The Cockerel - May 2023

The Cockerel

BOLTON SCHOOL BOYS’ DIVISION NEWSLETTER

ISSUE 40 - MAY 2023

Chapter 1

Coronation Assembly Marks

Occasion

Coronation Assembly Marks Occasion

decked in Union Flags and bunting, and livestreamed virtually to all Boys’ Division form rooms.

The Boys’ and Girls’ Divisions came together for a special assembly to mark the coronation of King Charles III. This special occasion was held in-person in the Girls’ Division Great Hall,

Mrs. Kyle, the Head of Girls’ Division, began by speaking about the organ music that accompanied the entrance to the Great Hall: ‘Zadok the Priest’, which was composed for the coronation of King George II in 1727 and has been used in every coronation since. She also told the listening pupils that the closing music would be ‘Crown Imperial’, composed for the coronation of Edward V and inspired by Shakespeare’s ‘Henry V’. She then looked back some 70 years at the previous coronation and how it was celebrated, noting that Queen Elizabeth II’s coronation was the first to be televised and indeed the first major event to reach an international audience! Today’s assembly, in fact, replicated part of the School’s celebrations back in 1953, when a service was held on the Friday before Elizabeth II’s coronation. In the previous week, there was also a Coronation

Concert and the Coronation Lanterns were purchased and put on display at the entrances to the Boys’ and Girls’ Divisions: these now hang under the main arch leading into the Riley Quad.

Mrs. Kyle spoke about the traditions of coronation that date back hundreds of years and how this celebration is also a solemn religious ceremony. She explained how the service would unfold the following day and gave a brief history on the Crown Jewels, which were made for King Charles II in 1661, after the previous set was sold and melted down by Oliver Cromwell!

Looking forward to the weekend of celebrations, Mrs. Kyle spoke about Coronation Big Lunches and the King’s message for everyone to join ‘The Big Help Out’ on the Monday Bank Holiday. Pupils in the Primary Division got a head start on this earlier in the week with a visit to Bolton Hospice! Finally, Mrs. Kyle encouraged everyone listening to tune in to

at least part of the coronation, as this is an important moment in history and reminded those in the hall that, in future years, they will be able to say, ‘I was there’.

The whole school stood to sing the National Anthem to bring the assembly to a close, and girls departed the hall to the ‘Crown Imperial’ march.

Chapter 2

Royal College of Organists Accreditation for the School

Royal College of Organists Accreditation for the School

Earlier in the academic year, Bolton School joined an elite group of schools nationally when it gained accreditation from the Royal College of Organists.

Head of Foundation, Mr. Philip Britton, said: ‘The accreditation, which will initially last four years, recognises our work with young organists at Bolton School. We are blessed with two pipe organs, one in each Division, and these help us in the tuition and training of young people as organists. In both our Boys’ and Girls' Divisions, we offer a number of full and half organ scholarships. We also have strong connections with local churches and venues, and our pupils have recently played at Bolton Parish Church and the Bridgewater Hall in Manchester. For many former pupils, the sound of the organ is one of their abiding memories of school and recent renditions at alumni reunions have been particularly well received.’

The accreditation programme has been developed to help like-minded institutions to share ideas and approaches to teaching and learning so that high standards in organ playing and choral direction can be maintained.

Chapter 3

School raises £2m for Bursaries and Hardship Fund

School raises £2m for Bursaries and Hardship Fund

During the last academic year, Bolton School raised £1.96m for pupils seeking bursary, hardship and extra-curricular activities funding, as well as for university scholarships for its recent leavers.

Philip Britton, Head of Bolton School Foundation, said: ‘All things considered, it’s an astonishing total, which reflects the unstinting generosity of our School community despite the economic challenges we all face. Since our re-foundation in 1915, the School’s role as a vehicle for social mobility in the region has been fundamental to its purpose. Both the Bolton Grammar School for Boys and the Bolton Girls’ Day School, the schools which became the two Divisions we have today, were originally founded with the intention of offering a rounded education to the bright young people of the town, regardless of their families’ wealth or standing.

