving my performance. For the next stage of the competition I had to devise a two-minute introduction to my monologue and pair that with my three-minute performance. In my introduction, I had to include an overview of the play and what my character’s motivation was during the monologue, I also spoke about how I was going to portray my character in performance. I had a great day at the competition; it was an amazing opportunity. I would really encourage anyone interested in acting to get involved in the competition.

Ella Hughes 9S

JOINT DRAMA

The Senior and Junior Joint Productions were a huge success. A cast of students in Years 10 to 13 brought to life ‘Clockwork’: an adaptation of and departure from ‘A Clockwork Orange’ that focuses on what it’s like to be a teenager today. In the Spring term ‘Brainstorm’ was devised by students in Years 7 to 9 and explored the teen brain.

LITTLE WOMEN

This forty-five minute stage adaptation of Louisa May Alcott’s beloved novel was performed by two casts in February.

The combination of the set, which consisted of a piano and handdrawn portraits of the cast by Yaqeen Alkaabi (Year 12), with the realistic costumes gave the feeling of a truly immersive play and encapsulated all features of a chaotic family environment. This feeling was reinforced with the seating for the audience being placed to surround the stage which allowed the audience to feel involved and immersed in the performance. The consistent use of accents captured the true authenticity of 19th century America.

Georgia McGinty (Year 12), who played Laurie, described her experience as extremely enjoyable. Georgia’s favourite part in the play was her entrance, in which she jumped out of a box. She explained that, although she was playing a character of the opposite gender, she found ease in them both being the same age but also stated that ‘every character is different’.

Anika Maini (Year 12) shared Georgia’s struggle with balancing workload and rehearsals but explained that taking part in the production gave her a break from revising and something to look forward to. Being one of the older cast members meant that she could transfer looking after younger cast members to her character, who was the older sister in the family. She mentioned that one notable moment in the play for her was the ending, in which everyone was on stage at once and made for a ‘satisfying and fulfilling’ end to the play.

Molly Bell (Year 12) performed the character of Jo. Much like the other cast members, Molly was able to relate to her character, who enjoys reading and writing and who rarely complies to social norms. These similarities once again show Miss Talbot’s skill and attention to detail in the casting process.

When asked about their experience, the cast said that they would recommend and urge all other students to take part in any productions that they have the chance to. They said that Miss Talbot was a ‘good listener and effective in decreasing the gap between actor and director’ which made for an enjoyable and unforgettable experience leaving them with lasting memories and skills.

Katie Wild, Year 13

THE LITTLE PRINCESS

Girls in Years 7-9 put on a performance of ‘Sara Crewe – The Little Princess’ in October. The girls were cast while Covid restrictions were in place: at the time, the school was operating in bubble configurations and it was not possible for students in Years 7 and 8 to share the same space. Keen to involve as many students as possible in this production, School decided to put two casts together. Girls then shared the performance each night of the run, with different casts taking to the stage to perform Act One and Acts Two & Three. As ever, the casts were grateful to our resident theatre technician, Mr Kyle. Not only did he make three wonderful sets for our production of ‘Little Princess’, he managed the complicated scene changes as well as the light and sound cues. Congratulations to all our young actors and Assistant Stage Managers. Special thanks to those girls who stepped in as understudies at the last minute and performed with scripts to allow the show to go on!

MATILDA

As a cast member myself, I can certainly say that a lot of work has been put into this play, not only by the students but also by the teachers. Since Christmas, we have put in 120 hours of rehearsal, leading up to the performances. It would be wrong of me to say that it has been easy, but the friendships I have made overpower the hard moments. Every week, we have rehearsed for three and a half hours - and then there was line learning! Not to the mention the many Sundays spent rehearsing (and celebrating birthdays too!). Whether spending time trying to figure out how to manage the set changes, practising new songs countless times, listening to others, I have enjoyed every single moment.

We received the scripts just after Christmas, and had to learn our lines in just a few weeks. From then on it was go, go, go! The days consisted of listening, rehearsing and practising with lots of smiles included. As a cast, we have learnt multiple songs and choreographed them, with the expert help of Mrs Rigby. The group chat notifications never stopped; ‘How many days till show day?’ was a popular message. This show has been a pleasure to be included in, and I am grateful to the cast; if they weren’t already, everyone has become a friend. Thank you to the cast, the teachers and the people who have made this play possible.

Sophia Wormald 9D

Book Award Continues...

The Bolton Children’s Fiction Award 2022 launched in December with the reveal of a brand-new shortlist of six exciting books.

The Award is organised annually by Bolton School’s Library staff and is aimed at students in Years 5 to 8 in Bolton and the local area. The winner is chosen solely by young readers’ votes, cast and counted in the summer term and announced in early July.

This year, BCFA has featured lots more online content: Bolton School’s Book Clubs enjoyed live virtual sessions with all six shortlisted authors, which were then shared with the wider BCFA community. Using technology to connect with authors virtually began during the pandemic when they were unable to visit in person. However, continuing with the virtual visits this year allowed every single pupil involved in the Award, across the whole of Bolton, to hear from all of the authors ahead of the voting period!

said: “The decision to change the format of the Book Award this year was taken due to the social distancing measures necessary for COVID but has proven to be a positive change - as well as a steep learning curve for the Librarians who have had to learn to edit videos and manage Zoom meetings! The videos give a wider audience opportunity to ‘meet’ the authors and the 20-minute format has been ideal for using in Book Club meetings. At Bolton School Library, we have noticed an increase in books borrowed following the videos and they have maintained the momentum and interest surrounding the Award throughout the year. Our keenest readers have benefited from the words of wisdom, writing tips and learnt about the publishing process. We have also enjoyed reading tweets and comments from participating schools who have shared the videos with their readers.”

Head Librarian Mrs Howarth and Librarian Mrs

The new format has been well received by participants across Bolton.

Caller

Ele Fountain

Joe Wilson

Elle McNicholl

Lesley Parr

Helen Rutter

Stewart Foster

The Magic of Harry Potter

The librarians celebrated Harry Potter for a fortnight in February. Everyone was invited to Hogwarts lessons in the Turret Library. We were sorted into houses, just like the students in the books, and got chance to play some Harry Potter themed games. Before you play anything though, you have to rummage through the library to find ‘The Monster Book of Monsters’. Upon finding it, you’ve got to go through the rules of the library (at the magical school of witches and wizards). After that, everyone enjoyed the quiz, where you guess different magical journeys through drawing and acting. Then there was a quick fire question round, with each team being asked different questions about transport. The scavenger hunt was yet another thrilling event, in which nine objects relating to magical transport were hidden around the library, along with a letter. The letters formed a word, or rather, a place, which is found in both Hogwarts and Bolton School of Witches and Wizards. At the end we received a chocolate frog (a Freddo)!

Aaminah and Iris in Year 7 said:

‘The Harry Potter day was a great event, which I and plenty of others thoroughly enjoyed. I was greatly entertained by the librarians, and thank them greatly for their hard work.’

‘I had a great time, and I can’t wait until the librarians hold another event like this!”

The Harry Potter event is worth going to since you can make new friends there. You can participate in lots of activities and quizzes and see how big of a fan of Harry Potter you are. Even if you aren’t one, you can come along and join in with the experience. You won’t regret it.

Maryam Farooq, Year 7

World Book Day

A whole host of activities celebrated reading on World Book Day. The corridors were looking whimsical as girls (and staff!) dressed as their favourite fictional characters for the day.

Both boys and girls were invited to put a ‘Book in a Jar’. This competition run by the Library challenged everyone to illustrate a favourite story inside a jam jar, with some inventive results going on display! The Big Book Swap allowed girls to bring a book they no longer wanted into the library and swap it for something new to read, donated by another pupil or member of staff.

All Senior School pupils received World Book Day tokens and could use these to buy copies of the £1 books from the Library on the day. The weekly book clubs also held World Book Day themed sessions during the week. The School’s online community was also encouraged to join in and share their current reads using the hashtag #CommunityOfReaders.

Aspiring Authors

Prolific author Anne Fine visited the Girls’ Division and spoke to Year 7 girls on the release day of her latest book, ‘Aftershocks’. She also agreed to help judge the whole school writing competition that launched on World Book Day.

Girls from all year groups were challenged to write a short story based on a title or opening line supplied by Anne and the English Department. Titles included ‘Along the Seashore’, ‘An Unexpected Break’ and ‘Teffalong’. One of the opening lines was: ‘The word spread. Marnie’s in so much trouble now!’

A shortlist of entries was sent to Anne and she decided upon the overall winners. The author said she loved reading the girls’ writing and offered her observations on the pieces she read.

Middle School Winners: Meera Salvi & Rebecca Zavaglia

Middle School Shortlist: Evie Done-Jackson, Marryum Gul & Arianna McKie

Upper School Winners: Verity Cooke-Scott & Lily Porter

Upper School Shortlist: Charlotte Lowe, Ella Davey & Georgina Cooke

Anne described Verity’s entry as ‘the steady unfolding of a psychologically interesting story’ and found Lily’s to be ‘very well written’. She commented on the Middle School winners: ‘They had the edge because they hadn’t bitten off more than they could chew and they stayed completely in control of what they were doing.’

All four winners received signed copies of Anne’s books ‘Aftershocks’ and ‘Shades of Scarlet’.

Chemistry Olympiad

Several Year 13 students in the Girls’ Division participated in this year’s Chemistry Olympiad. The intrepid participants demonstrated their problem-solving skills and applied their knowledge in new, real-world, challenging situations. The students worked for the full two hours and were rewarded with the following achievements: Bronze Certificates for Victoria Cook, Chloe Ferguson, Sanjana Patel, Fabeha Shafaat and Josie Varghese, and a Silver Certificate for Marie Poon. Well done!

