The Cockerel - May 2021

The Cockerel

One year onSchool reflects on diversity and inclusion

One year on - School reflects on diversity and inclusion

not talking about difficult things, we need to develop a vocabularly to be sure we do talk about them.'

After the death of George Floyd in May 2020 and the subsequent growth of the Black Lives Matter movement, many institutions used the moment to examine their history as well as their current approach to diversity and inclusion. This was certainly the case at Bolton School, where internal reflection was supported by Alumni, who constructively engaged with teachers and pupils in examining the past, assessing the present and making sustainable changes for the future.

Over the last year, current students were canvassed and, subsequent to their comments, a number of changes were and will be made, the introduction of a quiet reflection room for private thought or prayer for one. Plans are being made to celebrate and inform about the range of cultures in school and to highlight synergies between their fundamental values. There will also be increased vigilance around harmful, casual comments and the usage of hurtful language. Philip Britton commented: 'This is the most basic, but also the hardest aspect. Rather than

Teachers too were surveyed and there was a strong commitment to act. Subject-wise, there has been consideration of how diversity and inclusion can be advanced and this has been particularly the case in English and History. There has been a great deal of activity delivered through creative endeavours in school, including Black History Month, the consideration of black role models, Homes Cultures, CreativesNow, YourManifesto and the RSA Pupil Design Awards.

There has also been a wider consideration of Lord Leverhulme’s impact holistically as pupils consider his life story. From a recruitment perspective, reviews have been made of the pipeline of supply and of where and how the school advertises.

You can read the full report of activities on the School website. It summarises the activity and change in school one year on. Similar reports will be produced every summer for the next five years in order to drive a sustained approach to the issues and to systematically change habits within school life.

A year like no other for School’s Monitorial Team

A year like no other for School’s Monitorial Team

In line with tradition, the new Sixth Form Monitors’ Team was announced in the final assembly of the Spring Term at Bolton School Boys’ Division. The transition certainly provided a moment for reflection for the retiring incumbents, who had undertaken their leadership duties during the most unprecedented of years. With the School in Lockdown when they took up their positions, then in bubbles and zones, followed by another protracted Lockdown, it certainly meant the boys had to be resourceful and creative in carrying out their leadership roles.

School Captain for the year was Charlie Griffiths, who reflected: ‘My captaincy began in the comfort of my own kitchen. I got a scary email from my Head of Year about a meeting with the Head and accepted the role of Captain in my own clothes, with a cup of coffee and the building site of a garden behind me. After this, the Senior monitorial team and I ‘sat down’ with Mr. Williams, our Head of Sixth Form, to discuss how different this year was going to be, with changes to duties, assemblies and external events on the cards. The first step was, of course, the WhatsApp group, and the Captains delegated roles to the Senior Monitors.

‘The first difference we encountered was our early start, taking up the mantle much sooner than usual, and getting to work recording speeches, assemblies and other public speaking events to be played during full school Zoom sessions, and a Vote of Thanks to be played during Prizegiving to ‘see off’ the old monitorial team.

Due to the uncertainty of COVID-19, we were unsure what duties would be necessary when we returned to school in the Autumn Term and how we could carry these out.

‘At the start, we sat down with members of the faculty and discussed what duties were going to be reasonable and safe to carry out with the new restrictions in place. With this, a timetable was drafted by Mr. Williams and the Monitors began their duties, ensuring handwashing was carried out when reentering the building at lunches and breaks and that pupils in intervention rooms were behaving.

‘Whilst we were not as directly engaged with monitorial duties this year as in past years, we spent a lot more time pulling strings behind the scenes, for example Thomas Higham’s sterling efforts with organising the assembly rota for Zoom and in-school

‘thoughts of the day’. Mr. Britton remarked that despite the fact that we had not spent as much time completing duties in school as other years, arguably we have had many more “public appearances” throughout school and I’m sure our faces will be remembered much more than in previous years.’