‘From the outset, we have had some pupils who were fee-payers and others whose fees were paid for them and it is worth remembering that today’s binary division between fee-paying and state schools has only existed since 1997. Prior to then, a

mixed model of funding existed, which drew the different types of schools within the educational landscape closer together for the good of all.

‘Our substantial partnership work makes us a key contributor to the local communities we serve, whilst ensuring our bursary scheme is promoted to all bright young people who could benefit from it. In the independent schools’ sector, we are seen as national leaders in the provision of bursaries, both in terms of fundraising and in the practical and successful delivery of a large-scale bursary scheme.

‘By the end of this decade, we aim to offer bursary support to one in three pupils in our Senior Schools. This will ensure that we continue with this mixed model, enriching our School community and the wider society that we serve, whilst offering bright young people from every background the opportunity to transform the trajectory of their lives.’

Chapter 4

Football Festival as popular as ever

Football Festival as popular as ever

overcame Egerton CPS

Once again, the Bolton School Football Festival, which runs over two days after school, has proved massively popular with local primary school girls and boys.

Match Day One saw hundreds of Year 3

and Year 4 pupils from local schools play some great football on the Bolton School Levels. The mini-games were played in a great spirit and were refereed by Boys’ Division pupils from Years 7, 8 and 10.

Day Two, which enjoyed even better weather, saw hundreds of Year 5 and 6 pupils compete in three fiercely contested competitions. Again, the matches were refereed by older Bolton School pupils and local referees provided by Bolton PE and School Sport. The B competition was won by St. Brendan’s who

2-0 in the final and the A competition was won by Bolton School Junior Boys who beat St. Andrew’s from Over Hulton 1-0 in a very tight match. The girls’ competition saw Eatock run out 3-1 winners over St. Thomas Chequerbent.

Over the course of the two days, 140 teams competed.

Chapter 5

Boys learn the importance of Embracing Equity

Boys learn the importance of Embracing Equity

Awhole school assembly in the Boys’ Division focused on the International Women’s Day theme of ‘Embracing Equity’. The virtual assembly was led by Mr. Ford, Head of Boys’ Division, and featured Miss Roddy (Boys’ Division Equity, Diversity and Inclusion Lead) and Katie Clinton, who is a Partner at KPMG, an Old Girl (Class of 1997) and serving Governor of the School.

The virtual assembly began with a Thought for the Day from Luca, who shared the importance and significance of International Women’s Day. He talked about the history of the day, which has been honouring the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women since 1911, and its origins in the earlier Women’s Rights movements of the late 1800s. He said that ‘the successes of women, at times of immense subjugation, stand as a testament to their courage and fight at times when feminism meant radical action in the face of oppression.’

Mr. Ford reminded pupils that the Boys’ Division celebrates International Women’s Day to highlight the importance of male allies in the fight for equality and equity. He went on to explain

the theme of ‘Embracing Equity’: where equality means that everyone is given the same resources, equity recognises that each person has different circumstances and allocates the resources needed for all to reach an equal outcome. He illustrated this idea through several real-life examples of inequity, such as cars being designed for the typical male driver and tested using dummies that replicate male bodies and driving positions, which leads to women being 47% more likely to be seriously injured, and 17% more likely to die.

He encouraged boys to try not to default to the male perspective, and to consider the differences that exist and might need to be overcome to help everyone thrive and succeed fairly and safely.

Katie Clinton then spoke about her career with KPMG: she joined the Graduate Training Scheme after university, qualifying as a Chartered Accountant in 2003, and was admitted to

the KPMG Partnership in 2014. At the time, she was one of the youngest women to have ever done so. She talked about the ‘gruelling’ six month promotion process, culminating in a panel interview with the board of KPMG’s UK firm.

However, it was in that final interview that she was faced by a question she didn’t expect and began to realise that, despite her young age, she could have reached this point even sooner had she not been a woman. At the end of her ten-minute presentation, the Chair of the panel expressed that he had completely understood her business case and had no questions on it, except one: why had it taken her so long to get here?

