Spirit - Girls' Division Magazine 2014-15

‘Pride in the past; confidence in the future’: these were the words sent by telegraph by one of my predecessors to the School as the girls and staff celebrated one of the significant events in their illustrious history. These words remain as true about the School now as they were then. This edition of the magazine celebrates our past as we recall Lord Leverhulme’s re-building of the School on our current Chorley New Road Site, side by side with the Boys’ Division. It is also a celebration of a generation of girls’ futures with vibrant pictures of the pupils engaged in meaningful and pleasurable activities, each of which is designed to help them prepare for a fulfilled life as part of a national and international community. Whilst she is with us, our aim is to encourage every girl to make the most of all the opportunities on offer to her in such a large and busy environment. The number of activities available has risen again this year, with even more academically enriching talks, societies and activities on offer. We have also seen a growth in the number of Outdoor Activities available to the girls. There are a host of new clubs in this area at lunchtimes, after school and at weekends - from climbing to archery, via snowboarding and mountain biking - and it is great to see the girls getting involved. We have also made a conscious decision to increase the number of activities in School which develop the girls’ Speaking and Presentation skills, since these are such key skills for later life. I hope that the following pages give a taste of all that is available.

Miss S Hincks, Headmistress

Bolton

MESSAGE FROM THE EDITOR

Welcome to the second edition of our revamped Magazine, Spirit. In 2015 we are celebrating 100 years of our school as part of the Bolton School Foundation and in honour of this centenary we have been considering the ways in which education for girls has changed over the 20th Century. You will be able to read here about changes in the subjects taught, the technology used and the careers available to our leavers. As ever Bolton School Girls’ Division is a school of both tradition and progress and this edition of Spirit is testament to that.

Ms H Bradford-Keegan

This year we say goodbye to Mrs Julia Head, History teacher and Head of Middle School.

She has been a source of inspiration to pupils and colleagues alike, guiding new Year 7 girls through their first years in Senior School and championing the student voice in the School Council.

What do you plan to do once you are retired?

No great plans.

Walking! I have had so much exercise walking up and down the long corridors at school that I shall have to keep going, only outside on the moors above Bolton. My brother and his family live in the States and we have friends in Australia so that’s a couple of trips. I’m not greatest traveller. I like being at home. With two little granddaughters I’m sure there’ll be plenty to do here.

What will you miss most about BSGD?

Working here is very busy and strangely enough I shall miss the pace and the variety. Most of all, the people. There aren’t many jobs where you get to work with such great people, that’s girls and staff. I will really miss them all.

What will you definitely not miss!?

Cold mornings defrosting the car.

What has been your most embarrassing moment?

Not sure. Smiling and waving at some older girls on the corridor then walking into the door. Not surprisingly they couldn’t stop laughing even though they were concerned I might have hurt myself.

What has been the most unforgettable moment?

Actually getting the job in the first place.

Why did you choose to become a teacher?

I never thought of anything else. As a little girl (ok I’m not very big now) I used to line up my dolls and teddies and take the register. How sad is that?

If you weren’t a teacher, what would you have liked to be? Possibly a journalist but I don’t think it would have suited me - too unstructured. Whoever heard of a journalist who wasn’t keen on travel?

Do you have any memories of your first day teaching at school? The staff room. Having been a girl here it was weird to be on the other side of the staff room door and to find in those days it was as scruffy and crowded as the 6th form common room. Good conversation though.

How has the school changed while you have been teaching here? Enormously... the buildings for one: the Arts Centre and swimming pool (we had an inaugural day when all the girls had a swim in the new pool) and the wonderful Riley Centre. The variety of extra-curricular activities and trips. Most of all the emphasis on teaching and learning. When I started you just taught a syllabus and girls did exams at the end. No revision sessions, clinics, mentors, learning support, personalised learning, target setting, tracking, personal statements. No ICT and certainly no iPads.

Can you tell us about your time as a pupil at BSGD?

I loved it. I came at 11 years old from Church Rd County primary school. I had a satchel which smelt of leather (probably because it was leather) and a pile of crayons which I labelled individually because it said that everything had to be named . My games skirt was enormous. I was told I would grow into it. I never did. I had a great time at school here. I loved the drama and sport and going to London with the first Lacrosse team.

What advice do you have for new teachers at BSGD?

Enjoy it. It’s hard work but there is nowhere better to teach. What advice do you have for students at BSGD?

The same. Enjoy it. It’s hard work but there is nowhere better to learn.

Is there anything else you would like to add?

Just to say that I consider myself immensely fortunate to have spent my working life doing my hobby - teaching History to people who enjoy it like I do. And latterly, to have the opportunity to be closely involved with parents and the daughters who are in those crucial middle school years. I shall miss you all.

Duke of Edinburgh Accolade

Mr Paul Griffiths, Regional Manager of the Duke of Edinburgh Award, told pupils and staff at Bolton School:

“ You are officially the largest independent school provider of pupils achieving the Duke of Edinburgh Award in the North-West of England and in the top 10 schools in the whole of the North; an area where 42,000 children take part in the Award.”

Mr Griffiths was the Guest of Honour at the School’s Duke of Edinburgh Award Ceremony which saw 144 girls, including the whole of Year 9, and 70 boys achieve Bronze, Silver or Gold Awards. Mr Griffiths had also calculated that between them the 214 pupils would have contributed at least 4,000 hours of voluntary work to the local community. He continued:

“The Duke of Edinburgh Award is loved by employers and universities. It helps children develop new skills, particularly team-working and communication skills, it develops problem-solving faculties and it extends pupils beyond the classroom and imbues in them the desire to never give in. Anyone who can work their way through the awards from Bronze to Gold can do anything!”

Our Headmistress told the audience:

“The Duke of Edinburgh Award chimes with the same values that we uphold at Bolton School. A love of the outdoors, a willingness to learn new skills and the importance of giving something back to the community.” Six students offered their own perspectives on what they had got out of the Award. They had a diverse range of stories to tell including learning new languages, working in a charity shop on a Saturday morning, bouldering at Fontainebleau and learning to play tennis. All told of how the Award had increased their confidence, built their team-working skills and given them lifelong memories.

The presentation evening, held in the Girls’ Division Great Hall, was attended by all the girls and boys who had taken part in the Bronze, Silver or Gold Awards in the last year. All the pupils were invited on stage to collect their certificate by Mr Griffiths. Typically, pupils take the Bronze Award during Years 9 and 10, the Silver Award in Year 11 and the Gold Award in the Sixth Form.

Katherine Potts receives her Gold Award

Women get to Work:

Let’s go back a 100 years to 1915.

As a woman it would be 1 more year until you could become a policewoman with full powers and 5 more years until the snappily titled Sex Discrimination Removal Act allowed you to become a lawyer, a vet or civil servant (the first female solicitor was appointed in 1922).

You would have to wait 7 years (until 1922) to be allowed to inherit property equally with your husband and a whole 13 years before you gained equal voting rights with men.

If you were 15 in 1915, you would be 65 before you saw your first female minister of state (Barbara Castle) and 70 before The Equal Pay Act of 1970. At 85 years old you would be able to celebrate the amendment to The Equal Pay Act which finally introduced equal pay for work of equal value. In theory.

Women at War

With all this mind you might wonder what part women played in the labour market back in 1915? In the early 20th century women could be found working in a variety of settings including textiles and clothing factories, coal and tin mines as well as commerce and agriculture. Four years earlier, the census of 1911 showed that 28% of all employed women were in domestic service. (Think below stairs in “Downton Abbey”). Meanwhile, the majority of upper and middle class women did not work for a living although some might be found pursuing “respectable” professions such as teaching or nursing. There were, in fact, over 200 female doctors by this time but that’s another story. (See www. womanandhersphere.com for a fascinating article about the war). The outbreak of war in 1914 clearly had an impact on women and work. Many women were recruited into jobs left vacant by the men who had gone off to fight. This meant that 600,000 women went to work in what had been male dominated roles in industry. In addition, new jobs were created which fed directly into the war effort. Our local area had an important role to play as many of the region’s companies switched their production to weapons and shells. If you look closely at the photograph you can see women munitions workers (being supervised by men, of course) at the works of the Yorkshire and Lancashire Railway Company at Horwich.

It is no surprise then that the employment rate for women increased during the war from about 24% of the population in 1914 to 47% (according to some figures) in 1918. And what’s more, 40% of women workers were married. 100 years later in 2015 more women are in work than ever before. 14 million now have jobs. In 2013, the female employment rate reached 67.2%, the highest since the Office for National Statistics’ records began. In the interests of symmetry, it is worth pointing out that women today make up 47% of the UK workforce (see www. opportunitynow.bitc.org.uk/WomenWorkFactsheet). Now where have we heard that figure before?