Chemquiz

A group of four Girls’ Division pupils took part in the 2021 Royal Society of Chemistry Manchester and District Chemquiz. Due to the ongoing Covid restrictions, teams were asked to pick a research topic from one of five categories. They created a very interesting presentation on how Chemistry contributes to medicine and drugs, including information on chemotherapy, diabetes, Covid treatments and surgery materials.

Uma Patel in Year 11, Du’a Qedwai in Year 10, and Lucy Johnstone and Lucy Pickett in Year 9 each received a science dictionaries as a recognition of their entry.

MEDSOC

MEDSOC is a joint society for all aspiring Medics, Dentists and Vets. A huge thank you to Year 13 students Josie Varghese, Shady Morgan and Oweis Khalid for all the work they have put into preparing sessions this year. Congratulations to the new leaders of MEDSOC: Carol Habib, Aisha Yaqoob, Zane Nirodi and George Worth. We look forward to another eventful and informative year!

Space Camp

Sofia Carerra-Knowles in Year 13 has successfully applied for a place at space camp this summer! She will join 23 other international students in Norway for this exciting week-long experience.

Sofia said: ‘I have always had an interest in engineering, and with space being one of the fastest growing industries, with so much to explore, it has always intrigued me. Whilst carrying out research into the latest developments in space technology, I came across the space camp on the European Space Agency’s website.

‘The European Space Camp is an annual week-long summer camp held at Andøya Space in Northern Norway. It is for 24 young people, aged 17-20, from all over the world, who will attend lectures from some of Europe’s top scientists and engineers on topics varying from rocket physics to the Northern Lights. There are also activities such as hiking to the Alomar research station and swimming under the midnight sun. In particular, I’m most looking forward to building and launching our own rocket as well as experiencing Spaceship Aurora, where participants can go on virtual missions to space.’

A year in Music...

With the easing of restrictions, there has been a welcome return for many of the music events missed over the last couple of years. The additional boost of audiences to perform for has given all the concerts a real lift. We started back in September with the Accidentals giving a special A Capella version of the school song as part of Presentation Evening for a packed Great Hall. The Year 7 concert in October provided the perfect opportunity for the newest members of Girls’ Division to show off their performance skills with a selection of songs from classic musicals. The concert also featured soloists on a variety of instruments playing music from many different styles and genres. The second half of the Autumn term is always a busy time in the music department and started off with a new innovation for our newly formed Foundation. The Joint Autumn Concert saw the coming together of ensembles and soloists from across both Girls’ Division and Boys’ Division. The concert took place across both Great Halls with around 250 pupils involved. It was a fantastic occasion and showcased the range of talent we have on display across the Divisions. Other musical events included the Autumn Recital Evening and the whole school Armistice Assembly. With the end of term fast approaching, rehearsals started in earnest for the Christmas season and for the return of the traditional Ceremony of Carols. As ever this was a moving service at which the Middle School Choir, Senior Choir, Accidentals and Chamber Choir sang beautifully. The choirs led the congregational singing with vigour and performed a variety of songs from across the seasonal repertoire.

The new year started with the annual Music Festival, featuring a programme bursting at the seams. Performances came from pupils across the senior school and covered a variety of different classes. Two full days of performances, expertly judged by our external adjudicator Matthew Roughley, were followed up by the prize winners’ concert in the Great Hall at which class winners performed for a public audience. The two main prizes were awarded to Marie Poon (Year 13) for

Outstanding Musician and Emily Bowden (Year 9) for Most Promising Musician. Following closely behind the Music Festival was the Joint Ensembles Spring Concert. This year the concert was held at Bolton Parish Church and featured performances from the Senior Concert Band, Sax Ensemble, Chamber Choir, Tuned Percussion Ensembles, Intermediate Concert Band and Senior Orchestra. Playing to a full church, the exquisite acoustics provided the perfect backdrop for a series of fantastic performances.

The Summer term was kickstarted with the May Serenade which featured a strong programme of mainly vocal music, showcasing the fine range of choral groups within Girls’ Division. The May Serenade was the last concert opportunity for our outgoing Year 13 students who have been such committed musicians throughout their time at Bolton School. They signed off their musical journeys at school with a series of outstanding performances that included several moving moments for the audience and those involved.

Taking us through to the end of summer term, the Summer Recital evening in June saw a return to the Arts Centre, the perfect venue for smaller chamber concerts. An evening filled with solos and duets, those taking part produced an exciting array of performances. The highlight of the summer term was the Joint Middle School production of Matilda the Musical Involving pupils from both Girls’ and Boys’ Divisions, this was an exciting and technically demanding production of Tim Michin’s adaptation of the much-loved Roald Dahl story, ‘Matilda’. To finish the school year off in style, the Summer Celebration Evening focussed on the presentation of awards to Year 7 and 8 students with musical entertainment provided by the Intermediate Concert Band, Middle School Choir, Tuned Percussion ensemble and a mixture of soloists and small groups. Another busy but hugely rewarding year of Music in the Girls’ Division.

Mr P Lovatt, Foundation Director of Music

Music Exam Results (Autumn 2021 to Spring 2022)

Name Board Instrumnet

Megan Allan (8D)

Lana Spurdle (10E)

Level Result

ABRSM Clarinet Grade 2 Merit

ABRSM Clarinet Grade 2 Merit

Amelia Cowin (10A) ABRSM Clarinet Grade 1 Merit

Sophia Cail (7C)

Marie Poon (13 D2)

ABRSM Flute Grade 4 Merit

ABRSM Organ Grade 8 Distinction

Aliza Nirodi (13 G2) ABRSM Piano Grade 6 Merit

Sarah Habbab (12 E1)

ABRSM Singing Grade 5 Merit

Tilly Morris (7C) ABRSM Singing Grade 3 Distinction

Emily Fox (8G)

ABRSM Singing for Musical Theatre Grade 1 Distinction

Megan Fung (10A) ABRSM Violin Grade 6 Pass

Tahira Collins (13 D1) ABRSM Violin Grade 4 Pass

Molly Grimshaw (10C) LAMDA Musical Theatre Grade 5 Distinction

Isabelle O’Neill (7G) LAMDA Musical Theatre Grade 4 Pass

Ellen McKay (7B) LAMDA Musical Theatre Grade 2 Merit

Uzaina Malik (10E) LCM Piano Grade 2 Merit

Maha Khan (7B) LCM Piano Grade 1 Pass

Hannah Berisford (13 A1) Rockschool Vocals Grade 8 Distinction

Marissa Hollinghurst (8S) Trinity Piano Grade 6 Distinction

Nicola Shaw (11F) Trinity Piano Grade 6 Merit

Charlotte Hothersall (11A) Trinity Piano Grade 5 Distinction

Adithi Prasad (11D) Trinity Piano Grade 5 Merit

Emma Arnison (10D) Trinity Piano Grade 4 Distinction

Hannah Chen (7S) Trinity Piano Grade 4 Distinction

Eva Hurst (9D) Trinity Piano Grade 4 Distinction

Gabriella Koussa (10D) Trinity Piano Grade 4 Distinction

Amelia Stringfellow (11F) Trinity Piano Grade 4 Distinction

Tilly Watkinson (10C) Trinity Piano Grade 4 Distinction

Amy Heaton (9D) Trinity Piano Grade 4 Merit

Dhatri Anil (7G) Trinity Piano Grade 3 Distinction

Anushka Kishore (8B) Trinity Piano Grade 3 Distinction

Lottie McAndry (8D) Trinity Piano Grade 3 Distinction

Nico Howarth (7S) Trinity Piano Grade 2 Distinction

Harshini Madhu Shankar (9G) Trinity Piano Grade 2 Distinction

Ella Walker (7D) Trinity Piano Grade 2 Distinction

Phoebe Walls (9G) Trinity Piano Grade 2 Distinction

Disha Challa (8B) Trinity Piano Grade 1 Distinction

Evie Done-Jackson (7G) Trinity Piano Grade 1 Distinction

Honor Weston (8S) Trinity Piano Grade 1 Distinction

Zara Caswell (8D) Trinity Piano

Disha Challa (8B) Trinity Piano

Initial Distinction

Initial Distinction

Isabella Morgan (12 B2) Trinity Singing Grade 8 Distinction

Shreya Tol (10E) Trinity Singing Grade 6 Merit

Bethany Green (10B) Trinity Singing Grade 4 Merit

Anoushka Sharma (10E) Trinity Violin Grade 6 Distinction

Xena Logan (13 D2) Trinity Violin Grade 6 Merit

Victoria Longthorne (10F) Trinity Violin Grade 6 Merit

Carrie-Anne Warbrick (8G) Trinity Violin Grade 3 Distinction

Umme-Hani Khambalia (9G) Trinity Violin Grade 3 Merit

Nakai Matorera (9B) Trinity Violin Grade 1 Distinction

Textiles

Year 7 Cushions

Year 8 Planner Covers

Planner cover panels inspired by folk art. Finished planner covers have a woven ribbon panel for the spine and a repeat print pattern created in Adobe Fresco and Adobe Capture for the back.

Year 9 Summer Dresses

Suitable for a young child, these dresses incorporated the following skills and techniques: bonded appliqué, hand embroidery, stencilling, gathering, creating a pocket and lining a bodice.

Year 10 Skirts

Girls

Inspired by India and incorporating the decorative techniques of tie dye, block printing, hand embroidery and bonded appliqué.

created multifunctional travel skirts for their own chosen target market.