Katie said, ‘At no point in the previous six months, indeed at no point in the previous 14 years of my career … had it dawned on me for a moment that actually I wasn’t progressing as quickly as I could and should. … I was so proud to be in the room that day, and at such a young age. I considered myself so lucky to have the opportunity to become a KPMG Partner. The conversation in the room triggered by that one question was probably one of the most powerful, thought-provoking questions I will ever have in my career. Perhaps not quite the conversation I expected to be having in the interview of my life, but one that ignited my commitment to making KPMG a fully inclusive workplace, where everyone can come as they are, where all colleagues have equitable opportunities to progress their careers and thrive,

regardless of their gender or ethnicity or any part of their identity, background of circumstance.’

Her powerful address culminated with the important role that men and boys play in the fight for equity for all disadvantaged groups. She asked the boys to be aware of the kind of experiences that their female peers face, and to try to understand them, so that they can be aware of the differences that exist and may need to be overcome for everyone to succeed.

Finally, Miss Roddy brought the assembly to a close with her final thoughts, reassuring the boys that they did not create the culture of gender inequality that exists today. However, she went on to explain that today’s young people have inherited it, and have the power and responsibility to take back control.

She encouraged them to listen, ask questions about why inequalities exist and educate themselves in order to make change, and be brave and speak up when they see inequalities. Looking ahead to the future, she asked boys to embrace equity in their future careers. She ended with a call to action: ‘The fight for gender equality will be won far faster with the help of male allies. Use your power and your privilege to be an ally. Join in, support one another. By embracing equity, we can all affect positive change in the world.’

Chapter 6

Centenary Refurbishment for Leverhulme Pavilion

Centenary Refurbishment for Leverhulme Pavilion

Bolton School’s Leverhulme Pavilion underwent a thorough refurbishment earlier in the academic year. The building, which is situated on Chorley New Road and has floor-to-ceiling windows and doors that overlook the new all-weather sports pitch saw upgrades to its meeting room, changing rooms, toilets, kitchen and serving area.

The pavilion and adjoining sports pitches, near the main Bolton School campus, are used by both Divisions for hockey and lacrosse lessons, training and competitive fixtures, as well as by Bolton Hockey Club and the University of Bolton.

Director of Sport in the Girls’ Division, Mrs. Heatherington, said: ‘The refurbished Leverhulme Pavilion has not only improved the fabric of the building but the upgrades to the changing and toilet facilities, along with a kitchen refit, have enhanced the postmatch hospitality we are able to offer in our school fixtures.’

Mr. Robson, Master-in-Charge of Hockey in the Boys’ Division, held a similar view: ‘The hockey teams have really benefitted from excellent facilities next to the AstroTurf, with modern

changing rooms, working warm showers and access to toilets. We have a place to store equipment and a place to shelter in inclement weather. The additional two changing rooms at the rear of the building have been used by visiting schools and are ideal on busy days when multiple teams are on site.’

Viv Lake, Second team captain and fixtures secretary at Bolton Hockey Club, was also delighted with the refurbishment: ‘The new facilities have enhanced the experience of Bolton Hockey Club members, opposition and spectators. We can now offer teams up to date changing facilities and hot showers. The use of the kitchen and the indoor viewing of the new Astro pitch is a great asset.’

The restoration took place forty years after the Third Viscount Leverhulme, who was Chairman of Governors from 1949-1990, gifted the pavilion to Bolton School and one hundred years after the site was first purchased by the Foundation.

Nominations open for Alumni of the Year Awards

Nominations open for Alumni of the Year Awards

award will be announced publicly in September at the start of the new academic year.

The myriad contributions made to society by Bolton School’s Old Boys and Old Girls are a source of continued pride and inspiration to the current generation of pupils.

In celebration of these many and varied achievements, last year the School launched its Alumni of the Year Awards. The aim is to recognise former pupils who embody the School’s ethos of going out into the world and making a difference for good, thereby delivering upon the famous exhortation of the Girls’ Division prayer that 'much will be expected of those to whom much is given.'

Nominations for this year’s Awards are now open, and members of the School community are invited to nominate alumni whom they feel are deserving of the 2023 Old Boy of the Year and Old Girl of the Year awards by 12 noon on Friday 26 May. After that deadline, a shortlist of candidates for the two awards will be decided by the Heads of Foundation, Girls’ Division, Boys’ Division and Primary Division, before pupils from across the Junior and Senior Schools are invited to vote for their favoured candidate at the end of the Summer Term. The winners of each

For further details, including the Awards' rules and how to make your nomination, please click here.