Bolton Girls buck the trend

Since we’ve leapt forwards to the 21st century let’s stay here and focus on some of the progress we have made in male dominated roles. There is absolutely no question of there being any kind of inequality when it comes to students at Bolton School. Much of the Careers programme in the Sixth Form is shared with the boys and access to opportunities is free of bias. Without banging the drum in support of single-sex education too loudly however, it is clear that at Bolton girls are bucking a national trend by showing their passionate interest in studying Science at A Level and beyond. Too many articles in the national press over the past few years have headlines like that in The Independent (December 2014): How can we encourage more girls to study Science? Statistics published by Ofsted show that more than 40% of girls who sit AS Physics nationally do not continue onto A2, compared with 29% of boys. At Bolton School Girls’ Division it is often half that figure. It is most likely, for example, that 70% of this year’s cohort, often only half, will take Physics to A2 and each year a number of girls pursue the subject at degree level. It was no surprise then that last Autumn Term the specialist careers day on Engineering attracted a great deal of attention from girls in Years 10 and upwards. The keynote speaker, Kate Bellingham, TV presenter of many science programmes, was followed by a whole range of different talks, some of which were delivered by old girls working in varied fields of Engineering. One of them, Shakti Patel (left in 2011), is studying Aeronautical Engineering at Loughborough University and is presently on an industrial placement at MBDA. Amy Williams (nee Worsell, left 1997) spoke about her experience of being a civil engineer and her role as a contracts manager with the Highways Agency. Both are inspirational role models for any young woman. You can read more about Amy and Shakti on page (51) of this magazine.

Amy Williams with pupils in Years 10 and 11.

from 1915 to 2015

Closing the “Gender Gap”

Before we become too complacent, however, it is interesting to note that a report on a study of students at 7 universities, published by Oxford University’s Careers Service this March, laments the “gender gap” for graduates (www.ox.ac.uk/news). Not only do fewer female graduates secure graduate-level jobs than their male counterparts 6 months after leaving university – the short fall is 9% - but there is a pay disparity, too. On average the young women who took part in the study accepted £4000 less for their first job! This year the Careers Department have ensured that girls are more aware of the variety of jobs available to them and what they can do to compete with the best. In March, all Year 12s listened to a fascinating talk from Charlie Ball, old boy and Deputy Director of Research at Graduate Prospects. He explored the reasons why it still makes economic sense to go to university and what the changing job market really looks like once you graduate. Some weeks later, the illuminating talk from Martin Birchall, Managing Director of High Fliers Research and the editor of The Times’ Top 100 Graduate Companies, was extremely well attended by parents and pupils from Year 9 upwards. Perhaps these events will help to equip students to go out and close that “gender gap” in the years to come.

It is clear that girls who are leaving Bolton School in 2015 have so many more opportunities available to them than their “sisters” 100 years ago. If young women are going to get to work in the 21st century on a truly equal footing however, they need to develop the grit and determination to ask more of themselves and the confidence and self-belief to make it happen, whatever their ambition.

Beth Lowe Head of Careers and Higher Education

Engineering at Cambridge

Tejal (Class of 2014) writes to tell us about her first year studying Engineering (traditionally a male-dominated subject) at Cambridge.

“Choosing to study Engineering, for me, was really about applying maths and physics to solving problems in the real world. Doing work experience with BAE Systems and Rolls Royce allowed me to see how creatively scientific principles can be applied, and really inspired me to get involved with projects like the Engineering Education Scheme and Headstart. I was thrilled to receive undergraduate scholarships from the Reece Foundation (Arkwright Trust), the IMechE and the IET, and have had some great networking opportunities as a result.

The first year Engineering course at Cambridge has been intense but extremely enjoyable, and the supervision style of teaching really encourages you to approach problem-solving differently. Over the summer, I’m looking forward to starting an undergraduate research placement in Mechanical Vibrations.

In the photo, which is from one of her Michaelmas supervisions, Tejal is winding the Trinity Clock.

Shakti Patel with pupils in Years 10 and 11.

THANK YOU!

The successful non-uniform days and excellent music recitals in the Girls’ Division have raised over £3000 for charities such as: Leukaemia & Lymphoma Research, Derian House, Speakeasy, Friends of Oliver and St John Ambulance. Each charity has been suggested and selected by students and their charity representatives. This has given every student a say as to where they would like to send their charity money.

In February, there were tears during a very moving assembly given by Kathryn Kay, founder of Phelan McDermid Syndrome UK, about her son Charlie, who suffers with the rare genetic disorder. As a result, £280 was raised for the charity through a pancake café and a pancake obstacle course that ended with an entertaining victory for the Deputy Head girls. Narrowly beating a highly competitive Science Staff and another team made of various teachers from differing subjects.

The Autumn Term was particular busy with £4540 collected through the annual Year 9 Children in Need week, Year 10’s Christmas Post extravaganza, in aid of Contact the Elderly, and of course the entertaining Prefects’ Pantomime, for Motor Neurone Disease Association. Three pupils were invited to Key 103 to be interviewed after the Year 7 Sponsored Silence raised a fantastic £2300 for the Mission Christmas campaign.

October 2014 saw the third Sixth Form trip to SKCV, an orphanage for street kids in India. It was a life changing experience for the students and staff who attended. They made new friends and gained insight into how the £2400 of charity money they helped raise is spent to help the orphaned children.

In March, girls ‘cooed’ over Peanut, during a Guide Dog assembly which introduced the first picture of the third dog to be sponsored by Girls Division.

The Sixth Form has raised an impressive £550 for Speakeasy, a local charity helping individuals with aphasia. This was done through cake sales, a Henna design stall and the Staff baby photo competition. Students also had the opportunity to buy a ticket to a talk about careers in fashion and design by Henry Holland, the proceeds of which went to the charity. Despite exams, fundraising continued in the Summer Term with Years 10 and 7 raising money for the Nepal earthquake disaster.

Tea at the Riley: Old and Young share afternoon tea!

Tea at the Riley has gone from strength to strength this year, with guest numbers up to 45 for the monthly afternoon tea for the older generation in our local community. The most recent event was hosted by a group of year 8 pupils who baked, designed table settings and hosted the guests. There was also live musical entertainment as Lucy Stiles, Tiggy Blackwell, Sally Cowling and Emily Rajbhandari demonstrated their aptitude in solo pieces.

Star Awards!

The Year 12 girls at Bolton School have volunteered over 5000 hours of their time this year, reading with younger pupils in the Junior Schools or at local secondary schools, assisting at hospices and care homes, and getting involved with Tea at the Riley, monthly tea parties for the older generation. Alongside the boys, our school won the vInspired National Award as “Star Awards Provider” in April, ranked top in the country with the highest proportion of students registering their volunteering hours and achieving awards at 50 or 100 hours of voluntary work. The school has been offered a £1000 grant, designed to help students develop new or existing skills, or to support their progression into further volunteering, training or education.

Alex Hopkinson said:

“I loved all the different volunteering opportunities; I could be interested in a wide variety things and I was given so many options.”

Emma Rayner agreed, saying:

“I thought the range of volunteering opportunities in School has been great this year, particularly the chance to help talented young people with fewer opportunities than ourselves. Also the push to do volunteering outside of School is great for gaining independence and also helps those outside the School community.”

Tayyibah Khalid summed up many pupils’ vInspired community action experience:

“This is the first year I’ve started volunteering and I’ve really enjoyed it! Giving back to the local community has been a very rewarding experience.”

This morning I really enjoyed making lemon biscuits with Lydia. The group made a variety of different delicacies such as rainbow meringues, chocolate orange fudge squares, treacle cake and Bakewell tartlets. We were happy to be part of the group as we really enjoyed the day. We had three people sitting at our table, Connie, Ken and Phyllis – they all enjoyed the food and were impressed that we had made such difficult things and wanted to know the recipe!

Lizzie Crowther

I really enjoyed hosting “Tea at the Riley” today as it was fun and involved teamwork. First of all, my group and I baked summer fruit bowl tartlets, which I had never baked before so it was good having a challenge. After baking them, I was very pleased as they looked really tasty and I think that I am going to try the recipe at home.

Imane Nagi

On our table were three ladies who said they met at the previous “Tea At The Riley.” They told us about their past and showed us pictures of them at Bolton School back in 1941. Me and my team served them drinks, sandwiches and cakes whilst keeping up the friendly conversation.

Yolanda Hughes

Every member of the Girls’ Division deserves a big thank you for all their help in raising more than £13,000 for a wide variety of local and international charities. It is a magnificent effort, well done!

Picture this... Year7

Crime Day

Formby Trip

Singing at the Old Girls’ Lunch, Coronation Street and The Bridgewater Hall

Stratford Trip

Year 8 Highlights

MFL Day

India & SKCV Day Sailing

Year 9...

Amongst many other exciting events, pupils in Year 9 enjoyed a terrific week on their Duke of Edinburgh expeditions!

Business Enterprise Day

Ambleside Visit

Duke of Edinburgh

Year 10’s year...

Ski Trip Christmas Post

Resistant Metals

Pancake Day

Year 11

NCS Intro

Volunteering at Puzzle Morning

Leavers’ Fun Day

As is tradition in BSGD, the Year 13 left Bolton School in style on Friday 15th May. The theme this year was animals and sea creatures and the girls dressed the school corridors with waterfalls, jungles, creatures and seaside scenes. The girls (and some staff!) came into school dressed in an array of fantastic animal and sea creature costumes!

Before lunch, the girls played rounders in full costume and despite the difficulties of playing dressed as an animal, their competitive natures came to the fore!

Refreshments came in the form of ice cream during rounders and a celebratory lunch was served in the Arts Centre for students and staff followed by farewell speeches from Miss Jones and Mrs Winder. A perfect Leavers’ Day!

The History of Economics and Business Studies

Whilst Economic writings date from earlier Mesopotamian, Greek, Roman and Arab civilisations, the term “economics” was popularized by neoclassical economists at the start of the 20th Century. Up until the mid-30s, economic thought was based on classical economics, predominantly the thoughts of Adam Smith (1770s). It was the Great Depression of the 1930s that brought an alternative view to macroeconomics by John Maynard Keynes who believed that high unemployment may not be self-correcting. Classical economists was modernised in the 1970s with the development of monetarism which was embodied in the governments of both Thatcher in the UK and Reagan in

2014-15

The Department enjoys participating in a variety of competitions each year.