Vice-captain Thomas Britton gave his perspective: ‘In many ways, this year hasn’t been altogether unusual in that a good proportion of the major school events –

Prizegiving, the Tillotson Lecture, full assemblies, The Young Musician of the Year competition – have been able to adapt to a virtual setting whilst also providing a major source of stability in school life. For example, I gave the Vote of Thanks at the Tillotson Lecture, which took place via a Zoom webinar, and it didn’t seem too different than when I have watched previous Vice-captains do it in the past. I think the major change, however, has been not being able to see the members of the school we are supposed to act as role models for – it is a rare

occurrence to see pupils from lower down the school, which is somewhat sad, as it breaks down a sense of school community. It has also been rather strange recording ourselves speaking alone in our rooms for various assemblies and events, which usually have a fairly large audience. Nonetheless, it has been a pleasure and an honour to be part of the School’s leadership team this year.’

Senior Monitor Thomas Higham, offering his thoughts, said: ‘My role has remained largely unchanged. During this academic year, I have been in charge of organising the Monitors’ ‘thoughts for the day’ at the start of assemblies. I was keen to have this role as I thought that well-chosen words of wisdom from older boys would be more important than ever for the younger years, particularly over Lockdown when they may not have had a great deal of human interaction. The ability to host live webinars on Zoom has been key in allowing the monitors’ speeches to be given from home. I wouldn’t be surprised if the Lockdown has enabled me to convince more Monitors to speak in assemblies than would otherwise have been the case, if for no other reason than that this year the audience has been replaced by a camera. I’m very pleased with the consistently excellent ‘thoughts for the day’ that the Monitors have given, and I hope that the foundations have been laid for such speeches to be given as regularly in the years to come.’

In considering the past year, Nathan Burudi said: ‘This year has been unlike any other. As a Senior Monitor, I had a responsibility to help introduce new Year 7s to the school through a video, within which I spoke about friendships and how they formed in the first year of high school. I also tried to emphasise the importance of extra-curricular activities in one’s introduction to the school. My role within the team was intended to be internal events, however with COVID-19 meaning the ‘bubbling’ of the year groups, I wasn’t able to carry out this task. As a Senior Monitor team in a year of the pandemic, we didn’t have that many opportunities to work together. However, a highlight of the year was when we all signed a petition for study leave during the September exams. That feeling of teamwork and a collective goal was quite uplifting, and I was very glad to be a part of it.’

Headmaster, Mr. Britton, added: 'I have been immensely impressed by how adaptable and resilient the boys have been in their leadership. Rather than focus on what they could not do, they have thrown themselves into what was possible and, in doing so and by example, have provided terrific leadership for other boys in the school.'

For the next academic year, Ali Ahmed was named as School Captain with Finley Littlefair and Matthew Mair announced as Vice-captains; Jack Swires, Thomas Martin, James Hopkinson and Amin Patel were named as Senior Monitors.

‘On This Day She’ project on Women’s History

‘On This Day She’ project on Women’s History

As part of their lessons in the Pastoral Curriculum, boys from Year 7 to Year 13 looked at women’s representation in history. The ‘On This Day She’ project has provided a fantastic springboard to facilitate important conversations with the boys. Drawing inspiration from a Ted X talk given by Dr. Ailsa Holland, one of the founders of the ‘On This Day She’ project which aims to ‘put women back into history one day at a time’, boys learnt about the exclusion of women from recorded history. Guided by form tutors, they examined the reasons behind this and researched female figures who have made an impact on society.

Politkovskaya, to name but a few. The sessions also provided a stimulus to talk about women’s issues more broadly, and meaningful discussions were had across the school about the gender pay gap, the right to vote and inclusion in different settings. Hearing Year 7 pupils confidently give definitions of historiography and tokenism served to show us how capable young people are at grasping complex material, when provided with the correct level of challenge and support.

Particularly impressive was how boys displayed one of Bolton School’s key character virtues of ‘intellectual curiosity’ when completing the sessions. It was heartening to see them find out about the contributions of so many different women: Matilda Montoya, Fatima al-Fihri, Nakano Takeko, Diana Taimina, Anna

As part of the lessons, boys also completed a survey, which explored their opinions on women’s place in history. The data collected from the survey will be used going forward to continue this discussion in different contexts. This will allow the boys to reflect on what it means to be socially responsible and how to work together with others. A number of boys from Years 10 and 12 were then fortunate enough to have the opportunity to take part in a Zoom discussion with Dr. Holland. They posed insightful questions, which helped to show the relevance of women in history across the curriculum and in our wider community today.