Aaminah Patel

Bridget Horan

Eleanor Lowe

Maryam Farooq Niamh Molyneux Vania Khan

Amy Carter

Hannah Haque

Leena Ciechowska

Lucy Hunter Noor Goraya Thea Littlefair

Bing Yu Wang

Freya Wood

Jessica Fraine

Lana Spurdle

Isobel Edwards

Sofia Macari

Tanvi Patel

Ayaana Haffeji, Gabriella Cook, Marissa Hollinghurst, Megan Allan & Neva Brayshaw

Year 12 Bodices

UKRAINE APPEAL

Inspired by natural forms: Crystals, Human Structures, Winged Insects and Night Parrot.

The Textiles club ‘Has it got legs’ run by Miss Stafford raised £213.17 for the Ukraine appeal by selling Crème Eggs in recycled denim hearts.

Zara McCann

Amelia Charova

Georgia Johnston

Isabel Heaton

Mariyah Bax

Cowgills Future Stars

Two Bolton School Sixth Form students are set to become ‘Cowgills Future Stars’! Olivia Maguire and Rishi Narla, both in Year 12, have been selected to join this work experience programme for Bolton School students.

The ‘Cowgills Future Stars’ programme offers an in-depth insight into the world of business and finance. The placement runs for between three and four weeks during the school holidays, and the pair of successful applicants have the opportunity to attend meetings, complete project work and shadow senior managers. They spend time in each department, gaining valuable experience of audit, tax, business recovery, wealth management, corporate finance and support services and marketing.

The ‘Cowgills Future Stars’ programme was established for Bolton School Sixth Form students in 2015.

Young Enterprise

Young Enterprise offers girls in Year 10 the opportunity to start up their own company with a group of their peers. It allows girls to learn vital skills such as teamwork, communication, problem solving and resilience as well as increasing confidence. The Girls’ Division team this year was Bee Bright. Their product was a personal A3 whiteboard revision timetable, with the aim of helping students organise their school and home life in a sustainable manner.

The team said:

“ When working in your team you make so many new friends and it is such a positive environment, there are so many sections such as social media, finance, product design, sales and so much more, so no matter where your interests lie there is always a role which fits you.

“Outside of our weekly sessions we have had such amazing opportunities. For example, we had the chance to set up two stalls at the Bonfire Night earlier this year. This allowed us to develop our sales skills and we raised just over £210 to put towards our company.

Future Entrepreneurs

The Parents’ Association Future Entrepreneurs competition challenged Year 9 girls to come up with a mindfulness product, which they pitched to a team of professionals following an intensive day of research, focus groups and planning.

“ We also had the opportunity for a team of four to go to the Trafford Centre to take part in the North West Trade Fair, where we got to see other students’ companies and their products, and talk to some of the founders of Young Enterprise. We also took this opportunity publicise our company and branch out our social media presence by creating a vlog, which appeared in the school newspaper.”

The girls made the most of market research and Dragon’s Den pitching experiences with industry professionals to gain feedback and tweak their plans.

At the Bolton and Wigan Showcase in March, the team presented their company and product to a panel of judges. The twentystrong team set up a trade stand, produced a business report, attended a team interview with the judging panel, and presented Bee Bright to the judges. The team performed very well on all of the criteria and won the ‘Best Customer Service’ award.

Bee Bright also qualified for the next round of the Young Enterprise competition and participated in the Greater Manchester Final, held at Manchester Metropolitan University Business School at the end of April. Despite a strong performance, the team did not progress to the North West Finals, but we congratulate them on their efforts.

Looking Back

Lockdown came as a shock to the History department as we have long prided ourselves on being able to take pupils to sites of historical interest. Nevertheless, we have made the most of the technology available to us and hosted a number of virtual events during the pandemic. The first was a meeting for current and incoming students of A-Level Politics with Mark Logan MP, who was elected to the constituency of Bolton North East in 2019. Mark talked about his new job as a constituency MP, as well as his role on the House of Commons Science and Technology committee.

Freed from the pressures of A-Level exam revision, the Sixth Form History class of 2020 took park in some independent study and a debate on the Israel-Palestine conflict. The debate was hosted by Parallel Histories, an education charity set up by Mr Owen’s former History teacher, Michael Davies. It provides opportunities for pupils to debate contested histories and competing narratives. Our four budding undergraduates (Amelia Doherty, Lima Assi, Charley Wakefield and Lauren Pursey) examined the source evidence and debated alternative interpretations with two other schools, via Zoom, before coming to their own view.

Zoom provided further opportunity for enrichment via Historical Association (Bolton Branch) lectures. Fortunately, our 2019-21 lectures concluded shortly before lockdown. In 2020-21, we managed to arrange three lectures, held entirely on Zoom. ‘Guests’ from as far away as the Republic of Ireland listened to talks on the Palace of Versailles, Benjamin Franklin and the history of slavery in Barbados. In 2021-22, lectures returned to school in hybrid format, meaning that guests could attend in person or online. This years’ topics included the peace settlement of 1919, medieval Jewry and several lectures related to our A-Level studies on the Stuarts and the American Civil War. We were fortunate, in the midst of the omicron wave, to host a heat of the Historical Association Great Debate competition, welcoming Altrincham Grammar School for Girls and Priestnall School, Stockport. Well done to Nicola Shaw in Year 11 for her entry, which involved speaking about the huge changes seen during the 70-year reign of Elizabeth II.

In Politics, pupils have continued to benefit from the large range of virtual seminars offered by the UK Parliament. In 2020-21, the Year 12 Politicians took part in an event called ‘Learn with the Lords’, where they were able to engage in a Q & A session with a serving member of the House of Lords, Lord Knight. They also took part in a virtual workshop on the First Past the Post electoral system.

More recently, the return of trips has enabled the same group to visit Westminster in person, where they toured Parliament and made our usual stop off at the UK Supreme Court.

Politics Club has continued its connection with Bolton Youth Voice. At the start of 2020-21, the Youth MPs visited in order to talk about various initiatives including #bekindtomymind and the ‘Make Your Mark’ campaign. The ‘Make Your Mark’ campaign is the biggest vote of its kind involving 11-18 year olds nationwide. The results are used to determine the agenda of the U.K. Youth Parliament. Pupils felt most strongly about ‘Health and Wellbeing’, with this issue topping the poll across the senior school.

In other years, we have welcomed the return of trips in 2021-22. Year 11 have been reacquainted with their Year 10 topic ‘Health and the People’ during our visit to the fantastic, recently refurbished Thackray Museum of Medicine in Leeds. Year 9 travelled to Liverpool, where they consolidated their understanding of black history with a tour of the International Slavery Museum. Finally, at the time of writing, Year 8 are eagerly awaiting where their post exam summer trip will take them.

Mrs Pritchard’s lower school Historical Craft club continues to provide much excitement to younger pupils, as did our annual castle building competition, which tested the creative skills of everyone in Year 7. Lego, loo rolls, you name it – they built with it!

Looking ahead to 2022-23, the department is eagerly anticipating the excitement of residential trips once again. If you will be in Year 10 or above from September, watch this space!

The History Department recaps the past three academic years (2019-22):

The Great Euro Bake Off

The Modern Foreign Languages’ Department celebrated the 20th anniversary of the European Day of Languages by encouraging pupils to become involved in The Great European Bake Off. Girls across all year groups were invited, as individuals or working in a group, to design and bake a birthday celebration dessert. Entries were subsequently judged and the winner, Year 7 pupil Hanaa Sheikh, was revealed in a European Day of Languages assembly later the following week.

Head of Languages Mrs Neil said: “We had over 20 entries - such an incredible response. We were particularly impressed with the originality of the entries and the stories behind the creations. It was extremely difficult to choose a winner! Hanaa chose to design and bake a Norwegian Kransekake or wreath cake, as she found it so eye-catching. She added her own twist by making it a funfetti cake, filled with sweets.”

INSPIRATIONAL WOMEN

In observance of International Women’s Day, the maths department ran a poster competition for years 7 to 9.

Pupils were tasked with researching a female mathematician and had to create a poster to give information about their life and work.

There were many excellent entries and choosing overall winners from each year group was difficult but, in the end, the following winners were announced:

Year 7: Lily Thornton for her poster on Katherine Johnson, who, in the 1960s worked on calculating the trajectory of Neil Armstrong’s Apollo 11 space mission to the moon.

Year 8: Ashriya Fernando for her poster on Florence Nightingale who – although mainly famous for her nursing work during the Crimean war was also an excellent mathematician that is credited for inventing a type of pie chart.

Year 9: Alice Neilson for her poster on Emillie du Chatalet, a French Mathematician famous for important theorems in calculus.

UKMT MATHS CHALLENGES

Each year, students from Years 7 to 13 take part in the UKMT Mathematical Challenges. The challenges encourage mathematical reasoning, precision of thought, and fluency in using basic mathematical techniques to solve interesting problems. Gold, Silver or Bronze certificates are awarded to the highest achieving students.

Senior Maths Challenge (Years 12-13): 2 Gold, 7 Silver, 15 Bronze

Intermediate Maths Challenge (Year 9-11): 4 Gold, 11 Silver, 17 Bronze

Junior Maths Challenge (Years 7-8): 18 Gold, 25 Silver, 55 Bronze

PI DAY COMPETITION

WELL-GOOD

Pupils in years 7 to 9 took part in a Well-good inter-form competition throughout maths week culminating, appropriately, on World Water Day, March 22nd.

Well-good is a website developed by teachers here at Bolton School Girls’ Division. The website rewards pupils’ maths on the website, by funding water projects in the developing world. The more questions that pupils answer, the more sponsorship we can find and the more projects we can fund.

Between them, pupils answered an astonishing 180,000 questions, which should help us to find more sponsorship and fund more projects.