At the beginning of the academic year, we began the Young Enterprise Company Programme with two Year 12 teams: Cosmos and the Candle Company. Both teams developed a strong brand image and participated in the Dragon’s Den Event ran by Ernst Young. They also ran a stall at the Trafford Centre Spring Fair, amongst other events during the year. Team Cosmos won through to the Greater Manchester Area Final in May and created a festival ‘vibe’ with their creative stall.

In the Autumn Term, a team of four Year 13 Economists entered the prestigious Target 2.0 competition, run by the Bank of England. After months of preparation, the girls produced a 15 minute presentation on what level of interest rate would best suit the current economic conditions. The judges commented on the team’s excellent performance, in which they covered all of the key influences on the current economy

the US.

In comparison to Economics, Business Studies is often viewed as a ‘modern’ subject and has only been taught in schools since the early 1990s. The teaching of the subject began with MBA’s and degree level courses and then it slowly filtered down to A Level and GSCE.

In BSGD Economics and Business Studies have been taught solely by Girls’ Division staff with a Head of Department and a part time member of staff since the late 1990s. In recent years, there has been some growth in the popularity of the subjects and we have additional teaching from the Boys’ Division.

and provided clear justification for their interest rate decision. They endured some tough questioning about the natural rate of unemployment but they were a credit to the school both on the day and in the commitment they displayed throughout the preparation.

In the Spring Term, it was the turn of the Year 13 Business Studies’ students, who participated in the popular BASE competition run by the ICAEW. We travelled to the home of Stockport County Football Club to take part in the challenging day of activities. At the start of the day, the girls were given a detailed business scenario, they were then presented with issues that affected the business from which they had to devise appropriate strategies. The competition concluded with each team presenting their ideas to a panel of judges. Despite not progressing to the next round, the girls enjoyed the competition as it helped them improve their strategic thinking and appreciate the synoptic nature of a business.

Miss Lisa Jones

Latin ®evolution

Would it be true to say that Latin could never change because it is a language which is not spoken anymore?

Of course not. For one thing it is spoken in the Vatican – if you want proof look at the cash machines there. And there are constantly new Latin words being invented for modern gadgets and foodstuffs: what, for instance is maizae grana tosta? There is further evidence in the Latin tweets at: Pope Francis (@Pontifex) | Twitter.

And of course, it is still spoken in the Romance Languages: what are French, Spanish and Italian if not evolved forms of Latin?

No doubt we could debate the evolution of the Latin Language, but there is no doubt about the evolution of Latin teaching. Since Latin was removed as a prerequisite for studying Medicine at university and for entry to Oxbridge, it has had to fight for its space in the education of young people. Hence, the evolution from the chanting of forms, learning of tables and writing Latin Prose to the Cambridge Latin Course.

Caecilius dominates the thoughts of every Year 7 and 8 student of Latin to the extent that when we take them to visit Pompeii they head straight for his house.

So, this academic year, the Year 7 Latinists have visited Manchester to study classical influence in art, including the wonderfully cinematic chariot race painting in the Manchester Art Gallery which is understandably the city’s favourite painting.

Our Year 9 students have walked the Roman Walls of York and visited the undercroft of the Minster. Year 11 have travelled further afield to London to take in the stunning artefacts of the British Museum, including the ever controversial Elgin Marbles, and the bewildering array of classically inspired paintings in the National Gallery.

We also teamed up with the Art, English and History Departments to deliver a series of seminars with ‘War’ as the common theme. The introduction to these was an assembly given by Mrs Hone which recalled the lives of four heroes of WW1, two of whom attended Bolton School: they were brothers who lost their lives on the same day in the Battle of the Somme.

Thus the job of Latin teachers is to animate the classical world aurally and visually for Classics students and to make live a language which some inaccurately describe as dead.

Perhaps the highlight of our Year was the Michael Scott lecture, ‘Why study the Ancient World in the 21st Century’ – a title which hints at the way Classics teaching has changed over the years. We do have to win over our students and convince them that our academic subjects are worth studying for the myriad reasons we believe they are: learning about the roots of our culture, enriching English vocabulary, enhancing the brain’s linguistic mechanisms, reading Ovid, Homer, Thucycdides, Virgil et cetera.

Studying the world around you...

Geography. Parents reading this will instantly think of mountains and streams and maps and compasses. Indeed, during a recent stock take, we were most excited to find treasures from the past, in the form of giant cloth maps which in days gone by would have adorned Geography classroom walls. However, Geography today is much bigger than that. Geography is the world around you, wherever you are. The introduction of technology at the end of the last century has enabled Geographers to handle large sets of data, and in class we are now able to use maps such as World Mapper and Hans Rosling’s videos using Gapminder, both of which use statistical data to challenge preconceived ideas about how the contemporary world looks. This use of data has resulted in Geographers asking questions which enable them to consider the role of various influencing factors which form the complex world in which we live. Whilst we believe that place knowledge is still important, an observer of a typical lesson in Geography today would be much more likely to find our pupils employing their ‘thinking skills’. This is a technique which encourages pupils to think for themselves, outside of the box, to realise that the answer is not always black or white, and that usually a variety of ideas or concepts can make a contribution.

We no longer merely take our Y13 to Berlin, via a very long coach journey! In the last 10 years, the Geographical interest of our pupils has led to trips in Europe where we have had exciting visits to Iceland and to Sicily, Italy; a cultural visit to Morocco in Africa; an all-encompassing visit to the West coast of the USA taking in the cities of San Francisco and Las Vegas via the majestic Grand Canyon and the famous Route 66; and the furthest we have travelled was to Eastern Asia, to the fast changing country of China. We are now busily preparing our next trip to a country which is constantly in the news for its changing political, cultural and economic landscape, Cuba. Our aim in the department is to not only instill both a love for the subject and the need to know more, but also to encourage our pupils to get out and see. To that end, we annually take our classes out of the classroom to Formby, the Lake District, to Manchester, Bolton and to Devon. As Michael Palin wisely commented:

“Geography is the key to our future.”

Slapton

China Morocco

Iceland Grand Canyon Sicily

All things English...

Curriculum reform is high on the agenda as the Girls’ Division English Department finalise their plans for the new GCSE, AS and A level syllabuses. However, the time at which we busy ourselves with looking to the future of our subject is also the year in which the school celebrates its centenary. Therefore this is a more pertinent time than ever to reflect upon the influences that have been brought to bear on English today.

Like all disciplines English is largely defined by the content specified by the National Curriculum and examination boards, but the subject is harder to pin down than one might expect when conflicting ideologies and agendas pervade. Healthy debate continues to rage in schools across the country as to what approach teachers take.

So what has English meant to students over the past 100 years? The teaching of English grammar has its roots in the eighteenth century and, of course, the teaching of Latin grammar for many centuries before that, but at the beginning of the twentieth century the teaching of literature was a relatively new discipline.

In the nineteenth century a steady trend for including some works of literature on the school curriculum began, but it is interesting to note that it is not until 1859 that English Literature first appeared as a degree subject at the University of London.

The texts on the curriculum in the early years of the twentieth century would have been drawn from the literary canon, a collection of works that have acquired a high level of status and are regarded as great. Inevitably the work of female writers and those from other cultures and traditions would have been less well represented than those of male writers. However, as the century progressed we began to see the breadth of texts widen to include those that gave us a window onto worlds previously neglected.

For much of the twentieth century the tension remained between a prescriptive approach to English grammar with a stress on ‘correct’ and formal usage, and the celebration of innovation through literature and a greater focus on creative writing. It must be the case that many of us came to detest the kind of repetitive exercises involving cats and mats that drummed

Poetry in motion

Train journey, from Cardiff to Manchester Piccadilly (and then Victoria to Atherton)

Cardiff sky, akin to rainy Manchester

Always more appealing

Now Fuschia with misted indigo Telephone pole after pole Relentless tick of the line, sky like Opaque tights at the bottom of my case

These lights are opalescent

My skin looks like chimney smoke

Among the drops of the fading window

A child cries, a woman coughs Piccadilly depart 18:30, stroll across noirtinted streets

Still smelling Windsor Blues on my sleeve 19:12 service to Atherton is now leaving platform 6

ABBIE-NICOLE ALKER

It’s my Jam

I’m stood in the bar next to my friends But conversation’s taken a lull, And as look around, the room’s in silence

Even though it’s tragically full. But then it happens, the spotlight shines On my body from toe to head, And the music changes to Bruno Mars, It’s ‘Treasure’, the jam to my bread.

I rise to my feet, slowly at first

While the crowd breaks apart in my path, Then I strut down the aisle as shocked gazes turn

And they faint in my aftermath.

My shoulders start first, they bounce as I strut Then my arms rise up past my face.

My feet start to kick and my hips start to twist, They all stare, amazed at my grace.

LIZZY DILLON

in these rules. Rules which contradicted directly the ways in which language is used effectively by us in a wide variety of contexts.

As early as 1947, research began to suggest that becoming a skilled writer was not dependent upon formal grammar teaching, but change takes time and in the 1960s the O level English paper still contained much that had been in evidence in the 1920s, including: precis, punctuation of sentences, correcting of ungrammatical sentences and letter writing.