Previous winners Old Girl of the Year - Dr. Sheila Fisher, Old Boy of the Year - Sir Philip Craven, Outstanding AchievementRebecca Taylor, Sam Yates (not pictured) and Max Griffiths (not pictured)

Chapter 8

School Remembers its Founders

School Remembers its Founders

With School flags flying in Centre Quad, both Divisions at Bolton School enjoyed whole school assemblies that remembered their founders. The tribute takes place annually on or around the anniversary of the date of the death of one of the School’s major benefactors, Lord Leverhulme, who died on 7th May 1925.

In the Boys’ Division, Philip Britton, Head of the Foundation, opened the assembly by saying that Founders’ Day is all about continuity and change as we mark the fact that we follow on from those in our past, that we live our lives in the present and that we are part of shaping the lives of those to come.

The audience was transported back to the very beginnings of the School in 1516. Henry VIII, aged 25, was still in his first marriage and his wife had just given birth to a daughter, who was to become Bloody Mary. Members of the Monitor team talked about how the world looked in this year and how Bolton itself would have appeared.

Mr. Britton then introduced the School Song Forty Years On which, he said, was ‘stolen’ from Harrow School in 1904 in an early example of 'product placement' by Headmaster Mr. Lyde. He told how it fell into disuse in 1966 and had been reintroduced in 2016 when the Boys’ Division celebrated its 500th year. The third student reading of the morning spoke of the founding of the School in 1516.

Asking why does all this matter, Mr. Britton said it is important to understand our context – where we come from, what we are, what our purpose is now and what our future must be. He told how it is important to feel that you are part of something – something that extends back, but also an understanding that you can shape the future. Ever since 1516, teachers at the School have believed in the transformative opportunities of education and in aspiring to a better future.

After the singing of Jerusalem, the School Captain thanked all of the key benefactors and Head of Boys’ Division, Mr. Ford, paid tribute to

five centuries of teachers and able scholars, from the first single school master to the present.

Mr. Britton noted it was the last time in the Great Hall for Year 13 students and for a few Year 11 boys. He told how he could remember many of them as Nursery ‘Butterflies’ and all the plays, concerts and presentations that they had been involved with. He left them with the words of Mike Griffiths, former Chair of Governors and Captain of School, who always advised leavers to go out into the world to try and make a difference for good and to strive to make each place that you visit a little better than it was when you arrived.

You can watch the Boys’ Division assembly in full here.

Chapter 9

Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Achievements

Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Achievements Celebrated

In delivering her opening address at this year's DofE Celebration Evening Mrs. Kyle, Head of Girls’ Division at Bolton School, reminded the audience of pupils and parents about the dedication that is required to achieve the award and of all the lifelong benefits that successful completion brings. In the last year, 96 boys and girls achieved their Silver Award and 29 their Gold Award.

Prior to the presentation of awards, several students offered their perspective on achieving Silver or Gold, recounting some of their experiences and the life skills that they had learnt along the way. Silver Award recipient Olivia Melling recalled paddling for three days on a canal for her practice expedition and how one of her group ended up falling in! Lessons were heeded, she said, and the girls then knew what to take when it came to the actual expedition. She also recalled how she volunteered as a netball coach for Year 7 girls, how she got involved with Young Enterprise and developed her physical fitness through netball.

Charlotte Harris, also a Silver Award recipient, spoke of her adventures canoeing on the River Ouse and how this inspired her to take up kayaking, which she has since enjoyed in North Wales, the Lake District and on the River Irwell. Tennis at Markland Hill Racquets Club enabled her to pass her Physical section, where she also volunteered. The undertaking of a First Aid course saw her fulfil the requirements of the Skill section. Charlotte told how she had been given a new set of skills for adulthood, including a new-found confidence, the ability to work collaboratively and advanced map reading capabilities!