Currently our most supportive sponsor is the BSGD Parents’ Association but Mr Heppleston is again on the lookout for lots more sponsorship.

The Well-good club has been actively fundraising again this year. This included selling cakes and Christmas decorations at the PA bonfire night as well as selling ‘well-goodies’ during the term. Brainstorming in the well-good club led to the launching of @wellgoodwater on Tiktok. Please follow to enjoy our well-good jokes and animations.

In celebration of World Pi Day on 14th March, the maths and food tech departments ran a competition: the Great BSGD Bake Off 2022, Pi Week.

To be in with a chance of winning some amazing prizes (Amazon vouchers), students had to make a pie with a mathematical theme. There were many entries but it was decided that the winner would be Feryal Mirza, from Year 13, for her Nightingale diagram pie (or Pie-tingale as she called it). This was in honour of the famous nurse and mathematician Florence Nightingale.

RS PATTERDALE TRIP

We took a group of Year 11-13s to Patterdale Hall for the weekend back in February. We went canoeing on the lake in hail and gale force winds, had cosy film nights and enjoyed a range of philosophical and ethical activities.

Food Technology

Food Through History

Year 7 enjoyed learning more about food through history in ECA sessions on Wednesday lunchtimes.

Fruit Tarts

A selection of delicious fruit tarts made by Year 9 in their food preparation lessons.

Visiting Slattery’s

Girls in Year 11 visited Slattery Patissier and Chocolatiers in December for a special workshop focused on chocolate. They made some delicious festive treats to take home.

PRODUCT DESIGN

Year 7

Girls

Year 8

Girls

Year 9

Girls manufactured useful boxes with decorative LED features.

Prisha Patel

Eva Hurst

Ella Ogunby

Amira Rahmah

used a variety of skills to make tidy boxes.

Talia Keep

Scarlett Hurst

Holly Ford

Ellie Sidebottom

Niamh Molyneux

Harriet Kennedy

Clara Logan Amelie Mobey

made lamps in their Product Design lessons.

Isobel Edwards

Isabelle Gape

Astrid King

Abida Baree

Katie Duong

DESIGN & TECHNOLOGY

Year 10

Ashlyn Lau Carly Ng

Charlotte Ng

Gabrielle Read

Maya Guhathakurta

Nadiya Tahier

Ogechi Umeadi

Sophie Lin

Lacrosse Captains’ Report

It’s has been a privilege to be co-captains of the senior lacrosse team this year as lacrosse has been a big part of both of our lives at Bolton School. It’s been an honour to captain this team and see the improvement throughout the years. This was demonstrated in our most recent success at National Schools, where we progressed to the championship placing our team within the top 16 in the country. This success included beating the previous champions and unbeaten Wycombe Abbey which was our proudest moment of the year and really brought our team together. Throughout our time as captains the team has become closer and left us with many lifelong memories and otherwise unlikely friendships across the year groups. With the many very strange yet funny experiences we have shared, we definitely believe this year’s team will never be forgotten. We are incredibly proud of the team we have become and the name we have made for ourselves at national competitions, however this wouldn’t have been possible without the support, time and belief of Miss Donaghy which we are very grateful for.

Chloe Ferguson & Phoebe Hurt

Netball Captain’s Report

Being captain of the senior netball team this year has been an honour. Due to covid we weren’t able to play last year however the rest of the team and I have been keen to get back to playing again this year. Netball has been very important in my time at Bolton school as I have been a member of the netball team since Year 7. I will greatly miss playing netball and representing the school in matches. I would like to thank Mrs Heatherington for taking the time to coach us and for taking us to all of our matches this year.

Isabelle Corrigan

Swimming Captains’ Report

Being nominated as swim captain for this year has been an enjoyable and rewarding experience. Having been a performance swimmer for many years, this role has provided me with the opportunity to encourage and support younger swimmers to achieve their goals. I have also played a key role in managing the different swimming events throughout the year, including Town Champs which has enabled me to gain valuable skills.

Lucy Dixon

I have been swimming for Bolton School since Year 4, so being selected as joint swimming captain has always been a goal of mine. It has been a new experience for me and has allowed me to gain confidence. I have really enjoyed the different aspects of the role, such as helping out at various galas. I am very grateful to have been chosen for this and for being able to represent the school in this way.

Lucy Sackfield

Cricket 2021-22

Cricket is an emerging sport in the Girls Division and the opportunity to take part in the ECB Indoor Tournament proved a great opportunity to test how far the team had come, following a term of training. With some incredibly close fixtures the girls unfortunately didn’t progress onto the county finals. They have, however, the foundations of a successful team which are keen to learn and develop. We can build on what we have achieved this year and come back stronger and ready to try again.

UNDER 13 CRICKET CLUB

Cross Country 2021-22

BOLTON TOWN CHAMPIONSHIPS

It was a super afternoon at Rivington for the Town Cross Country Championships in November with some superb individual and team results. Special mention to the Bartalotta sisters, Sasha (Year 8) and Elena (Year 10) who both won their individual events to become Town champions in their respective age groups. Congratulations also to the Year 8+9 team who were overall Town Team champions. The Year 10+11 team finished in 3rd place and the Year 7 team finished in 11th place. A great experience for all of the girls and great to be back doing some athletics again. Well done to all who took part and represented the school.

Y7 RESULTS

Eliza Doyle 8th

Miley Sharpe 29th

Y8 & 9 RESULTS

Sasha Bartalotta 1st

Isabella Backhouse 2nd

Georgia Clarkson 4th

Zara Plano 9th

Molly Neville 11th

Lucy Pickett 13th

Isabelle Gape 21st

Lucy Johnstone 28th

Gabriella Collings 34th

Y10 & 11 RESULTS

Elena Bartalotta 1st

Freya Taylor 6th

Ilham Nagi 7th

Riya Hasija 8th

Zahara Muhammad 18th

Ruby Hurt 27th

Angelie Chitre 31st

6TH FORM RESULTS

Lucy Dixon 2nd

GREATER MANCHESTER CHAMPIONSHIPS

Following their excellent individual performances at the Town Cross Country championships in November, the following girls represented the Bolton Town Team at the Greater Manchester Cross Country Championships at Heaton Park on Saturday 5 February.

Y7 RESULTS

Eliza Doyle 9th

Y8 & 9 RESULTS

Sasha Bartalotta 11th

Isabella Backhouse 16th

Lucy Pickett 44th

Y10 & 11 RESULTS

Elena Bartalotta - 9th Freya Taylor 28th

Badminton 2021-22

Bolton Schools’ Girls Division entered the town badminton league for the first time this year. The weekly club and regular fixtures gave the players an opportunity to hone their skills and refine their game play. Throughout the year the club players and squad members have not only improved shot selections and match play but learned the scoring system, rules and etiquette of the sport. The squad performed very well across the league with our A and B teams winning the majority of their matches both finishing as runners up from 12 entering schools. Due to this success both the under 13 and 15 teams were nominated to attend the Greater Manchester Finals. The teams of 4 played a mixture of singles and doubles matches, the U14 team finished a respectable 4th place, with the U16s winning the tournament and becoming Greater Manchester county champions.

Particular mention of Sasha Bartalotta and Elena Bartalotta who despite securing a top 12 finishing position, just missed qualifying to race at the English Schools’ finals in March.

YEAR 7

Sameeha Ali, Hannah Chen, Daisy Donovan, Anshika Goyal, Aisha Hafeji, Aleeza Karim, Talia Keep, Alinah McAllister, Poppy Murgatroyd, Mariya Musa, Sophie Neville, Patsy O’Leary, Anya Pijper, Zeest Salman, Charlotte Shambrook, Mia Simpson, Salma Tahier & Scout Taylore-Knowles

YEAR 8

Zoha Bawany, Hanisa Becic, Irene Chan, Oralia Ho, Imogen Linas, Lucy Wilson, Laiba Yasin & Rebecca Zavaglia

YEAR 9

Lola Aitken-Wood, Kate Beirne, Eesha Dhaygude, Hannah Haque, Aaliyah Karim, Umme-Hani Khambalia, Cheryll Khoo, Chloe Leung, Freya Marland, Ella Ogunby, Prisha Patel, Karishma Patel & Anayka Patel

YEAR 9

Ella Hilton, Karishma Ladha, Ammarah Patel, Nadiya Tahier, Ruby Johnston, Anoushka Sharma & Ishaani Singh

Athletics 2021-22

The athletics season got a kick start in December 2021 when the Year 8+9 combined team of Bella Backhouse, Karishma Patel, Umme-Hanni Khambalia, Lucy Blenkinship, Sasha Bartalotta, Emily Rostron and Isobel Evans travelled to Eastlands Athletics Centre in Manchester to take part in the Sale Harriers Indoor Athletics Competition.

Well done to Bella who was 2nd in the 800m event and to Sasha who was 2nd in the 300m. Lucy was 5th in the Shot event whilst Isobel was 5th overall in the Long Jump. Karishma had an amazing run in her 200m event to finish in 4th place.

The relay team of Karishma, Umme, Sasha and Emily were winners of their 4x200m relay heat which saw them placed 5th overall.

In February, the Year 7 indoor team travelled back to Eastlands for their age group competition. Well done to Miley Sharpe and Amber Pilkington who competed in the 60m event and Lottie Seddon and Sophia Borrino who ran the 200m. Tilly Birch ran a superb time of 50.45 for the 300m and Eliza Doyle was placed 4th in the 800m with a time of 2.51. Lola Errington achieved 7m in the shot event and Talia Keep jumped 2.99m in the Long jump event.

A great experience for all of the girls and great to be back doing some athletics again. Well done to all who took part and represented the school.

