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.