The third Silver Award speaker, Veer Patel, told how he had found the DofE experience to be ‘incredibly rewarding’. He told the audience how he had developed his resilience and perseverance during an arduous expedition in the Lakes, volunteered as a Troop Leader at Scouts, played hockey as his Physical challenge and an instrument in order to pass his Skill section. He felt the award would be hugely beneficial to him as a person.

Gold Award recipient Arian Pomian spoke about the five days and four nights on expedition and about how much he enjoyed his residential in Oxfordshire working for Mencap. He told how the qualification is hard work, but well worth it, as it is so highly valued by universities and employers. He said it had given him a great

sense of achievement and helped him build up a whole range of personal skills, including working independently and as part of a team.

Two Gold Award Sixth Form girls, Hannah McKee and Halimah Natha, spoke about their experiences – one had undertaken a Christian outdoor pursuits challenge in the Lakes for five days and the other had resided at an outdoor activity centre with the NCS scheme. They both agreed that the expedition was a big challenge, but character building, as they fought off midges, the fog, a disintegrating boot and struggled with wet, heavy bags. They recalled how they had needed to dig deep when, after four hours, they realised they were only halfway up Skiddaw. Having learnt from bitter experience, they advised the audience that public signs are there to help you! Despite getting lost, they had no regrets whatsoever.

The guest speaker for the evening was John McCarthy, an outdoor enthusiast and expedition leader, who occasionally works with groups from Bolton School’s adventure learning centre, Patterdale Hall. John reflected on how being an instructor is the best job in the world. He recalled how, aged 10, he went on his first residential with school and had his first experience of climbing. He realised his body could do amazing things and, from then on, he had a role – as the boy who rescued footballs stuck in trees and on school rooves! He also recalled the liberation of walking up Skiddaw with a group of friends as a 15-year-old. He

admitted to not achieving the Gold DofE Award, but did get to go to Buckingham Palace to collect his Chief Scout’s Award. In his late teens and early 20s, he said the great outdoors became his life.

John told of once being on the outskirts of the music industry and of managing the largest record store in London for 3 or 4 years. During that time, he said, his life was about earning money, going to gigs and having fun in the outdoors. He reflected on how music had given him lots of great lines, which he often quotes to people and told of Pink Floyd’s track Free Four, from their 1972 ‘Obscured by Clouds’ album, which tells the story of an old man looking back on his life – the memories of an old man being the deeds of a young man.

out for different moonlit micro-adventures. The project has grown in size from the initial four friends to up to 42 participants; a group, which he said, has become a supportive gang of mates. He quoted the saying ‘people like people like themselves’ and told how there is always a great deal of laughter on their outings and how cheese is their supper of choice. At Christmas, he said they like to indulge in a 10-course outdoor meal.

John admitted to not always making the most sensible decisions and told how as a young man, having hitchhiked to Acapulco, he dived off the 100 foot cliffs in an attempt to emulate Elvis in one of his movies!

The speaker then recalled how, in his 40s at a dinner party with three friends, they conceived the idea of ‘lunarantics’. The idea was that every full moon, they and like-minded souls would head

John admitted to there being a fine line between adventure and misadventure, recounting the story of their first jaunt to ‘invade Scotland by boat’ and how, on their return, they were met by the coastguard in the Solway Firth! He told how he had done 110 lunarantic evenings and how, on the whole, they have been remarkably incident-free. Except, he said, the night we lost Andy and the night Tim only had one job to do! These two events were actually chapters in his book ‘Full Moon Lunarantics’, which, he said, captures the fun, adventure and friendship enjoyed by the group. Membership involves a certain amount of risk and people need to be resilient and committed. He told how the concept has inspired others who have set up similar groups around the world –in places as diverse as Munich, West Virginia, the Forest of Dean and Inverness! The next full moon, he advised the audience, is on Friday 5th May – why not have an adventure?

John finished by telling students that he hoped they would all become leaders of industry and his parting advice was that if you find something you like doing, then do it to the best of your ability and practise until others will pay you to do it.

Audience enjoys Musical Evening

Audience enjoys Musical Evening

On Tuesday 9th May, 52 senior boys and 2 senior girls presented a splendid evening of musical entertainment in the Great Hall.