However, for all the flux and change the twentieth century has been marked by many of the core values of our subject remain the same. As teachers of English at Bolton School Girls’ Division, we aim to encourage all the girls who pass through our classroom doors and get involved in our extra-curricular activities to have a love of reading; to appreciate language variety through experience and experimentation and to acquire the skills and knowledge that will equip them for life. The following is a celebration of some of the activities and events that have taken place over the past year.

At Night

When only your brain is alive

The shadows lift away from the walls, Swim like nervous fish

Across the room

And dance in the dim light.

Gravity takes a rest And your hair lifts slowly

From your pillow

And, like waving weeds in water, Curl around your cheeks.

Forgotten thoughts glisten Like dropped pennies as they try to find new homes

Where you will see them.

And when morning rises The night goes to sleep, the trees outside Tap you to wakefulness.

HELEN MORRIS

Cha-cha-cha-changes

Teaching English in the seventies (the 1970s, not the 1870s)

In the 1970s, when I started teaching English, you could tell a lot about a school’s English department from looking at their book room. If they had copies of O’Malley and Thompson’s The Art of English they were very traditional, but if they had the Penguin Voices they were progressive which meant mixed-ability and resourced-based learning, as it was called in those days. The Art of English was not a bad textbook-it had the occasional picturebut students nowadays would find it ‘dry’. Voices was a mixture of poems and artworkphotographs by Don McCullin or CartierBresson, or a reproduction of a Van Gogh or Picasso-and poems by contemporary writers such as Roger McGough, Seamus Heaney and Denise Levertov (woman poet-shock-horror).

On my PGCE course ‘grammar’ wasn’t mentioned, let alone how to teach it - grammar was something that the pupils somehow magically acquired, via a kind of linguistic osmosis. On the plus side, as a teacher, you had a lot freedom. Of course, there were exams: O Levels at the end of the Fifth Form, one for English Language and one for English Literature, but no anthologies and no coursework.

Of course, some things haven’t changed at all!

Tim Heavisides

Hairstyles

Mike’s Open Mic

Girls of all ages received recognition for their creativity at a special Open Mic Night where they were selected to perform their poems and stories alongside poet Mike Garry. Ruby Cummings was the overall winner for her short story, ‘Hairstyles’. Mike also delighted the audience with a rendition of his own poetry, such as ‘The Threads That Weave’ commissioned by Manchester United.

Live Writing

Poet Mandy Coe encouraged pupils from Years 8 and 9 on to the stage to write poems on the spot, on her visit in January. Asked to write about a tree without using the letter E, the work they produced was original and surprising. The interactive and inspirational session was enjoyed by all.

Lake District

Retracing the steps of William and Dorothy Wordsworth, girls from Years 9 to 13 attended a Writing Retreat in the Lakes, visiting Dove Cottage where the family lived 200 years ago. Under the expert tuition of professional writers, they produced stories and poems inspired by the breath-taking surroundings.

I used to judge people solely on their hairstyle. All my friends had long, blonde hair that was shiny and never greasy. There was a girl in my English class - her hair was lipstick red and candy floss pink. Weirdo, I thought. Weeks passed and I stayed away from her, her colours made my eyes ache. Soon after this I got sick and my hair started to fall out, little by little and then what seemed like all at once. My friends pretended it didn’t matter, but I saw how none of them could look at my bare scalp without grimacing... It made me angry that they cared so much about it; but it made me furious that I did too. I couldn’t sit there every lunchtime and stare in envy at their “gorgeous” hair; so I went and sat alone. A day or two later the fiery-haired girl ambled over to my table and asked me why I’d shaved off my hair, she said it looked “totally cool”. I smiled and we chatted about things I didn’t know people talked about over school lunch. Capital punishment, euthanasia, equality and how the Simpsons has gone downhill. Over the next couple of weeks I began to look for Felicity, the girl with the wacky hair at lunchtime, and whoever got to the dinner hall first would save the other a seat. And now, two months later some of my hair has grown back, but I’ve kept it short. And dyed it green. People see me and notice my short, ocean green hair and I notice that some of them have a certain, discerning look - but that doesn’t bother me.

RUBY CUMMINGS

Debating

Three girls from Year 8 enjoyed a weekend of discussion and debating at the MUN-HIGH 2015 event which was held at Manchester High School for Girls. Amelia Doherty received a special mention for a particularly confident contribution during one of the sessions.

Legend of Mons

We crouched by a wall; The advanced guard, Waiting.

Bullets

Of dread leaden in our guts, Grime our first layer of skin. Sweat cooled, slipped On bayonets.

The smell I won’t forget. Charred carcasses sick-sweet, Leeched, Out of summer’s heat.

We squatted in the dust, ducked overhead shells

The Girls’ Division hosted the second round of the ESU Schools’ MACE competition in February. Six schools attended the event and fierce debating ensured. This is the oldest debating competition in the country; it offers participants the chance to challenge themselves with debates on controversial topics and international affairs.

Four girls from Bolton School Girls’ Division took part in the Qualifying Round of the Debating Matters competition. Lively and impressive arguments took place based on the two motions: ‘Artistic expression should never be censored’ and ‘The UK must embrace the use of fracking’. The Girls’ Division were victorious and, in the words of the judges, ‘sailed through’ to the Regional Finals.

We could hear shells Before they hit. A keening whistle, a flinch The silence. An explosion so loud we couldn’t hear it.

Then the “Hail Mary’s” Mumbled by Percy, Rodger and George; Prayers ringing the quiet. But not Freddy. Freddy didn’t believe in that, He said. Though what he believed in I could not say. Weeks of iron dread Must have unhinged him. Unhooked his mind from the cold light of day.

As we bit our lips and bloodied our skulls, Slipping and sliding In sweat, to keep quiet to see the Boche to take aim and fire When the dust cleared. And when the dust cleared… We were up, shaking Fumbling the trigger, Freddy leapt over the wall And the ground began to quiver We knew what that meant Our shoulders tensed We ducked to the ground But I half-sensed…

I looked up, Defying command There was Freddy, Throwing down arms. He took a step A leap Toward the humming shell He threw himself uI did not hear the yell. I heard the silence. The explosion so loud you can’t hear it. But I could see it.

Fire, incendiary white Shattering upwards Thrusting aside, Ricochet outwards In a halo of light, Two strong lines Spreading in flight…

…and Freddy, little lost Freddy. Just turned sixteen. His slim figure fragmenting, Obliterated by beams Of white-hot shell. They splayed apart like wings.

Where they caressed, they burned and Blazed at my face, Threw us all backwards; We landed in a daze.

Charred carcass. Sick-sweet. Surged up on the breeze.

Percy was mumbling about angels, Rodger was enraptured, George was shaking, Said we’d all be captured. But no. They’d stopped. Maybe their shells depleted.

Giving us time, The time we needed

Women in the Theatre

The second round of the Debating Matters competition took place in April at The University of Manchester. Six keen debaters from Girls’ division took part. Isabella received an honourable mention in the presentations at the end of the day for her performance and contributions from the audience.

This year has been extremely productive for the Senior Literary and Debating Society. A large amount of time has been dedicated to Parliamentary-style debating. A group of students also went to the Royal Exchange Theatre to see Shami Chakrabarti speak about the future of Human Rights, LGBT initiatives, and government surveillance.

For many years women were banned from the stage. Tolerated more than accepted - lauded for their theatrical talents maybe, but still looked down upon as essentially immoral and of low character. Because of this, many early actresses adopted the appellation of ‘Mrs’ whether they were married or not, simply because the married title implied a greater air of respectability. Gradually, through the efforts of many of the early proponents of their art the situation changed. The idea of theatre without women to play female roles became inconceivable. Accomplished actresses, once unknown, then finding fame only through their off-stage exploits, eventually entered an age where they could be recognised for what they were; where they could make their mark through their acting talents alone and no longer be forced to trade upon their beauty, charm and the influence of their married lovers. Although some actresses still preferred to use the married title it was no longer necessary, an actress could use the unmarried appellation ‘Miss’, as in ‘Miss Lily Elsie’, and it still conveyed chaste respectability. The day of the actress had come of age, their finest hour had arrived.

Who would have thought 100 years ago that British actress Maxine Peake would play the title role of Hamlet at the Royal Exchange Theatre, Manchester? Bradshaw in his review of Peake’s performance for the Guardian remarked “It’s a terrifically fast, fluent, attacking production and Peake’s Hamlet is like a pageboy gone bad… Her casting isn’t a gimmick. Peake looks like a stowaway, or a French resistance fighter in disguise: her femaleness gives a new edge of differentness and alienation and anger”.

Mrs R Smith

Natalie Henderson’s poem, The Legend of Mons, won this year’s BSGD National Poetry Day competition.

The hills came alive!

This year marked the 50th Anniversary of The Sound of Music. It is both fitting and appropriate that Bolton School staged this charming and well-loved musical in March 2015, during the celebrations of 100 years of the foundation of the present school and 500 years of education in Bolton. We also discovered that the Captain von Trapp’s first wife, mother of the 7 children who feature in the musical, descended from Bolton School Old Boy, Robert Whitehead!