Young Musicians Showcase Talents

Young Musicians Showcase Talents

The annual Young Musician of the Year competition in the Boys’ Division began in January with hundreds of boys submitting videos of their performances for consideration. 82 musicians were selected as Semi-finalists, and the winner of each category was invited to take part in the Final, adjudicated live by Karen Humphreys MBE, Head of Junior RNCM.

Though this year there was no live audience in the Great Hall, the Junior and Senior finalists were delighted to hear one another’s performances in person and the event was filmed for parents, friends and family to enjoy later on the same evening.

The quality of performance throughout the Final was extremely high as all the performers are all winners in their own right, and it was no easy task to choose the two Young Musicians of the Year.

The Junior prize went to Year 7 pupil Antoine Jodeau, who played the Star Wars Title Theme by John Williams. The Senior prize was awarded to Jude Ashcroft in Year 13, who sang The Schmuel Song by Jason Robert Brown.

Other award winners in the Young Musician of the Year competition also

performed as part of the occasion. The Junior and Senior Young Composers of the Year were Advaith

missed during the pandemic! She told both sets of finalists that she had enjoyed all of their performances and reiterated: ‘You are all winners’.

The Junior Finalists (in performance order) were:

• Matthew Yeung (Year 7) playing Serenade by Gaspar Cassadó on violin

Govindu in Year 7 with his piano piece ‘Tranquil’ and Year 12 student Matthew Settle, who composed an orchestral ‘Pie Jesu’. 2021’s Most Promising Performer was Charlie Middleton in Year 13 singing ‘They Just Keep Moving The Line’ by Marc Shaiman and Scott Wittman.

Mr. Forgrieve, Head of Instrumental Studies, and adjudicator Karen Humphreys congratulated all of the boys on their excellent musicianship. Karen also commented after both the Junior and Senior performances on the joy of playing for a live audience: something that has been sorely

• Antoine Jodeau (Year 7) playing Star Wars Title Theme by John Williams on Cornet

• Martin Ma (Year 7) playing Bamboo

House Love Song by Haiying Li on Cucurbit Flute

• William Martin (Year 9) playing Pasticcio by Jean Langlais on organ

•James Wilson (Year 8) playing Old Bones Blues by Kit Morgan on electric guitar

• Ashton Kay (Year 9) playing Pop It In The Top by Luke Aldridge on drum kit

• Nathan Pierson (Year 8) singing Ain't Misbehavin’ by Fats Waller

The Senior Finalists (in performance order) were:

• Tom Fox (Year 12) playing Study No. 56 by Georg Kopprasch on tuba

• Jamie Death (Year 11) playing Brazil Overture by Ralph Salmins on drum kit

•Thomas Higham (Year 13) playing Concerto in F minor: I. Allegro by Weber on clarinet

• Harry Adams (Year 10) playing Russian Fantasia No.2 in D minor by Leo Portnoff on violin

• Jude Ashcroft (Year 13) singing The Schmuel Song by Jason Robert Brown

• William Miles (Year 12) playing Impromptu No. 3 in Gb by Schubert on piano

• Harry Paterson (Year 13) playing Sir Duke by Stevie Wonder on bass guitar

The Young Musician of the Year Final can be viewed in full here: Part 1 (Juniors) & Part 2 (Seniors)

Eco-Committee gains Silver Award

Eco-Committee gains Silver Award

We have been awarded a Silver Award from Eco-Schools England for our environmental efforts thus far.

This half term, we collaborated with Blackburn House to plant 30 saplings on school grounds and there are plans under way for further tree planting over the school sites. We also engaged all boys across school in a ‘Food Waste Fortnight’, which combined pastoral sessions on the impact of food waste and other dietary choices with an effort to reduce the food waste at lunchtimes in school. There are some further plans to develop this work on food waste in the coming months too.