Zara Caswell, Pippa Critchley, Abigail Elmer, Maebel Farnworth, Olivia Jones, Anushka Kishore, Lottie McAndry, Imogen Muscat, Sehrish Shaikh, Iha Shashikumar, Daisy-Lee Strange& Sharina Tavakolynik

BADMINTON CLUB

Lacrosse 2021-22

Throughout the year, the lacrosse teams have competed in a combination of matches and tournaments across the North of England. After a season without playing any matches, it has been great to see the girls back in action once again. The U15 Team have had a great year, winning all their matches and finishing the season as North of England Champions. They have dominated this tournament since Year 7, which is a fantastic achievement! In addition to Regional Tournaments, the Senior Squad travelled to Aldershot in Hampshire, to participate in the National Schools’ Championships. With a team comprising of County and National standard players, Bolton School were always going to compete and challenge the strongest schools in the country. For the first time ever, Bolton qualified for the Championship Division, which is the highest tier of the tournament. Outstanding wins against Wycombe Abbey, Cheltenham Ladies College and St George’s School, Harpenden saw Bolton School finish in the top 16 schools in the UK. Yet another great achievement for the Girls’ Division Lacrosse teams.

This year, many pupils have also played lacrosse for their County. The following girls were successful in their trials to represent the U19, U15 and U13 Lancashire County Lacrosse squads:

ENGLAND REGIONAL LACROSSE ACADEMY

England Lacrosse runs talent development programmes for girls through an Academy system. The system plays an important role in raising the performance of junior players and contributing to the success of the National teams at U19 and Senior levels.

Pupils currently at Regional Academy: Emma Arnison, Anna Brennand, Amelia Crompton, Hannah Faulkner, Lily-Grace Greer, Molly Grimshaw, Maya Guhathakurta, Rosie Heywood, Alexia Howarth, Eva Hurst, Olivia Laithwaite, Alice Leary, Evie Morris, Pip Nuttall, Jade Sprott, Sienna White.

ENGLAND NATIONAL LACROSSE ACADEMY

Congratulations to Ella Brophy, Chloe Ferguson and Martha Halford who have all progressed to the England National Lacrosse Academy; a fantastic achievement for all 3 pupils. Their recent success at the Academy, enabled them to be selected for the U21 Home International Tournament which was hosted by Scotland in April at the Peffermill Playing Fields, The University of Edinburgh. Martha competed in the ‘A’ Tournament, with Chloe and Ella competing in the ‘B’ Tournament.

Following on from their success at the Home Internationals, Chloe and Martha had the opportunity to compete against Italy during the Easter Holidays and this August, Martha and Ella travel to Prague to play the Czech Republic National Team. A fabulous experience for all the girls as they have the honour to represent their country.

WALES U19 LACROSSE ACADEMY

Congratulations to Phoebe Hurt & Ruby Hurt for their continued attendance on the Wales Academy Programme. They competed against England and Scotland at the U21 Home International Tournament in Edinburgh, with Phoebe playing in the ‘A’ Team and Ruby representing Wales for the first time in a National event in the ‘B’ Team. Congratulations to both girls for representing their country.

UNDER 12 Holly Bromwell, Jood Elkadi, Lola Errington, Nico Howarth, Harriet Kennedy, Phoebe Masheter, Tilly Morris, Valerie Nyagumbo, Roma Sanotra & Gabriella White

UNDER 13 Scarlett Bowie, Lucy Colvin, Charlotte Cooke, Pippa Critchley, Lillia Dean, Ashriya Fernando, Marissa Hollinghurst, Anushka Kishore, Nikita Luhar, Olivia O’Brien, Bella Shannon, Daisy-Lee Strange & Carrie-Ann Warbrick

Hockey 2021-22

As hockey begins to grow as an emerging sport in the Girls’ Division, it has been an exciting season for development and successes in each of our age groups as well as many students experiencing their first ever fixtures!

The season began with the Year 8 & 9 squads travelling to St James’s to play a 7-a-side fixture, drawing 3-3. On the back of their success, the Year 9s went on to play in their Bolton Schools tournament, for the first time able to field an A and B squad. The A squad were very successful in the group stages, making the final against Canon Slade and winning 2-1 after extra-time to become overall winners. Stand out performances from Phoebe Walls and Amy Carter were instrumental in securing the team’s success.

The Year 8s, not to be outdone by the Year 9 side, were equally successful, fielding two sides and also making the final against St. James. A draw following extra time saw the trophy shared between the Bolton A side and St. James.

The season concluded with a fixture for the Year 7 & 8 squads who travelled to The King’s School, Macclesfield, resulting in a win and a loss for the team. Particular highlights included a hat-trick from Clara Logan and an 8-3 win for the Year 7 side.

Outside of school, there has been individual success for Amy Carter, who was selected as joint captain for the Lancashire U14 squad.

Congratulations also to Erin Turner in Year 10 who was selected at the start of the season for the Under 15 England Hockey Performance Centre and to Angelie Chitre in Year 11 who was was selected for the Under 17 Lancashire hockey squad.

SENIOR SQUAD

Netball 2021-22

The 2021-22 netball season saw a welcome return to normality for fixtures and training, which resumed after the disruption of Covid in 2020-21. Thankfully we were able to get back on track immediately and it was a busy first half term, where weekly Monday night training at the pavilion afforded some much needed ‘catch up’ time for skills and game play. Special mention to the girls below who were selected for various County and Performance Academies:

• U17 MERSEYSIDE NETBALL PERFORMANCE ACADEMY

Helena Flanagan

• U15 GREATER MANCHESTER COUNTY NETBALL

Olivia Melling

• U13 MANCHESTER THUNDER NETBALL ACADEMY OF EXCELLENCE

Molly Neville, Lois Cowin & Georgia Clarkson

• U12 MANCHESTER THUNDER NETBALL ACADEMY OF EXCELLENCE

Sophie Neville’ Lola Errington & Nico Howarth

• U13 GREATER MANCHESTER COUNTY NETBALL

Molly Neville & Lois Cowin

In addition to the usual mid-week league matches and Saturday fixtures, a number of teams were also in action early on in the season at their respective Town Tournaments and County Round tournaments of the National Schools competition.

Congratulations and very well done to the Under 16 Netball team who became Town Netball Champions in October. In the round robin format of this competition, the team were undefeated scoring an impressive 76 goals whilst conceding only 8.

There was something of a goal fest at the Year 10 Town Netball competition a week later, with an equally impressive 127 goals scored by the team who conceded only 7. Given that they played a total of 70 minutes of netball against 7 different opponents in total that worked out to be a very impressive scoring rate. Again, the round robin format saw the team undefeated throughout their matches to also become very worthy Town Champions.

After half term, the Senior Netball team travelled to Cheadle Hulme School to take part in the Greater Manchester qualifying round of the National Schools’ Tournament where they finished 4th in the group stages.

November saw a depleted U14 team take part in their County Round of the National Schools Tournament, which proved to be a great learning experience for the team, resulting in 2 draws, 4 defeats and an overall 5th place finish in the group stages.

The Under 16 County Round of National schools was a very cold morning of netball but the girls fought hard to finish in 3th place overall in the group stages after 5 wins and 2 defeats.

Fast forward to March where the Under 14 and Under 16 teams both acquitted themselves superbly at their respective County Tournaments, where once again they came up against strong opposition. A clash of fixtures with the U14 Northern schools lacrosse tournament gave an opportunity to other girls in the squad to play, resulting in a 5th place overall finish in the group stages. The U16 team finished in a creditable 4th place in their round robin County Tournament, where the difference of just 2 points separated 2nd and 4th place.

There was much to celebrate at the U15 County Tournament a week later after the team reached the final and finished as worthy runners up, losing 7-15 to a well drilled North Chadderton side. The seniors finished in a very creditable 3th place at their County tournament whilst at the Bolton Schools tournaments, the Under 13 team become town champions and the Under 14 team were runners up.

The Under 12 teams had a successful first season and were runners-up at their Town Netball tournament and semi-finalists at their county tournament.

There has been lots of potential on display throughout the season. Players have grown in confidence and skill and there is lots to build on going forward into next year. Thank you to all girls who have committed their time to training and representing school throughout the season. Thank you also to Mrs Walters, Ms Farrimond Goff and Mr O’Neil for their continued support of the netball teams and without whom none of the above would have been possible.

UNDER 16 SQUAD

Aaminah Ali*, Ella Brophy*, Angelie Chitre*, Phoebe Chuck*, Harriet Dickens*, Charlotte Duffy*, Riya Hasija*, Alexia Hughes*, Ruby Hurt*, Imogen Masheter*, Olivia Myall*, Ai Makino*, Scarlet Mathews*, Lily Porter*, Ruby Schofield*, Nicola Shaw* & Jemima Stubbs*

UNDER 15 SQUAD Anna Brennand, Amelia Cowin, Imogen Ferrier, Gabriella Giambattista-Hunt, Molly Grimshaw, Evie Hall, Harriet Atherton, Alexia Howarth, Amelia Quinton Taylor, Sallie Kendall, Olivia Melling, Zahara Muhammad, Pip Nuttall, Gabrielle Read, Charlotte Riggs, Anoushka Sharma, Ishaani Singh, Erin Turner & Emily Whalley

UNDER 14 SQUAD

Bella Backhouse , Ella Clarkson, Amelia Crompton, Ruby Farrington, Tia Fitzgerald, Maggie Fraser, Lily-Grace Greer, Rosie Heywood, Lucy Johnstone, Umme-Hani Khambalia, Olivia Laithwaite, Freya Marland, Evie Morris, Mya Rashid, Niamh Walker, Sienna White & Olivia Wong

UNDER 18 SQUAD Isabelle Corrigan+, Bethan Hill+, Phoebe Hurt+, & Feryal Mirza+ UNDER 17 SQUAD Martha Brennan, Amelia Charova, Jasmine Curtis-Walker, Helena Flanagan, Martha Halford, Olivia Maguire, Anika Maini, Millie Price, Kareena Singh & Frankie Williams-Denton

UNDER 13 SQUAD

Lana

YEAR 9 NETBALL CLUB

YEAR 8 NETBALL CLUB

YEAR 7 NETBALL CLUB

Mariam

Football 2021-22

Football has grown tremendously this year, with the twice weekly lunch time club attended by a committed group of over 30 year 7-9 students. The girls have participated in several friendly fixtures and town competitions during the season.