The cast and crew really were superb and received rave reviews for their ‘five star’ production. Old Boy Malcolm Howe in his review of the production, which was included in From Torpedoes to The Sound of Music, remarked “Charlotte Hopkins was a marvellous Maria, a superb soprano who stole our hearts singing with crystal clarity, a ravishing rival to Julie Andrews. Giorgio Arnetoli portrayed Georg von Trapp with the appropriate gravitas, reflecting well the captain´s personality changes from naval disciplinarian, to becoming next an enchanted bride groom and then finally a veritable ´boy in the band’. Robert Whitehead´s great-grandchildren´ were great singers indeed and the Nonnberg nuns sweet fun, particularly Natalie Henderson´s portrayal of the Mother Abbess”.

Artistic Explanations

Miss Fazackerley writes:

My memories of the Art department span many years back to 1976 when I was a pupil in 3T (Year 7) with a very stern Mrs Shuttleworth in charge as Head of Art and Craft. Mary Shuttleworth was legendary: you definitely did not misbehave if you wanted to escape alive from the art studios! Early memories include very silent drawing lessons, where you could just hear the ‘sweet sound’ of pencils on paper. How things have changed!

I still have my ‘Madonna and Child’ ceramic sculpture which I made with Miss Spencer –who went on to become Mrs Cole when she married shortly after I arrived in the senior school. I also have fond memories of collecting sheep’s fleece, carding and dyeing it and eventually knitting it to make a purse after our week-long visit to Cautley House (the precursor to Patterdale Hall). Watercolour painting featured highly in Mrs Cole’s lessons and we all contributed to the Queen’s Silver Jubilee celebrations (1977) by hand painting commemorative bookmarks in our art lessons.

Having chosen ‘O’ Level Art, I was thrilled to be taught by the new and trendy art teacher, Mrs Ann Chambers. I can definitely say that she was the inspirational teacher I aspired to be like! Art lessons became the highlight of the week, and I remember clearly that this was the turning point for me – from being quite good at drawing to being a committed artist with an interest beyond the curriculum. I began to investigate possible career paths in Art, and so started the journey which would eventually lead me back to Bolton School over 25 years later.

Emma Jackson Y11

Aleena Dhokia Y11

Iman Orths Y12

Robyn Lomas Y13

Annie Linfitt Y12

Heather King Y11

Laura Hainey Y12

Georgia Simmons Year 11

Laura Hainey Y12

Francesca McDonald Y13

Charlotte Stamper

Mrs Fisher writes:

When I began my career at Bolton School in 1983, it was an exciting time for the Art Department. We were just about to move into newly equipped, purpose built, bright and sunny art studios!

In the 1980s, studying Art was very different at Bolton School. The ‘O’ level examination consisted of a 2 1/2 hour drawing exam! We also taught an Art History lesson every week with slides and a projector. Coursework was introduced in the late 1980s when GCSEs came on the scene. Prior to the new A-level around 1990, you could take Art, Weaving, Pottery and for a couple of years, Craft A Level.

When Miss Panton was headmistress, she made the decision to move the Art Department to its current location. The rooms we moved into previously accommodated the Girls’ Juniors and their library! So they moved out and we moved in, but the drawers have never fitted since! The kilns lived for a while in the music room by the dinner queue. Over time, walls have been moved and new sinks fitted and A12 was created as a much needed A Level Art studio.

In terms of much needed, I could not talk about changes in the Art Department without mentioning the terrific Technicians and Support Assistants. In 1989, our indispensable Mrs Phyl Rushton, mother of old girl Justine, and Ceramics expert, joined the crew and has supported the Department and girls through thick and thin over the years.

In my 33 years at school, I have witnessed and experienced a lot of changes in the Art Department. But what has been unwaveringly consistent is the commitment of the staff to facilitate and encourage the highest possible standards from the super girls we teach.

Nuala Fowler Y12

Millie Adamson Y11

Ella Tobin Y11

Jessica Broome Y13

Ellie Broome Y11

Portia Riding Y11

Coris Craggs Y11

Iman Orths Year 12

Alice Delaney Y11

Olivia Porter

Historical Happenings

On the occasion of the Centenary of the Bolton School Foundation, an Old Girl (and soon to be retiring member of the History Department!) remembers History lessons in the Girls’ Division in yesteryear:

Old girls will remember the third form (Year 7) textbook ‘From Ur to Rome’, with illustrative material varying from black and white vases to a map of the Tigris and Euphrates. The most exciting trip was a visit to Ripon Cathedral (omitting to mention the historical content of times spent at Cautley). It was around this time that Mrs Tate told stories of fire watching during the Second World War from the top of what is now the Turret library. If you continued your historical studies to A-level, G. R. Elton’s ‘The Tudor Constitution: Documents and Commentary’ became your constant companion. Regarding the staff, Miss Pilsbury was a formidable Head of History and Miss Winfield’s inspirational lessons are partly the reason why this Old Girl decided to teach History.’

As for 2014-2015, this has been another busy year in the History department, with lots going on in and out of the classroom. There have been not one, but two mock elections this year, which have closely mirrored national events. In September, the school voted a resounding ‘No’ to the question ‘Should Scotland be an

independent country?’ whilst in May the ‘Conservative party’ won the most votes in a mock General Election in which all of the major political parties were ably represented by the Year 12 Government & Politics group. In the run up to the mock elections, pupils aligned themselves to a political party, and joined a campaign team headed by Sixth Form Government and Politics pupils.

In other news, the Bolton Historical Association have had a successful first year in their new home – the Girls’ Division theatre. Talks have ranged from ‘Robin Hood’ to ‘Cold War Whitehall’ (which was delivered in November by the eminent historian, Baron Hennessy of Nympsfield). Next years’ programme looks just as interesting, with a range of interesting speakers to boot. Girls of all ages are encouraged to attend so that they can widen their understanding of History beyond what is taught in the classroom.

We were also pleased that two sixth formers, Sarah Ibberson and Alexandra Hopkinson, were given the Historical Association ‘President’s Award’ for their regular attendance at meetings and for writing up lectures for the branch website. Elsewhere, Sarah and Alex hit the headlines for their moving and thought provoking assembly about their visit to Auschwitz concentration camp in October

2014. Upon returning to school, they designed a temporary memorial of artificial tealights in the Great Hall, each bearing the name of a victim of the Holocaust. On the 70th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz this served as a timely reminder of the suffering of millions and the lessons that can be learned from such a tragic event.

History Club continues to enthuse the younger girls. This year, the craft sessions have been based on Victorian jewellery and basket weaving, amongst others (including mock election vote counting!)

In addition, Politics Club has had a committed and growing membership in which the political issues of the day have been discussed and debated. Topics this year have included the rights of prisoners, young people and the vote, making laws in Parliament, and the First Past the Post voting system.

Finally, the department has gone global again this year, visiting France, Belgium and the USA. In October, 39 girls accompanied their teachers on a sombre visit to the WW1 battlefields of Ypres and the Somme. It was especially moving for Emma Higginbottom (Y10) who was able to locate the grave of her relative, Herbert Lee. During the Easter holidays, 28 girls were accompanied by four staff on a tour of New York, Philadelphia and Washington DC.

Mock ‘General Election’ debate

Alexandra Hopkinson and Sarah Ibberson with the temporary memorial that they created to mark Holocaust Memorial Day

USA trip, Easter 2015 at the Martin Luther King memorial

Rob Thompson speaking to the Historical Association about the WW1 centenary

Battlefields trip (at the Canadian memorial at Vimy Ridge), October 2014

Sarah Ibberson and Alexandra Hopkinson receive the President’s Award from the Historical Association (with Dr Richard Hoyle).

Mathematical Musings

The Maths department has had another busy year with many successes and interesting events throughout.

The Maths and Physics Secondary liaison day, organised by Mr Wrigley, was a great success. Year 11 pupils from the community (including our own in the Girls’ and Boys’ Divisions) were invited to attend an introductory morning, applying advanced Mathematics and Physics. Pupils were shown how their mathematics could be used in the creation of games such as Angry Birds. They were also treated to a lecture by Dr Mark Lewney on “The Maths and Physics of the Rock Guitar”, which gave insight into String Theory.

Invited speakers this year also included Dr Charles Warkden who gave a very interesting and topical lecture on how the Engima machine was able to crack German Codes during the Second World War.

Pupils that took part in the annual trip to the Maths Inspiration Lectures in Manchester heard talks from a variety of speakers. Dr Hannah Fry discussed the mathematical links and ‘hidden connections’ on social networking sites and how these were utilised for crime prevention,

detection and commercial purposes. Other talks looked at ‘Patterns and Predictions’ and ‘why emotion, art and mathematics can go hand in hand despite the stereotypes’.

Year 6 pupils from the wider community were invited into School to compete in the team challenge event. Sixteen teams of four combatted their way through a number of mathematical challenges set by Mr Wrigley, with Christchurch Primary being the eventual winner.

Following on from last year’s success with the GCSE Further Maths examination, a large number of girls have been studying this extra GCSE during lunchtime sessions organised by Miss Kelly. We wish them all well for the forthcoming examination.

The five week Shine course devised and presented by Miss Reynolds, gave Year 9 pupils from within the local community, the opportunity to apply new mathematical skills to real life contexts. The group was tasked with working out the most cost effective method for wiring up the University of York for superfast broadband, using a variety of optimisation algorithms and processes.

Yet again, our Sixth Form girls have given their time generously as Maths mentors for the younger pupils, organised by Mrs Gilding. This year, over forty pupils volunteered as Maths hub or one to one mentors, and we thank them for their efforts and time.

In addition, two Year 11 pupils, Emma Rayner and Shavani Manoharan acted as mentors for pupils in Hesketh House.