A group from the Eco-committee undertook a research project into the carbon emissions savings of this year’s online parents’ evenings. Through our sampling, this amounted to a total of over 2800 kg of CO2 saved.

Assembly celebrates Founders and Benefactors

Assembly celebrates Founders and Benefactors

Headmaster Philip Britton was delighted to welcome a selection of boys into the Great Hall for this year’s Founders’ and Benefactors’ Assembly. He was equally pleased to welcome pupils and Old Boys from around the world via Zoom. The annual event, inaugurated in 2015 in the School’s 500th year, is held on or around 7th May, which marks the anniversary of the death of Lord Leverhulme who died in 1925. Leverhulme was the School’s most recent founder and was responsible for bringing the School together as we know it today.

Mr. Britton recapped the original foundation of the boys’ grammar school during Henry VIII’s reign, its re-founding during the English Civil War and then the coming together of the Bolton School Foundation during the tumult of the First World War. He focused on the year 1905 when Mr. William Hesketh Lever, as he was known then, gave the School a swimming pool, which is now the Arts Centre and the oldest building on the Chorley New Road site. Sixth Form Senior Monitors Jude Ashcroft and Hamzah Chariwala and Vice-captain Thomas Britton spoke about, respectively, life in Britain, life in the town and life in Bolton School in 1905.

Mr. Britton impressed upon the audience that it is important, as a school, to feel that we are part of history. Whilst the school lives and is vibrant in the present and whilst it looks to the future with innovation and ambition, we do still walk in the steps of those that have gone before us, he said, and in doing so, we find

important lessons and messages for our own lives. The sense of being part of an enduring institution is, he felt, important. He recalled as a boy witnessing a 97 year old woman planting a tree in her garden, knowing that she would not benefit from this, but others would. He asserted that drawing on the past, living vibrantly in the present and investing in the future is what the Bolton School education is all about.

The School’s ethos, he said, is timeless and, over the last 18 months, these values, ‘what we care about’, has been transferred into our homes through Zoom. He told how a sense of belonging is important to us all and that, despite the Covid pandemic, there has still been a strong sense of school community.

Mr. Britton took the audience back to 1905 and told how Mr. Lever was already a wealthy local businessman but was still to become great. Port Sunlight was in the planning and he had yet to go to the Congo, where, as had been discussed in a previous assembly, he tried to do good to people rather than with people. His focus in Bolton was on how he could help pupils living in homes on terraced streets not rich houses. His benefaction was inclusive. It was interesting, the Head thought, that he saw it as being important to build a swimming pool and that our Founder believed in the community and people getting better through education and exercise – the concept of an holistic education, which we still adhere to today.

The Head recounted how some Alumni have put their names to School buildings, whilst many, many others have contributed what they can afford to the Bursary Fund. This, he emphasised, is not the passing on of privilege, but former pupils, having benefitted from a Bolton School education in the past, ‘making sure the ladder of social mobility is in good repair’.

Mr. Britton drew the assembly to a close by ‘congratulating’ the Year 13 boys on sitting through at least 400 of his assemblies and consequently having spent a week of their lives listening to him!

The assembly, which included the singing of the School song Forty Years On and Jerusalem can be watched here and lasts around 30 minutes.

A snapshot of extra-curricular school life

A snapshot of extra-curricular school life

knocked out in the second round in a rain affected game against Saddleworth.

The commencement of cricket has come at a valuable time for both boys and staff at Bolton School. Fixtures against Manchester Grammar School, Lancaster Royal Grammar School and King’s Chester have provided opportunities for over 100 boys to represent the School at cricket. Alongside this, the Under 14s have progressed through to the Quarter-finals of the Lancashire Schools Cricket Association Cup with a hard-fought win against Kirkham Grammar School. The Under 15s have also reached the Quarter-finals with a notable win against Stonyhurst in the earlier rounds. The Under 12s are waiting to play their second round tie against St. Mary’s Hall and the Under 13s were

With another half term of cup games and block fixtures to look forward to, Bolton School cricket is once again at the forefront of our wider life here at Bolton School.