Our Under 13 and 15 teams took part in their respective Bolton town tournaments which took place over 3 consecutive Thursday evenings during the spring term. The U13s had a fantastic tournament, showing skill, determination and resilience; they were declared winners on goal difference. The Under 15s also put on a strong display of teamwork and scored a large number of goals, conceding only 2 across 9 games, 5 of which were draws! The girls finished the tournament in a very respectable 5th place from 10 entering schools. These results are testament to the girl’s hard work throughout the season and we look forward to seeing how their football progresses next year.

FOOTBALL

YEAR 7

Abigail Carr, Aleeza Hassan, Alena Livesey, Alinah McAllister, Sophie Neville & Ella Parfrey

YEAR 8

Sasha Bartalotta, Zara Caswell, Georgia Clarkson, Charlotte Cook, Pippa Critchley, Abigail Elmer, Christine Ekweogu, Imogen Muscat, Molly Neville, Zara Plano, Bella Shannon, Lily Stanway, Daisy Lee Strange, Lucy Wilson & Happy Yoak

YEAR 9

Amy Carter, Ella Clarkson, Eesha Dhaygude, Mariella Duckworth, Ruby Farrington, Maggie Fraser, Annabelle Guest, Maryam Hamam, UmmeHani Khambalia, Freya Marland, Ella Ogunby, Anayka Patel, Nikki Patel, Lucy Pickett, Isabelle Ryan, Niamh Walker & Anya Withington

YEAR 7

Tilly Birch, Eliza Doyle, Freya Green, Bridget Horan, Niamh Molyneux, Amber Pilkington & Miley Sharpe

YEAR 9

Lucy Johnstone, Ella Nielsen, Nikki Patel, Lucy Pickett & Niamh Walker

YEAR 10

Charlotte Harris, Alexia Howarth, Sallie Kendall, Lottie SineyHowarth & Eden Steer

YEAR 12

Helena Flanagan

Shilorema Assam, Leena Ciechowska, Niamh Flatley, Sophia Jacob, Prisha Patel, Laurissa Prasad, Amira Rahman, Noor-Al-Haya RazaqAziz, Sophia Riaz, Ammarah Sarwar, Phoebe Walls & Laila Westwood

Ridah Abbassi, Aanya Agrawal, Zoha Bawany, Irene Chan, Evie Crowshaw, Orla Emery, Isobel Evans, Maebel Farnworth, Emily Fox, Oralia Ho, Nandini Kapoor, Imogen Linas, Adeena Mian & Sharina Tavakolynik

Adam, Zakia Adam, Mariyah Ahmed, Hannah Chen, Molly Davenport, Iris Griffiths, Anshika Goyal, Aisha Jiva, Amy Lennon, Clara Logan, Manha Mamaniat, Alinah McAllister, Lucy McLoughlin, Harshini Mohanraj, Anya Pijper, Maariyah Patel , Lottie Seddon, Iha Shashikumar, Mia Simpson & Maariyah Zaeem

Bakeer, Scarlett Bowie, Zara Caswell, Georgia Clarkson, Lucy Colvin, Lois Cowin, Pippa Critchley, Ashriya Fernando, Marissa Hollinghurst, Olivia Jones, Nikita Luhar, Molly Neville, Bella Shannon, Daisy-Lee Strange & Carrie-Anne Warbrick

UNDER 12 SQUAD Temilola Banjo, Alana Bootle, Holly Bromwell, Abigail Carr, Holly Errington, Holly Ford, Nico Howarth, Alyssa Kadva, Aleeza Karim, Harriet Kennedy, Kassi Mayoua, Ellen McKay, Izzy McKay, Tilly Morris, Sophie Neville, Zeest Salman, Miley Sharpe, Diya Soni, Sianna Tamlin, Salma Tahier, Ella Walker & Gabby White

Swimming 2021-22

The Swimming Team has had a particularly good season with success in both fixtures and competitions. The season began with possibly the hardest of our events; the ESSA time trials. This was a combined fixture with the Boys’ Division and Canon Slade, with times being compared to all those in the area to attempt to qualify for the National Swimming Championships. With plenty of strong individual performances to celebrate, unfortunately we did not qualify, but had plenty to build on for the rest of the season. We had a plethora of other meets to compete in, including matches against Bury Grammar, Westholme, Cheadle Hulme and of course, our firm favourite, against the Boys’ Division. Particular highlights included a win for the Junior Squad against the Boys’ Division, a 4 point win over Bury Grammar School and a second place for all age group squads at the Bolton Town Championships. These wins were supported particularly by outstanding individual performances from Orla Emery, Lucy Vaughan, Emelia Atkinson and Lucy Dixon. There have been a number of individual successes over the duration of the season. Orla Emery recorded her first sub 30 second 50m freestyle times at the Town Championships. Emelia Atkinson has achieved a Regional time and competed at Regionals in April. Captain Lucy Dixon has had numerous achievements at county, regional and national level and will be competing in the British Swimming and Swim England Summer Championships in August 2022.

Water Polo 2021-22

The Girls’ Division’s water polo players have had a busy schedule of fixtures throughout the year including friendlies internally against the Boys’ Division and externally against some of the leading water polo clubs in the country. One of the highlights of the U13 team’s season was our ‘tour that doesn’t tour’ at Easter, which included a two-hour training session in the school pool with guest coach, former junior international and Old Boltonian Thomas Yates.

ESSA NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS

The U13s qualified in second place for the finals, where they made it to the 3rd/4th play off against Notting Hill and Ealing High School. This was a fantastic opportunity for the team to show how much they had improved throughout the competition and the entire squad was involved in a 9-2 victory to secure the bronze medal. A team of U12s with three older Year 8 players also participated in the U13 ESSA Cadet competition.

In the U15s national championship, the girls made it to the finals in Northampton, where they qualified as group winners for a semi-final. Following a victory here, they were narrowly defeated in the national final against Highgate School.

The U18s qualified for their national finals following drama in the first stage and a minor miracle from England captain Harriet Dickens to salvage a result from their game against St Bede’s! At the finals, victories in their group stages saw the girls go on to the semi-finals and set up a rematch against local rivals St Bede’s. This time they had the edge and went through to play in the final against Alleyn’s school, where they were narrowly defeated to come away with silver meals. This represented a fantastic achievement in a competition for Year 13s when most of the team are currently in Year 10 or below.

Congratulations to those girls who have been selected for regional and national teams and academies this year:

• GREAT BRITAIN (EU NATIONS COMPETITION)

Lucy Blenkinship & Harriet Dickens

• GREAT BRITAIN (EUROPEAN CHAMPIONSHIPS)

Harriet Dickens

• NATIONAL WATER POLO TRAINING ACADEMIES

Lucy Blenkinship (2006), Amelia Crompton (2007 & 2008) & Emily Whalley (2007)

• DUKE OF CAMBRIDGE CUP TEAM Charlotte Harris & Zahara Muhammad

• CITY OF MANCHESTER SENIOR WOMEN (League Champions 2022) Harriet Dickens

• CITY OF MANCHESTER U19s (National Champions 2022)

Lucy Blenkinship, Ella Carter, Amelia Crompton & Harriet Dickens

• CITY OF MANCHESTER U15s (National Champions 2022)

Lucy Blenkinship, Amelia Crompton, Ellie-Rose Donnellan, Zahara Muhammad & Emily Whalley

YEAR 7

Mariam Adam, Dhatri Anil, Holly Bromwell, Sara Choudhary, Molly Davenport, Evie Done-Jackson, Jood Elkadi, Lola Errington, Iris Griffiths, Alicia Gronowska, Nico Howarth, Olivia Irvine, Harriet Kennedy, Maha Khan, Clara Logan, Maariyah Patel, Amber Pilkington, Iha Shaskikumar, Diya Soni, Sianna Tamlin & Megan Woods

YEAR 8

Emelia Atkinson, Gabriella Cook, Orla Emery, Isabelle Evans, Sophie Huang & Nandini Kapoor

YEAR 9

Helen Huang, Lucy Johnstone, Lucy Pickett, Stella Rojek, Lucy Vaughan & Olivia Wong

YEAR 10

Charlotte Harris, Olivia Melling, Zahara Muhammad & Emily Whalley

YEAR 11

Ella Carter & Jemima Stubbs

SENIOR Lucy Dixon & Lucy Sackfield

Water Polo

Fond Farewells...

Dr H Christie

During my time at Bolton School Girls’ Division, I have had the opportunity to work alongside outstanding teachers, the most enthusiastic students and fantastic colleagues from departments throughout the whole foundation. It has been a privilege and a pleasure to be part of such a strong Physics and Science department. One of the highlights of my time in the Physics department was helping to found the Girls’ Astro-Physics Club. We have gone on to host an evening observation, a trip to see Tim Peake’s Soyuz Space Capsule as well as providing a platform for students across the year groups to come and discuss new discoveries in Physics and Astronomy. Outside of the classroom, I have enjoyed my role in recent years as Head of Year. My favourite part of this role has definitely been taking students to Patterdale Hall where we have braved the elements and taken part in a whole host of outdoor pursuits. A sincere thank you to everyone who has made my time at Bolton so enjoyable and unforgettable. I wish all the very best for the future to my colleagues and students.