A wide range of musical styles from the Baroque period through to jazz, pop, film music and West End musicals were enjoyed by a very supportive audience made up of family, friends and staff.

Ensemble items were played by the Guitar Group (directed by Mr. Rodwell and assisted by Dr. Booth), the String Ensemble and Ukulele Ensemble (both directed by Miss Archer), the Lower School Choir (directed by Miss Sherry) and the Drum Corps (directed by Mr. Forgrieve).

Superb solo and duets items were given by Nicky Ling

(7d) - piano, Suhayb Pal

(7e) - vocal, Mateo Sprott

(7f) - trumpet, Reuben

Wardle (7d) - piano, Jamie Chen (8e) - piano, Jamie Daley (8e)guitar, Oscar McVerry (8d) - piano, Theo Michaelas (8g) - vocal, Gabe Payne (8f) - xylophone, Alex Pierson (8a) - vocal, Jack Rothwell (8d) - vocal, Ambrose Zheng (8d) - piano, Advaith Govindu (9f) - guitar, Peter McCreedy (9d) - violin, George Meredith-Alexander (9a) - violin, Nishan Sharma (9d)xylophone, Ed Goodfellow (10d) - guitar, James Bland (12c)oboe and Laurence Britton (13f) - organ.

The piano accompanists were Mr. Forgrieve, Ms. Lien and Mrs. Whitmore. Mr. Lovatt ensured that all amplified items were balanced from the mixing desk.

Head of Foundation, Mr. Britton, thanked all of the performers and brought a wonderful evening of music-making to a close.

Vocalists Alex Pierson and Suhayb Pal

Gabe Payne on Tuned Percussion

James Bland on Oboe

Peter McCreedy on Violin

Chapter 11

Jamie ranked GB

Judo number 1 in weight category

Jamie ranked GB Judo number 1 in weight category

In the recent Cups and Colours assembly, Year 13 pupil Jamie Death won the Hindley Trophy for sporting achievement, after his successes on the judo mats of the UK and Europe. After receiving his trophy on crutches, Jamie made a speedy recovery to win the English Open Championships at Under 21 level in the Under 81kg category. This victory enabled him within his weight category to be ranked number 1 in Great Britain. This is a great achievement for a first year junior, as he is up against some full time athletes. He moves on to some European Competitions once he has completed his A Levels.

Chapter 12

Under 15 Rugby team wins Lancashire Plate Final

Under 15 Rugby team wins Lancashire Plate Final

Despite several set backs on the day of the game, with players being ruled out through illness and injury. The remaining Under 15 rugby players put in a very resilient performance against Stonyhurst College to come back from a 15-0 half time deficit.

A superb start in the second half put Bolton on the front foot and they remained there for the rest of the game.

Tries came at regular intervals, as the 17 available players rotated on and off the field, and kept the momentum going until the final whistle. The final score was Bolton School 33, Stonyhurst College 20. It would be wrong to single out any individual players as the whole squad contributed to a fantastic win against a very good rugby school.

Captain Nathan Pierson lifted the trophy in front of his team mates as the celebrations began.

Pupils enjoy success in Sailing

Pupils enjoy success in Sailing

Two school teams were entered for the National School Sailing Association Double Handed Team Races held at Draycote Water Sailing Club over the weekend of 18-19th March. This was the first time that sailing team members had experienced team racing.

Races are short and quick affairs, so participants have to have their wits about them from the outset. Both teams initially struggled with the format, but Team A managed to adapt by lunchtime on Day 1 and achieved 8th position by the end of Day 2. Team B took longer to find their rhythm, and finished in 11th position overall.

Considering the relative inexperience of team members, compared to the other participants in the competition, the Bolton School teams performed admirably. They learnt a lot of valuable sailing and racing skills that they can develop in the future.

Team A: Ashton Kay, Tristan Hughes, Zach Tyrer-Hall, Daniel Hunter

Team B: Neve Haughton, Lucia Baker, Emily Fox, Rory Freestone

Chapter 14

A snaphot of extra-curricular school life

A snaphot of extra-curricular school life

Siddhant Patel 54 points Gold

Tom Boardman 50 points Gold

Alexander McKie has been appointed as School Captain. He will be assisted by Harry Adams and Veer Patel in their role as Vice-captains and James Bland, Priyesh Fernando and Jayden Luhar as Senior Monitors.