Nicola Li, Milly Wood, Sharon Daniel and Emily Rajbhandari represented the Girls’ Division in the UKMT Junior Team Challenge. They gained a credible 7th place in this year’s regional final competition. Miss Kelly was very pleased with the girls’ efforts.

Girls’ Division pupils competed well in all this year’s UKMT challenges. There are too many girls to mention here, but of particular note are Nicola Li, who qualified for the prestigious Hamilton Olympiad, Francesca Adams, Imaan Bhuta and Rhianna Jones who all qualified for the Pink Kangaroo and Mahnoor Raza, Chloe Tsang and Sharon Daniel who qualified for the Junior Kangaroo.

We all familiar to our dating system 850BC and 2015AD and understand the meaning of BC and AD but what if time was defined by mathematics?

Mrs Hayes has a few suggestions to make you think:

• BC and AC – “before calculators” and “after calculators”.

Just how did students manage before they had use of a calculator? Those old enough to remember will have fond recollections of the battered copies of their “log tables” or their cherished “slide rule”.

Question – What year were calculators first used in Mathematics examinations?

• BD and AD - “before decimalisation” and “after decimalisation”.

Can you imagine using a

- money system of “£ sh d” in which there were 12 pence in a shilling and 20 shillings in a pound.

- mass system of “st lb oz” in which there were 16 ounces in a pound and 14 pounds in a stone.

- distance system of “yd ft ins” in which there were 12 inches in a foot and 3 feet in a yard.

Question – What year was the decimal system first used in Mathematics examinations?

• NL and WL - “narrow lined” and “wide lined”. Historically, narrow lined paper was usually used in Mathematics lessons. Three possible suggestions for this could be

- written solutions are easier to read if they are written on alternate lines and narrow lined paper would mean less paper is wasted.

- fractions look more like fractions when the numerator and denominator are written on two lines and are close together.

- there is more chance of a complete solution fitting on one side of paper!

Question – What year did a student first ask Mrs Hayes if they could use wide lined paper in her lessons?

The Rock Doctor Spread Your Wings

100 years of Science

Year 8 CREST Awards

Each year, over 32,000 CREST Awards are undertaken by 11 to 19 year-olds, giving them opportunities to explore real-world science, technology, engineering and maths projects in an exciting way.

CREST is a UK award scheme that recognises success, and enables students to build their skills and demonstrate personal achievement in project work. It offers educators an easy-to-run framework for curriculum enhancement and is student-led, which means that young people take ownership of their projects and choose to undertake them in areas they enjoy or see as relevant. A group of Year 8 pupils at Bolton School Girls’ Division achieved their Bronze awards, which involved around 10 hours of project work. Cassia Drummond, Hafsa Qadeer, Anna Swarbrick and Shivani Chohan investigated the V itamin C content in fizzy drinks. Other pupils completed project work on the acid content of fizzy drinks. These pupils were: Honey Higham, Cate Lord, Aamina Patel, Amy Potter, Lauren Whitaker, Lauren Pursey, Hannah Rayner, Rachel McGinty, Sana Saleem, Neha Bagewadi, Emma Sellwood, Ella Fullelove, Rachel Care, Imane Nagi, Amy Mackie, Hafsa Syed, Sharon Daniel, Bryony Meech, Ingrid Lam, Jessica Chae, Lima Assi, Carla Law, Safia Kapadia and Hana Hanif. Well done to the girls on all their hard work.

Ogden Trust

On the 8th April 2015, seven Year 10 girls from Bolton School Girls’ Division joined around 40 students from a number of local Bolton Schools and set off on a three-day residential trip to Keble College, Oxford University to learn more about Physics and Mathematics through lectures, challenges and activities. We learnt about engineering and the different courses available for study in this area at the University.

In the Computer Science Faculty, following lectures on aspects of computer science forensic crimes, undergraduates from Oxford University taught us the basics of programming language through practical challenges. Later, at the Natural History Museum, we had great fun learning about evolution and some lucky pupils got the chance to hold a giant hissing cockroach.

The event was funded by the Ogden Trust. It gave students the opportunity to have a brief experience of life as a student at one of the country’s top universities and also to think about Physics in new situations.

Physics Olympics

Amie Murray

The Science department has used the School’s anniversary as an opportunity to explore “100 years of Science”. The initiative has been celebrated by three Year 9 students, Havana Lloyd, Jasmine Kirkham and Ella Stenton. They have been producing Art Work on famous British scientists such as Rosalind Franklin, who was a chemist and X-ray crystallographer and made a huge contribution to the discovery of the structure of DNA. A collage using chromatograms celebrates the work of Archer Martin who developed paper partition chromatography technique and all the art work will be put on display on the science corridor for everyone to enjoy. A huge thank you to the girls who have worked with such enthusiasm in this area.

Women in STEM Career Day

Chemistry Olympiad

Physics Olympics

Psychology as a discipline:

Psychology in School –the story so far...

• First offered as a subject in School in 1999

• Curriculum 2000: assessment structure was 4 units and 2 pieces of coursework

• 2010: Coursework no longer

• 2015: A Level reform. Exams at the end of 2 years – 3 x2 hours exams –things have gone full circle to when Mrs Sanders and Mr Berry did their A Levels!!

• 2001: Mrs Sanders started and taught 1 small group of Upper Sixth and 2 small groups of Lower Sixth. The subject has continued to grow in popularity since and now comprises 11 groups across the foundation and somewhere in the region of 100 students.

Whilst Psychology did not emerge as a separate discipline until the late 1800s, its earliest history can be traced back to the time of the early Greeks. During the 17th-century, the French philosopher Rene Descartes introduced the idea of dualism, which asserted that the mind and body were two separate entities that interact to form the human experience. Many other issues still debated by psychologists today, such as the relative contributions of nature versus. nurture, are rooted in these early philosophical traditions.

While early philosophers relied on methods such as observation and logic, today’s psychologists utilise scientific methodologies to study and draw conclusions about human thought and behaviour. Physiology also contributed to psychology’s eventual emergence as a scientific discipline. Early Physiology research on the brain and behaviour had a dramatic impact on Psychology, ultimately contributing to the application of scientific methodologies to the study of human thought and behaviour.

The Cambridge Essay Writing Competition

In Psychology, we have also established a proud tradition within this highly prestigious annual competition alongside notable recent successes. Rachel Zarrouk won first prize in 2012. This included a cash prize of £300 and her attendance (accompanied by Mrs Sanders) at a celebratory dinner. The pair spent the day at Newnham College in the company of Senior Professors of Psychology.

This was followed by further success last year, when Paloma Shakouri received special recognition for her essay on the development of concept formation in children and how this impacts upon their language skills. The competition provides an excellent opportunity for potential Psychology undergraduates to broaden their knowledge of the subject beyond the confines of the A Level specification.

• 2009: Mr Radcliffe joined the department as a part-time teacher.

• 2012: Psychology became the first subject to be cross-foundational. Mrs Sanders was appointed Head of Department for Boys’ as well as Girls’ Division. All three members of the department now teach both boys and girls but in separate classes across the Foundation.

• 2012: Mr Berry joined the department.

As the subject grows so do the opportunities to extend students’ knowledge of Psychology outside the classroom:

• Trip to London: includes Freud Museum, Jack the Ripper, Science museum

• Poland trip: includes a visit to Auschwitz to support learning of the topic of ‘obedience’

Many students go on to study the subject at degree level both in this country and overseas, for example, Isabelle Gore-Ward who is now studying Psychology in Canada.

Research experience at Manchester University

The University of Manchester offers 20 places for students from all over the country to apply for work experience within their Psychology department. The competition was fierce and one of our Year 13 students, Charlotte Holden, won a place.

“I participated in work experience at the University of Manchester in the Psychology department. The work experience consisted of university styled lectures, seminars and performing our own experiments. The work experience was run by professors at the University who were carrying out their own research on gesture and how individuals respond to gestures they are given. Personally, I found the university lectures the most appealing and fascinating; this was because I am particularly interested in clinical psychology and sleep patterns. I met a variety of people from different cultural backgrounds from all over the UK, who like me had an interest in Psychology. I thoroughly enjoyed the work experience and left the week knowing I wanted to pursue a career in Psychology.”

Charlotte Holden Year 13

Trip to the Freud Museum

The Musical year opened with both the full Senior Choir and Year 13 leaver Jessica Ryan performing at the Presentation Evening. Following on from that, our Year 7 girls prepared a medley of songs from Frozen that brought the Year 7 Concert in the Great Hall to a rousing finish. The year group also took great pride in performing the medley alongside the School Song for the Old Girls. In October, preparations turned to the Autumn Concert, which was held in the Girls’ Division Great Hall and featured a number of the Schools’ joint ensembles. A particular highlight was the Joint Senior Orchestra’s performance of Bizet’s Farandole. At the end of term, the Great Hall was then the venue for a moving, nature-themed Ceremony of Carols and School Carol Service. As we moved into the Spring Term, the Second Senior Girls’ Music Festival took place with outstanding solo and small ensemble performances given by the girls. The adjudicator was impressed with the level of participation, the mature and confident performances and particularly the way in which our students supported each other. During this time, preparations were already well under way for the performance highlight of the year: the spectacular Bridgewater Hall Gala Concert. On Tuesday 10 March, students from Years 2-13 travelled to the Bridgewater Hall for a long day

of rehearsing and performing, and represented the school impeccably throughout the occasion. From outstanding offerings by some of the smaller ensembles to massed items featuring hundreds of performers, the concert was a real tour de force that will be remembered for many years.