Mr P Linfitt

I started work at Bolton School in 1999, so last century!

When you are busy every day, 23 years fly by and it seems incredible to me that I have now worked at the school since long before any of the current pupils were born. Teaching at Bolton School was my second career but, undoubtedly, it has been my most satisfying and rewarding. After completing a Masters in Electrical Engineering from Manchester University, I spent many happy years working as a design engineer in the electricity industry. Privatisation of that sector nudged me towards a new start and a new way of life. During my PGCE year, I happened to do a placement at the Boys’ Division. This included a visit to Patterdale; great fun and lots of new ideas to explore and inspire.

My first teaching job was at Lancaster Royal Grammar School - all boys, including a young Mr Owen for whom my Y7 physics lessons inspired a lifelong love of history. When a vacancy showed up at BSGD (in a real newspaper of course!), I applied immediately. I still remember the warmth and enthusiasm of the staff and pupils I met during my first visit. After being interviewed by the then headmistress, Jane Panton, I was delighted to start in a newly created Head of Department role. My first impressions from that day were happily confirmed. The outstanding professionalism of the Technology colleagues has endured – I could not have been luckier.

The Technology Department was undergoing changes and exploring new ways of delivering the curriculum. We changed the physical layout too, impossibly creating four classrooms where only three had stood. The space was designed by us and made real by Bolton School’s own in-house estates team. This time of change and the autonomy to make important decisions was a really exciting start for someone relatively new to teaching. The school’s staff room, then and now, was a supportive and encouraging environment and I happily took on new responsibilities such as Year Tutor, then later helping Dr Cath Brown with the management of the school’s operational systems. I’d like to say I’d crafted a master plan of career development, but that is very much not the case. As time moved on I became part of the Senior Leadership Team and, as a result, got involved in aspects of school life that were new, challenging, and fascinating to learn. In a very rewarding way it also meant working with an even wider range of talented colleagues across the Foundation.

My early education and work in engineering fuelled my love of problem-solving. It has been a great privilege to see the creative work of so many young people, and to share with them an enthusiasm for practical and imaginative solutions. Probably the most ambitious project was a cross-curricular science-maths-technology challenge to design and built a full-size working trebuchet…risk assessments were much smaller documents back then.

Of a very long list of enjoyable things I never planned or expected to do, school trips rank high. Through rain and shine, and occasionally snow, I’ve enjoyed excursions with almost every teaching department, including D of E. My top favourite was being co-opted into the History Department visits to New York, Washington and Boston. The headmistress at the time, Gill Richards, brought her boundless energy to these trips, but a full account of this would fill another article on its own.

I look back with real affection and enormous thanks, and recognise the very good fortune I’ve had to work alongside so many hard-working, entertaining, and intelligent colleagues. This has impacted my whole family since both our daughters came through the school (yet another great serendipity) and both had a fabulous education. It also meant wonderful fun for me, every day. I hope the same will be true for all of you too.

Mrs A Elkin

It has been a pleasure to finish my teaching career at Bolton School. I started out as an English teacher in the mid-eighties at Glossop School in Derbyshire before moving to Bedfordshire and then on to be Head of English at The Rochester Grammar School for Girls in Kent. Following spells at schools in Bury, I joined the School Improvement Service in Salford and worked as a literacy consultant in the many high schools there.

I have always been fascinated by language development and reading and I decided to pursue further study in dyslexia so I could better understand and support students with specific learning difficulties. So, nine years ago I arrived as your Learning Support Co-ordinator. I have thoroughly enjoyed supporting students with their studies and watching them grow to be independent, confident and accomplished young people who refuse to let their difficulties define them or be a barrier to their fantastic achievements. I am always impressed by how cheerful and resilient they are. It is so lovely to hear from past pupils and I always feel immensely proud of any part I played in helping them on their way.

I have loved being part of the traditions which give Girls’ Division its unique appeal: singing in assemblies; taking the odd assembly myself (nothing beats wearing the gown and feeling like Mr Chips!); chuckling at the staff “ribbing” in the Prefects’ Pantomime; enjoying all the excellent music and drama; and of course, going to Patterdale Hall.

The Creative Writing retreat has been another highlight. I hope to see more of our young writers in print in the future. There is some great talent to be nurtured.

Finally, a big thank you to my colleagues on the staff and very best wishes to everyone connected with the school. I will remember this as a very special time.

Ms A Cossey

I am leaving Bolton School after six busy years to spend some time as a full-time mum to my two young children. Whilst excited for this change I know I will miss working with a fantastically supportive and motivated body of staff and the bright and bubbly students in Girls’ Division, who have been a pleasure to teach.

During my time here I have taught a subject I love to classes from Year 7 through to Year 13, with topics ranging from debates about the existence of God to the controversial ethics of abortion. I have also enjoyed leading the Law Society and helping Sixth Formers looking to pursue a career in law embark on this path. However, I feel without a doubt my key educational achievement has been ensuring my Year 10s don’t go through the rest of their lives believing they are directly descended from orangutans.

I will take away many fond memories from these years, from regularly debating with classes whether something is an actual Test or just a “test”, to the palpable excitement that accompanies annual traditions such as the Easter Egg hunt or Prefects’ Panto. I have to admit that even if I stayed another six years I still I don’t think I would ever understand the unfathomable madness that is Christmas Post, but it will certainly stick in my memory when I look back at my time here. To all those I have taught and to those I have worked with I would like to say a big thank you for making the past six years so enjoyable. I will miss you all and wish you the very best of luck for the future.

Zahra Al-Falouji

LEAVERS 2019

University of Liverpool

Law with International Politics and Policy

Khadijah Ali University College London Medicine

Gabriella Appleby Heriot-Watt University Psychology

Aaliyah Ascroft University of Glasgow Mechanical Engineering

Kate Astbury University of Edinburgh Philosophy

Kathryn Austin University of Salford Journalism: Broadcast

Vanessa Azavedo University of Newcastle upon Tyne Urban Planning

Ellen Bate

The University of Birmingham Ancient History

Fazila Bhuta (2018) University of Manchester Optometry

Zinneerah Bax Gap Year

Josie Blackburn

Northumbria University Psychology

Amelia Bolton University of Liverpool Ancient History

Esme Bradbury Bath Spa University Psychology

Sophie Brown University of Newcastle upon Tyne Modern Languages and Business Studies

Melissa Cartwright The University of York Theatre, Writing, Directing and Performance

Lizzie Cooper Manchester Metropolitan University Art Foundation

Molly Cooper University of Edinburgh History

Rachael Crompton University of Newcastle upon Tyne Psychology

Abbey Crossley University of Nottingham Psychology (2020)

Georgie Crowther Durham University Liberal Arts

Rosie Dandy Astra Zeneca Apprenticeship

Seren Davies University of Liverpool Law and International Politics and Policy

Paige Dobson The University of York History

Annette Elmes University of Cambridge Modern and Medieval Languages

Eleanor Gibbons University of Salford Midwifery

Alex Graham University of Reading Geography (Physical)

Alisa Grundy Leeds Beckett University Psychology

Jaya Guhathakurta Liverpool John Moores University Animal Behaviour with Foundation Year

Deeya Halai University of Liverpool Architecture

Izzie Harper University of Newcastle upon Tyne Music

Eleanor Haughton University of Lincoln Psychology

Chloe Hendry University of Edinburgh Philosophy and English Literature

Viola Hilton Gap Year, Australia University of Manchester, Architecture (2020)

Jessica Hindley Lancaster University Politics

Hannah Holt Laine Theatre Arts Musical Theatre and Dance

Yuehan Huang University College London Mathematics

Fiza Hussain

The University of Birmingham Environmental Science

Aiman Ibrahim King’s College London Medicine

Sana Ijaz University of Manchester Biosciences with a Foundation Year

Antonia Jameson

Manchester Metropolitan University Art Foundation

Shivali Kaura Gap Year

Kiersten Keogh Aston University Economics and Management

Ana Kettle Northumbria University International Business Management with Spanish

Nicola Li Gap Year

Havana Lloyd University of Liverpool Geography

Subhi Loganathan

University of Newcastle upon Tyne

Medicine and Surgery

Bisma Mahmood Hull York Medical School Medicine

Emily Manock Oxford University French

Rabia Masood University of Manchester Optometry

Sameera Mohammed King’s College London English

Sophie Molloy-Lang University of Liverpool Communication and Media with Spanish

Jessica Mullins University of Leeds Psychology

Fatima Naeem

Lancaster University Medicine and Surgery

Charlotte Nuttall University of Southampton Psychology

Sarah Ogden

Teeside University

Early Childhood Studies

Grace Palmer Sheffield Hallam University Product Design

Aaliya Patel Gap Year

Aliyah Patel

University of Sheffield Dental Surgery

Fatima Patel University of Liverpool Biological and Medical Sciences

Sara Patel University of Leeds Medicine

Emily Pike Keele University History

Isabel Pillar The University of York Biochemistry

Zayna Quereshi Gap Year

Simran Rayarel Lancaster University International Management

Kate Rigby University of Edinburgh History

Lucy Rowlands University of Sheffield Materials Science and Engineering

Sian Rowlands Guildhall School of Acting Foundation in Musical Theatre

Fatima Saleem University of Sheffield Bioengineering with a Year in Industry

Alice Sandford University of Edinburgh Environmental Geoscience

Aasiyah Shaikh University of Newcastle upon Tyne Oral and Dental Health Sciences

Rebecca Sham (2018) Royal Holloway, University of London Criminology and Sociology