Well done to the following boys, who have achieved the top number of Commendations in their year group:

Year 7: Derek Leong 95

Year 8: Oscar McVerry 96

Year 9: Zain Khan 67

Year 10: Arthur Snape 43

Year 11: Isaac Lucas 36

Year 12: Ben Rimmer 26

Year 13: Barnaby Keogh 14

Very well done to Year 13 who took park in the Chemistry Olympiad, which is a challenging examination aimed at pupils in Year 13, although younger pupils are encouraged to participate. This is used to select a team to represent the UK in the international competition. Congratulations to the boys who gained Gold, Silver or Bronze awards:

Frankie Chen 49 points Gold

Zain Akram 26 points Silver

Veer Patel 26 points Silver

Andy Shen 26 points Silver

Sharull Hossain 25 points Silver

Mark Liu 24 points Silver

Rayyan Patel 24 points Silver

Danny Heywood 23 points Bronze

Ketan Dhokia 19 points Bronze

Daniel Elding-Parry 18 points Bronze

Muhammad Choudhary 17 points Bronze

Akshat Kamath 17 points Bronze

Hamza Mehraj 17 points Bronze

Sam Paton 17 points Bronze

Zain Mehraj 14 points

Well done to Derek Leong (7a), who is the winner of both March and April’s Geography monthly mission for the Boys’ Division. He created a fantastic ‘Geography of Sport’ profile for Usain Bolt and captured a variety of pictures of flora and fauna for April’s nature treasure walk. Fantastic effort!’

Very well done to the following Year 11 boys who are now on Study Leave that have engaged with the HPQ programme and worked hard to produce a HPQ project alongside their GCSE studies:

Adam Berisford, Adam Faulkner, Khushal Gola, Toby Greenwood, Edgar Keogh, William Martin, Amrit Mishra, James Parfrey, Arun Patel, Fraser Sackfield, Suliman Sadiq and Joseph Stead.

As part of the HPQ process, boys attended weekly study skills sessions led by Mrs. Lapinskas and were supported by their supervisors to produce a project on a topic of personal interest outside of the main curriculum of study. Topics ranged from the ethics of using stem cells to treat cancers, the ‘nature versus nurture’ debate, impacts of computer gaming on society and so much more. For the majority of the time, boys worked independently, carried out extensive research, critically analysed sources and learned how to reference and produce an academic report of 2000 words. They also developed their presentation skills when delivering engaging and informative presentations of their findings in the Leverhulme Suite. Congratulations to those boys that have submitted their HPQ for external moderation and awarding of GCSE grades.

The boys have been completing Bronze, Silver and Gold OWL awards for reading. The boys have been quizzed on 5, 10 and over 25 books with quiz success of 80% or above. The boys achieving Gold award have shown outstanding effort in both the number of books read as well as the challenging choices made

by those boys. ‘War and Peace’ is certainly not something we would usually see being tackled!

7d Archie Warren Gold

7e Aleks Neklesa-Ford Gold

7f Adam Atcha Gold

8f Tony Chen Gold

Joint Senior Concert Band performed at the National Concert Band Festival during the Easter holidays. The group played a challenging and varied programme of contemporary concert band music to two experienced adjudicators. After receiving feedback on their performance, they received a Gold award.

Very well done to Freddie Audley, James Bland, Harry Brown, William Earnshaw, George Houghton, Antione Jodeau, Ashton

Kay, Jamie Logan, Jake Partington, Arun Patel, Alex Pearce, Nishan Sharma, Neeraj Singh, Ben Turner and Brandon Yuen.