At the start of the Summer Term, the May Serenade offered an opportunity for some of our newest ensembles, including the Middle School String and Guitar Group, to perform. It was also a chance to say farewell to the Year 13 students who have all made a significant contribution to Girls’ Division music during their time at Bolton School. Katie Hurt, Isobel Faulkner and Polly Adams stood out in particular for their excellent solo contributions as well as their participation in a number of ensemble items.

There have been a number of Recital Evenings throughout the academic year, allowing girls to perform repertoire learnt in lessons and to gain valuable practice in preparation for GCSE and A Level performance examinations, as well as external examinations. The recital evenings have been more popular than ever and in January an extra event was put in the calendar to ensure all students who wanted to perform could be included.

Congratulations to all girls who have sat external music examinations this year. Particular

congratulations to those who have been awarded Grade 6 and above on their instruments:

Caroline Fairclough, Emma Hailwood, Vasudha Marthi, Than Dar, Chandrani Gupta, Kiran Cheema, Katie Hurt, Hannah Rayner, Stephanie Higgins, Daisy Forshaw, Charlotte Mellor, Zoe Stirzaker, Alisha Maini, Helen Morris, Lorna Stirzaker, Isabel Harper, Seren Davies, Abigail Naylor, Bethany O’Donnell, Anu Jain and Lucy Stiles.

This year, there have been more external performances and competitions for ensembles than ever before. The Middle School and Senior Choirs enjoyed singing “Carols on the Cobbles” for the Coronation Street Christmas launch, the String Quartet and The Accidentals performed for Armistice Day and Holocaust Memorial Day and the Jazz Band, Training Orchestra and Intermediate Concert Band all performed in Music for Youth. Other ensembles have also taken part in a variety of community music events. Congratulations to the Jazz Band who were awarded a place in the National Finals of Music for Youth and the National Concert Band Festival.

Summer sees the Saxophone Choir and Saxophone Quartet travelling to Strasbourg for the SaxOpen World Saxophone Congress and Festival, where the Saxophone Choir will be performing and the Saxophone Quartet competing in the finals of the International Quartet competition.

ABRSM Examination Results Spring Term 2014

Name

Emily Rajbhandari 8S Trumpet 4 Merit

Alisha Maini 11A Flute 7 Merit

Rachelle Sidoli 8D Viola 1 Distinction

Abigail Naylor 10A Piano 4 Pass

Roxanne Asumu 7G Piano 1 Distinction

Vanessa Wong 6P Piano 2 Merit

Shreya Kamath 7B Piano 4 Pass

Sana Riaz 7C Piano 4 Pass

Georgia Forester 9G Flute 2 Merit

Jessica Kay 8D Flute 2 Merit

Lois Ho Sze Mok 11B Flute 2

ABRSM Examination Results Summer Term 2014

Name

Ria Bansal 6P Singing 1 Merit

Gemma Howard 7C Singing 1 Pass

Ananya Agarwal 4H Violin 1 Pass

Isabelle Du Plessis 4T Violin 1 Pass

Martha Brennan 4H Violin 1 Distinction

Isha Nunkoo 5LF Violin 1 Merit

Anabel Nuttall 7S Trumpet 2 Merit

Rosie Alice Allen 6P Singing 2 Pass

Carla Law 7S Violin 2 Pass

Jessica Kay 7D Singing 2 Merit

Anna Clark 7B Violin 2 Pass

Anita Cardozo 7G Piano 2 Pass

Ani Sastry 5LF Piano 2 Pass

Amy Chicken 7B Trumpet 2 Merit

Amerleen Hundle 5LF Piano 2 Merit

Jessica-Rose Curtis 6P Piano 3 Pass

Santina Hundle 7D Piano 3 Pass

Isabel Kate Harper 8C Piano 4 Pass

Sally Cowling 7G

Genevieve

Faye

London College of Music Exams Summer 2014

Trinity Exams, Spring Term 2014

Name Form Instrument Grade Result

Helen Morris 13G2 Singing 6 Merit

Lorna Stirzaker 8B Clarinet 6 Merit

Isabel Harper 9C Clarinet 6 Merit

Cassia Drummond 8D Clarinet 4 Distinction

Rebecca Parkinson 6P Clarinet 1 Distinction

Sêren Davies 9G Saxophone 6 Distinction

Abigail Naylor 10A Saxophone 6 Merit

Bethany O'Donnell 12G2 Saxophone 6 Pass

Eleanor Winter 11A Saxophone 5 Distinction

Charlotte Hughes 7B Saxophone 4 Distinction

Nina Simon 9D Saxophone 4 Distinction

Abigail Hughes 7G Saxophone 3 Merit

Ella Bolton 9G Saxophone 3 Merit

Ellen Masterson 6P Piano 3 Distinction

Rosemary Crowther 5LF Piano 1 Distinction

Holly Fowler 5LF Piano Initial Merit

Rhianna Jones 10f Piano 3 Distinction

Anu Jain 10E Piano 6 Merit

Emily Man 10B Piano 2 Distinction

Jasmine Curtis-Walker 5H Piano 1 Merit

Lucy Stiles 8c Flute 6 Distinction

Trinity Exams, Summer Term 2014

Name Form Instrument Grade Result

Isobelle Gore-Ward 13A2 Singing 6 Merit

Vasudha Marthi 10E Clarinet 8 Distinction

Eleanor Pickard 13D2 Saxophone 8 Distinction

Lucy Stiles 7C Saxophone 6 Distinction

Mary Aiken-Wood 11F Saxophone 6 Merit Hannah Rayner 7G Saxophone 5 Distinction

Charlotte Hughes 6W Saxophone 3 Distinction

Rachel McGinty 7D Saxophone 3 Merit

Cassia Drummond 7D Clarinet 3 Merit

Daisy Taylor 5LF Clarinet 2 Merit

Ariella Tanfield 5LF Saxophone 1 Distinction

Lauren Hilton 5H Clarinet 1 Merit

Jennifer Pearson 13B2 Saxophone 8 Distinction

Sarah Richards 12C2 Piano 5 Distinction

Estelle Pass 5LF Piano 3 Distinction

Ellen Masterson 5H Piano 2 Distinction

Jessica Crompton 4H Piano Initial Merit

Than Dar 12B2 Piano 8 Distinction

Jessica Ryan 13A1 Piano 7 Merit

Emily Bibby 12D2 Singing 5 Merit

Nicole Williams 7B Piano 2 Merit

Lucinda Butterworth

Emilie Reilly

Emily Man

Bethany Shum

Angelie Chitre

Emma Hailwood

Chelsea Twist

Clarinet

The Great Bolton School Bake-Off! Year 7 Year 8

A selection of cushions inspired by India, decorated with tie-dye, appliqué, hand embroidery and block printing, created by Year 7.

The Bolton School Bake Off 2015 was a great opportunity for pupils from both Divisions to showcase their culinary skills. From 100/500 Celebration cupcakes to savoury biscuits, pastries themed around the local area, and ‘old meets new’ mini desserts, each week, the Bake Off contestants produced an array of delicious entries for the judges. Over the course of four rounds, the numbers were whittled down from twenty-nine entrants to the final four: Year 8s Safa Patel, Isobel Plant and Asmara Stubley, and Boys’ Division Year 7 pupil Jack Tyldesley. The finalists created their ‘Showstopper’ signature bake, all of which were of an incredibly high standard and left the judges with a real challenge in selecting first place. They finally announced that the winner for 2015 was Isobel with her perfectly baked and fantastically decorated 100/500 cupcakes

Year 8 have been making fleece hot water bottles inspired by folk art. They have used appliquéd felt and embroidery techniques to embellish their products.

Arabella Barker-Smith

Ellie wallis

Charlotte Hughes

Jennifer Doyle

Bolton School Girls’ Division

Clockwise from bottom left: Amy Potter, Ingrid Lam, Rachel Care, Isabella Howe, Lauren Whitaker, Lauren Pursey, Bridie Rawlins and Anabel Nuttall (centre)

Clockwise from bottom left: Naeema Bux, Anita Cardozo, Amy Mackie, Ella Kaut-Howsen, Lucy stiles, Shivani Chohan, Elizabeth (Lizzie) Crowther, Honey Higham, Ella Fullelove

Environment Club Bird boxes / Morsbags Year 9

Year 9 have created personalised wash bags with three internal pockets, decorated with appliqué, stencilling, decorative stitching and sublimation printing techniques.

In the Autumn and Spring terms some members of the club successfully made the bird boxes you can see on display in our foyer.

Year 10

Year 10 designed and made their own choice of fashion skirt, learning pattern adaption techniques and garment manufacturing skills to produce their product.

Using templates to guide them, the girls cut out the roof, the base and three sides of their bird box from left over soft wood. Using waterproof wood PVA glue, they assembled the three sides and the base before nailing them together. The front of the bird box was then made from scrap plywood. Using computer aided design software (CAD), the girls created a unique design for the front of their box. The girls then engraved their design pattern onto the plywood before cutting out a hole large enough for a bird to get in and out. To strengthen the hole and prevent it from being enlarged by predators like squirrels or woodpeckers, a ring of scrap acrylic was placed around the entrance. The front was then glued and nailed onto the three sides and the base. Finally, the girls attached the roof by making a rubber hinge using a piece of recycled inner tube from a bicycle tyre. This allows the roof to be opened for its annual clean from August onwards once the birds have stopped using the box.