Abi Sharples De Montfort University Art Foundation

Abigail Shaw McLaren Automotive Apprenticeship

Nina Simon University of Nottingham Medicine

Thea Simpson St Francis College, Brooklyn, USA Business

Ella Smyth University of Chester Musical Theatre Performance

Lauren Standen University of Chester Acting

Katie Tan University of Bristol Medicine

Isabella Tankard University of Leeds History and Sociology

Grace Thompson Lancaster University English Language

Jemima Thompson University of Dundee Geography

Inika Vardhan University of Manchester Medicine

Anvi Varsani

Loughborough University Mathematics with Economics

Tara Wallis Royal Holloway, University of London Law

Zara Walsh University of Bristol Medicine

Imogen West University of Leeds Fashion Design

Teng Teng Wong University of Warwick Chemistry

Millie Wood Oxford University Philosophy, Politics and Economics

Samantha Woods EON Apprenticeship

DESTINATION OF LEAVERS 2020

Naeema Adam University of Leeds Medicine

Charleigh Adams Durham University Modern Languages

Fiza Ahmed University of Liverpool Dental Surgery

Aqeefah Akram University of Central Lancashire Pharmacy

Lima Assi University of Newcastle upon Tyne History

Neha Bagewadi Durham University Mathematics

Imogen Bootle University of Liverpool Politics

Annabelle Boulos University of Liverpool Philosophy with Spanish

Lucinda Butterworth Edge Hill University Geoenvironmental Hazards

Rachel Care The University of Birmingham Biological Sciences

Leah Chadwick Nottingham Trent University Criminology

Jess Chae University of Liverpool Medicine

Amy Chicken Bristol, University of the West of England Business Team Entrepreneurship

Shivani Chohan University of Manchester Dentistry

Anita Cardozo Universitat Internacional de Catalunya, Barcelona Dentistry

Sally Cowling University of Nottingham Music

Erin Crompton University of Newcastle upon Tyne Urban Planning

Lizzie Crowther Durham University Modern Languages and Cultures

Sharon Daniel Imperial College London Medicine

Cassia Drummond Gap Year

Amelia Doherty The University of York History

Haleema Fazal University of Manchester Pharmacy

Emily Fielder University of Newcastle upon Tyne Modern Languages

Lizzie Glover Nottingham Trent University Fashion Marketing & Branding

Zoe Grainger University of Leeds Law

Hana Hanif Keele University Pharmacy

Alex Haworth University of Manchester Adult Nursing

Esmee Higgins Gap Year

Honey Higham Trainee Accountant Jon Childs Chartered Accountants

Molly Hill University of Liverpool Psychology

Izzy Howe Sheffield Hallam University Product Design

Yolanda Hughes University of Liverpool Law

Santina Hundle University of Liverpool Geology and Physical Geography

Millie Hurt Florida Technical College Biology

Aleena Hussain Manchester Metropolitan University Law

Aliza Imitiaz Gap Year

Alexandra Isherwood University of Surrey Veterinary Medicine & Science

Mariyah Karim Cardiff University Medicine

Ella Kaut-Howson University of Edinburgh Arabic & French

Ingrid Lam University College London Medicine

Carla Law Leeds Beckett University Filmmaking

Robyn Lever University of Liverpool Psychology

Cate Lord Loughborough University Geography & Management

Isobel Lupton

The University of Birmingham

Ammara Makkan Gap Year

Biomedical Science

Lauren-Rae McGann University College London Spanish with Management Studies

Rachel McGinty Oxford University Law (2021)

Bryony Meech Lancaster University Chemical Engineering

Maddie Moon Gap Year

Ruqayyah Naeem University of Sunderland Medicine

Imane Nagi The University of Birmingham Dentistry

Aaminah Natha University of Manchester Pharmacy

Anabel Nuttall Harper Adams University Rural Property Management

Lucy Nuttall University of Newcastle upon Tyne Geography

Aamina Patel University of Liverpool Dental Surgery

Asiyah Patel University of Manchester Architecture

Safa Patel Gap Year

Safiyyah Patel Keele University Pharmacy

Issy Plant University of Bath Management with Marketing

Amy Potter Aberystwyth University Computer Science

Jessica Price University of Liverpool Physiotherapy

Lauren Pursey University of St Andrews History

Hafsa Qadeer Cardiff University Optometry

Ammarah Qureshi Gap Year

Emily Rajbhandari Apprenticeship in Assurance Ernst & Young

Bridie Rawlins University of Leeds Business Management

Hannah Rayner University of Warwick Economics

Sana Saleem King’s College London Medicine

Molly Scholefield Durham University Geography

Emma Sellwood University of Liverpool Veterinary Science

Sara Shaikh Liverpool John Moores University Pharmacy

Sammy Sharif Keele University Medicine

Rachelle Sidoli Cardiff University English Literature & Philosophy

Gabby Staveley University of Huddersfield Costume with Textiles

Lucy Stiles King’s College London Medicine

Lorna Stirzaker University of Leeds Foundation Diploma in Art and Design

Asmara Stubley Loughborough University Business Analytics

Abiha Sultan University of Liverpool Medicine

Sana Thagia University of Manchester Dentistry

Amara Vijayadurai Gap Year

Charley Wakefield University of Leeds History

Pui Shun Wan Queen Mary University of London Biomedical Engineering)

Lauren Whittaker Durham University Physics)

Alex Whittle University of Winchester Business Management)

Samantha Woods EON Apprenticeship

DESTINATION OF LEAVERS 2021

Faatima Adam University of Manchester English Lit/Spanish

Madeehah Ahmed Gap Year

Serena Arya The University of Edinburgh Architecture

Madeline Ashton University of York Business Management

Roxanne Asumu Charles University, Prague Medicine

Katherine Baker University of Oxford, Trinity Classics

Aaliyah Bax University of Manchester Medicine

Eve Birtwhistle Gap Year

Madeleine Bodger University of Liverpool Psychology

Jessica Buckthorpe University of Manchester Law with Politics

Joyce Chan University of Manchester Medical Physiology

India Corlett-Moore University of York Law

Katherine Couriel University of York Law

Sana Dalal University of Manchester Pharmacology and Physiology

Abigail Duckworth Oxford Brookes University Real Estate

Kate Dziobon Gap Year

Maisy Ferguson Edge Hill University Business & Management

Emilie Fielding Manchester Metropolitan University Foundation Diploma in Art & Design

Ellie Fisher Hull York Medical School Medicine

Isabella Forshaw Northumbria University Real Estate

Rachel Funk Gap Year

Maimoona Ghanchi University of Liverpool Medicine

Annabelle Gibbs Coventry University Accounting & Finance

Liberty Giggs Nottingham Trent University Fashion, Communication and Promotion

Madeline Godwin University of Birmingham Dentistry

Alexandra Greenwood University of Glasgow Veterinary Medicine

Sanaa Hafeji University of Manchester Dentistry

Sophie Hann Imperial College London Physics

Grace Hansford University of Leeds Politics

Ella Harkness University of Nottingham Politics and International Relations

Elspeth Harper University of Leeds Product Design

Rosalyn Harper The University of Edinburgh History

Saachi Hemmady University of Nottingham Geography

Zakia Herez University of Salford Biomedical Science

Stephanie Holland University of Nottingham Classics

Jasmine Howarth King’s College London Sport and Exercise Medical Science

Abigail Hughes University of Edinburgh Psychology

Charlotte Hughes PWC Degree Apprenticeship

Saira Hussain Cardiff University Dentistry

Isha Iftikhar Gap Year

Sana Isa University of Manchester Optometry

Jade Jolley University of Surrey Veterinary Medicine and Science

Shreya Kamath Imperial College London Electronic and Information Engineering

Victoria Kettle Northumbria University Marketing

Phoenix Khan University of Leeds History and Sociology

Amber Kirkham Newcastle University Business Management

Zara Leach The University of Edinburgh Spanish

Elizabeth Lees University of Leicester Medicine

Laura Marsden Newcastle University Marketing and Management

Haleemah Mohammed University of Liverpool Modern Languages

Eleanor Murray University of Sheffield Law with Spanish Law

Fatimah Naeem Lancaster University Medicine and Surgery

Maya Parmar Gap Year

Aaliyah Patel University of Newcastle Dentistry

Maryam Patel Queen Margaret University, Edinburgh Speech and Language Therapy

Muminah Patel University of Manchester Dentistry

Sanaa Patel University of Manchester Healthcare Science Audiology

Anna Phillips University of Oregon, USA

Harriet Preston The University of Law Law

Nikhita Puveenthirarajan Gap Year

Zara Rattoo University of Manchester Optometry

Mahnoor Raza Gap Year

Sana Riaz Durham University English Literature

Lily Rimmer University College London Politics and International Relations

Sara Salim University of Plymouth Medicine

Ashley Sprott University of Liverpool Psychology

Olivia Stubbs Durham University Natural Sciences

Jennifer Taberner Northumbria University Criminology and Forensic Science

Ella Thompson University of St Andrews French and Spanish

Sara Uddin Gap Year

Aishah Umar University of Manchester Dentistry

Sanjana Vijaya Kumar Gap Year

Sarah Walker University of Oxford, Lincoln College Law with French Law

Ellie Wallis Gap Year

Elizabeth Warburton University of Leeds Business Management)

Niamh Woodward Liverpool Hope University Psychology)

Bolton School Girls’ Division Chorley New Road, Bolton, BL1 4PB 01204 840 201 boltonschool.org