Congratulations to Luke Yates who has been selected for the Lancashire Under 14’s Cricket. Very well done.

The Science Challenge for Year 10 students tested skills used by research scientists (such as making deductions, spotting trends, false reasoning and interpreting graphs) and attracted an entry of 1629 students from 29 schools where the top scoring students gained 96%. The highest scoring Bolton pupils were Haseeb Ahsan and David Chow, who both scored 88%.

Amrit Mishra (9f) Piano Grade 4 Distinction (Trinity)

Dhilan Jacobs (7a) Electric Guitar Grade 4 Merit (Rockschool)

Michael Gatenby (9d) Vocal Grade 3 Distinction (Rockschool)

Jax Ho (7c) Piano Grade 3 Distinction (LCM)

Ethan Caswell (9e) Classical Guitar Grade 3 Merit (Trinity)

Our musicians continue to be successful in performance exams and congratulations to the following pupils:

Alfie Birkett (13e) Cello Grade 8 Distinction (Trinity)

Harry Paterson (13f) Piano Grade 8 Distinction (Trinity)

Jude Ashcroft (13f) Musical Theatre Grade 8 Merit (ABRSM)

Thomas Higham (13b) Piano Grade 7 Merit (ABRSM)

James Bowie (10e) Drum Kit Grade 6 Merit (Trinity Rock)

Barnaby Keogh (11c) Piano Grade 5 Distinction (Trinity)

Ethan Caswell (9e) Vocal Grade 5 Merit (Rockschool)

Jacob Hughes (11e) Guitar Grade 5 Merit (ABRSM)

Max Turner (12b) Vocal Grade 5 Pass (Rockschool)

Yash Anand (9c) Electrc Guitar Grade 4 Distinction (Trinity Rock)

James Wilson (8d) Electric Guitar Grade 3 Merit (Rockschool)

Freddie Wardle (7g) Piano Grade 2 Merit (Trinity)

Year 13 has enjoyed the day at Patterdale Hall completing the Ullswater Challenge as part of their Activity Week.

Well done to boys in Year 10 who raised the amazing amount of £1,053.10 for The Christie.

Hassan Ali in Year 7 has been awarded his Artsmark Award, with work which included his flip book animation.

As an extra-curricular activity, all boys in Years 7-9 had a 30 minute session on Black Lives Matter looking at black role models. Boys were then asked to write a short review of a black role model, explaining why that person has had an impact on them in their thinking. Notable entries were as follows:

Year 7: Year 8:

Fin Wyatt 7d (1st) Jayden Cheung 8f (1st)

Daniel Bakka 7c (2nd) Ibrahim Sirelkhatim 8c (2nd)

Dhilan Jacobs 7a (3rd) Joseph Williams 8b (3rd)

Alex Chadwick 7d Freddie Bovill 8b

Daniel Keene 7b Bhavik Mawji 8c

Ahmed Tahir 7e Joseph Robertson 8e

Boys through excellent work and conduct are able to earn commendations, which contribute to their House totals in the annual Lyde Cup competition. The current standings in each year group are as follows:

Year 7 Dhilan Jacobs 7a 65

Year 8 Ethan Herring 8d 104

Year 9 Alexander Cook 9a 84

Year 10 Dylan Lincoln 10b 71

Veer Patel 10d 71

Year 11 Ammar Ahmed 11a 27

Year 12 Ali Ahmed 12g 35

Year 13 Patrick Bentley 13i 28

Nathaniel Waghorn 8c

Nathan Watts 8b

Isa Youssouf 8d

Credits

Credits

Editor: Miss K.S. Wrathmell

Contributors: Mr. M. Power, Mr. J. Newbould, Miss A. Bradshaw, Charlie Griffiths (13c), Thomas Britton (13a), Thomas Higham (13b), Nathan Burudi (13e), Mr. P.J. Britton, Miss K.J. Roddy, Mr. J.C. Bleasdale, Mr. I.K. Forgrieve, Miss E.A. Bramhall, Mrs. J. Higham, Mr. L. Watkinson, Dr. M. Yates.