Congratulations to the following boys of their recent music examinations:

James Bland (12c) Grade 7 Oboe Distinction

Billy Burrows (12c) Grade 7 Musical Theatre Distinction

Dhilan Jacobs (9a) Grade 5 Electric Guitar Merit

Daniel Keene (9c) Grade 5 Piano Merit

Alex Pearce (10b) Grade 5 Piano Merit

Evan Weston (12h) Grade 5 Piano Merit

Harry McLoughlin (10b) Grade 5 Electric Guitar Pass

Reuben Rowley (9a) Grade 3 Violin Merit

Suhayb Pal (7e) Grade 1 Musical Theatre Pass

Congratulations to Tanmay Gokul (8g), who won two first prizes on piano at the Blackburn Music Festival, as well as the Rosanne Archibald Memorial Trophy for the most promising pianist.

Very well done to Charlie Simpson (8d), who had a song that he had composed played on BBC Radio Lancashire on Saturday 25th March. The song is called Helix and it is from an EP that Charlie and his friend have just realised with their group Omari.

Our recent Duke of Edinburgh Achievement Evening celebrated those students who, across Divisions, had achieved 96 Silver & 29 Gold Awards this year and we were reminded about the dedication that is required to achieve the award and of all the lifelong benefits that successful completion brings.

Well done to James Vaughan (8g), who was awarded Silver medals in 1500m and 200m Individual Medley at the Swim England North West Regional Championships recently.

A number of our boys represented ISFA Football over Easter. Well done to Oscar Hatton (8a) and Cam Firth (8f), who played at Shrewsbury School in the Under 13 Regional tournament for the North West, while Kieran Holt (9a) and Joe Nicholson (10b) played for the respective Under 14 and Under 15 National sides at Liverpool FC & Leicester City FC. Oscar will also represent the Under 14 National side next season. Congratulations to all.

Bolton School Cricketers have enjoyed a very positive start to the cricket season playing block fixtures against Manchester Grammar School and Lancaster Royal Grammar School. It was particularly pleasing to see so many talented performances against LRGS, most notably, hundreds for both Keshana

Fonseka

for the 1st XI and Dylan Yates for the Under 13s. With the ball, Luke Burns took 5 for 19 against a very strong Under 15 MGS side. Diren Dhiraj’s 50 not out to helped win the game. Also, well done to the Under 15s, who advance into the next round of the Lancashire School Cup, beating Bishop Rawstorne on the Bottom Level. Well done to Harrison Prill and Zain Sabir in Year 10, who played against each other recently for Lancashire EPP and Cheshire EPP respectively. Both boys demonstrated their talents with the ball, with Harrison picking up two wickets and Zain picking up three, including that of Harrison! Lancashire won an extremely close game so bragging rights for both.

Bolton School were pleased to host the first ever Bolton Spring Speedcubing Competition 2023 in Great Hall recently. Three Bolton School boys took part – well done to Luke Burns (10a) for achieving 2nd place on the podium for his amazing average speeds. Again, we are really proud of Luke Burns, who broke the National Record (1.34) in the 2x2 cube average at the World Cube Association Wakefield Spring 2023 event.

Congratulations to the following, randomly selected prize winners for their efforts with tasks during Neurodiversity Celebration Week last month:

Year 7 Quiz: Theo Jarabo-Ishaque (7e)

Year 8 & 9 Poster: Wesley Else (8b)

Year 10 & 11 Research task: Jonathan Frank (11a)

Year 12 & 13 Research task: Zayan Azad (12i), with a special mention for the collective efforts from 12e.

Proctors’ Quiz:

1st: Rory Freestone (8b)

2nd: Thomas Morrison (9b)

3rd: Justin Li (7b)

All have received Amazon vouchers.

We are pleased to announce that we raised £215 for charities, which will be split between The British Dyslexia Association and The National Autistic Society.

Credits

Credits

Editor: Miss K.S. Wrathmell

Contributors: Mr. J. Newbould, Miss A. Bradshaw, Mr. M. Power, Mr. I.K. Forgrieve, Mr. P.J. Britton, Mr. N.L. Ford, Mr P. Fernside, Miss K.J. Roddy, Mr. A.C. Robson, Mrs. K. Heatherington, Jamie Death (13i), Mr. S. Death, Dr. M. Proctor, Dr. M. Yates, Mr. P. J. Newbold, Mrs. M.A. Lapinskas, Miss H. Sherry, Mr. L. Watkinson