Meanwhile, other members of the club focused on the need to reduce the use of plastic bags by recycling fabric to make Morsbags.

Using old fabric like bedlinen and curtains, girls cut out the pieces of the bag using the basic pattern on the Morsbag.com website. Each bag has a Morsbag label sewn on the front so that when the bag is given away and used, word spreads and more people get involved with this non-profit making project.

a cushion with a broad range of decorative techniques.

Decorative Products inspired by Bolton School’s 100/500 celebrations – using images from around the school to create

Ruby Browne

Nina Simon Jaya Guhathakurta

Left to Right: Gini Edwards, Amna Idrees, Rosie Somerville, Deanne Ahamed

Annie Cao

Masie Camm

Charlotte Crook

Zainab

Kazie

A LEVEL

Bolton School Girls’

Anushka Bazu Gothic Dress

Emily Barnes Y12 Bag inspired by 1980s

Lauren Hurst Alice in Wonderland dress

Molly Heron Y12 Bag inspired by 1970s

Charlotte Mellor ‘Frozen’ Costume

Emily Barnes Y12 Bodice inspired by lightening

Libby Lupton Modern Vintage Dress

Natalie Henderson Y12

Art Deco Bag Back

Charlotte Woolley Swan Lake Dress

Esther Compsty A2 1920s dress for a period drama

Olivia Porter 1960s inspired dress

Natalie Henderson Y12 Art Deco Bag Front

Hannah McGee 1960s inspired dress

Molly Heron AS Level Bodice inspired by fish

Rachael Metcalfe Frenchie from Grease dress

Natalie Henderson Y12 Bodice inspired by Butterflies

Holly Wilcock Poodle dress 1950

Tomina Kirkman Play Mat

Religious Studies over 100 years

Religious Studies, or Religious Education as it is also known in many schools, has changed beyond all recognition since 1915. One hundred years ago, the subject, if taught at all, would most likely have been called ‘Religious Instruction’ and, as the name suggests, would have taken the form of teaching students about religion from a confessional angle. Children would have been taught about Christianity and would have studied the Bible, probably learning passages by heart. Many families would have attended church on a regular basis and any Religious Instruction in schools was often an extension of what was taught by the Church.

The situation at Bolton School Girls’ Division is very different today! Our girls come from a wide range of backgrounds; we have girls who follow religions including Hinduism, Islam, and Christianity; atheists and agnostics; and girls who ‘believe in something’ but do not follow a particular religion.

Church Visit

With so many diverse beliefs and perspectives in our school community one of the best ways we can learn about other faiths is by visiting places of worship.

Year 8 visited two churches - a modern church and a traditional church: “In the modern church we learnt about the way the church is used for different purposes and groups: on Friday teenagers meet up in the café and they bring the pool table out and on Sunday people come to sing hymns and hear the preacher.”

“In the traditional church, Reverend French told us about some of the things that go on at the church. For example there is an early service every Sunday because it was once believed that the sooner you came to church every Sunday the earlier you could have breakfast. At the back of the church there is a font which is made of actual sea shell.”

Bryony Meech

Our Religious Studies lessons cover all six major world religions and we are lucky enough to be able to take students on visits to a church, a mosque, a mandir, a gurdwara, a Buddhist centre and a synagogue, all within easy reach of Bolton.

Another important difference is that today, a key focus in Religious Studies lessons is on encouraging girls to think for themselves and to ask questions. Girls are never told what they ought to believe but instead, challenged to justify their opinions with reasoned argument and to be able to recognise why others may hold an alternative view point.

When we meet parents on Consultation Evenings, one of the most common comments we Religious Studies teachers hear when we explain what our students have been learning about is, “That sounds so interesting! It wasn’t like that when I was at school!”

Faith Trail

“

First, we went to the Church of Saint John the Evangelist. We learnt about the history of the church and the relics inside. We found out that there has been a church on that site for 1500 years!

We then went to the Gujrat Hindu Temple. We took off our shoes and went into a room with shrines of gods and goddesses. There was Krishna, Mother Goddess, Hanuman and Ganesh and pictures on the ceiling of the lives of the gods. We watched the beginning of the service which included singing hymns. After that, we went to Guru Nanak Gurdwara. We took our shoes off and put on headscarves to cover our hair. We ate lunch and, to respect the religion, we didn’t have any meat in our sandwiches. After lunch, we went upstairs to a large room where we learnt about the history of Sikhism and the Gurus. The whole experience was very enjoyable.”

Mosque Visit

Year 8 also visited the Zakariyya Mosque in Bolton where they were able to explore different features of the building and find out more about how local Muslims use the mosque. Pictured - Lucy Stiles and Cate Lord learning about how Muslims wash before prayer.

Brooklyn Williams

Year 9 students investigate the symbolism of images of the Buddha and construct their own.

From Computing to ICT and back again!

It is the advances in technology which, more than anything else, separate the experiences of pupils one hundred years ago from those of girls currently in education.

The first computer arrived in the Girls’ Division in 1980. A few years later, the subject of Computing appeared on our curriculum with the arrival of Mrs Louise Robinson, our first ever Computer teacher.

We commandeered C3, a Science Lab at the time, and set up standalone BBC computers in amongst the gas taps! We could only give the computer typed instructions, as there were no mice or computer graphics to click on. We programmed in Basic and created many small wordplay games and primitive animated rockets made up of keyboard characters. Emoticons are a recent example of this use ;). Floppy Discs were the storage of choice and the noisy dot-matrix printer echoed around the room. Wordprocessing was quite a challenge without a mouse and formatting icons!

In 1990 we expanded: Standalone Apple Macs with mouse and graphical user interface (GUI) in C2; RM Archimedes machines in C1 and a BBC computer network in C3. We had one freelance technician who appeared once a month to fix broken machines and maintain the C3 network. A few years later, the Internet, containing the developing World Wide Web, became accessible and jostled for position amongst the superior CD-ROM content of research encyclopaedias and educational games. Our Year 8 girls made Lego models of greenhouses, building in sensors, and writing programs to control them via the computers.

As technology advanced and the number of computers increased, it became sensible to standardise with one technology. We chose the PC platform, not Apple, as the majority of staff and pupils had begun to

buy PCs for home use. Computers became easier to use and, as software expanded exponentially, the subject of Computing morphed into IT, then ICT and all things GUI. Programming was squeezed out and generic office packages were in. The network started to grow a room at a time, and then link together. The Central ICT Department appeared, manned by skilled technicians, and slowly, other Subject Departments began to use the computer rooms. In no particular order, the ICT syllabus expanded to include good practice in: presentation software, web design, email, graphics tablets, drawing and graphics packages, health and safety guidelines, computer law, spreadsheets, databases, mail-merge, desktop publishing, animation skills, video creation and more.

staff take their first lesson on a Commodore computer

In 2015, we have come full circle; Apple technology has reappeared in the form of personal iPADs and Computing is reasserting itself as a creative logical discipline at the expense of some ICT skills. One thing has undoubtedly changed; computers have become an embedded tool in the way we work, communicate and store information. Our challenge, as both Computing and ICT teachers, is to allow pupils to embrace, adapt and create technologies thoughtfully. By teaching underlying concepts, methods of learning and practical skills, we can empower pupils to mould the technologies of tomorrow instead of being passively ruled by them. I don’t think we are going to be bored any time soon!

Liz Brown May 2015

Year 8 Graphics assessment – design a house including the use of advanced tools in Adobe Illustrator.

Some

Sally Cowling 8G

Hannah Rayner 8G

Alison Jordan 8G

Ananya Darshan 8G

Criminal Profiling

Amy McVeigh in year 13 has developed a Criminal Profiling Assessment program for her Computing A Level.

She developed her Python programming skills throughout the course and by incorporating Tkinter was able to create a user-friendly GUI for her program.

Amy interviewed Mr Radcliffe regarding the criminal profiling aspect of the Psychology A Level and following a detailed analysis and design, finally created a student-friendly assessment tool.

Amy designed the program so that pupils are presented with a random crime scene and have to identify the most likely characteristics of the

perpetrator. Following this, they then choose the most likely suspect and indicate why they fit the profile established. The program then assesses their responses and gives feedback regarding their successes.

Amy ended up with over 750 lines of code to produce a successful criminal profiling assessment tool!

Sponsored Hour of Code

Teachers were sponsored to learn how to code in one hour!

Bienvenido, Bienvenue & Wilkommen

Languages over the years

As the theme of this year’s magazine is centred round the 100 year anniversary we have been discussing changes that have taken place in language learning. Although I have been learning and teaching languages for many years even my experiences didn’t stretch back that far. I have therefore done some research and called on former colleagues to share their thoughts. Miss Morley who was my first Head of languages here at BSGD, was judged to have very innovative methods when she arrived in the mid 50’s and only spoke French in the classroom. The girls did complain, but were told by the Deputy Head that they would get used to it. Emma Saxelby who taught in the Boys Division published books on the “direct method” of language learning and these became famous worldwide. The Saxelby gate in the school grounds stands in her memory. Learning phonetics in order to ensure good pronunciation was also considered very important and girls were allowed to bring a mirror into school so that they could check that their mouths were in the correct position – some thought this had the potential to be very disruptive!

Providing the linguists of the future...

On 8th of November, we were delighted to welcome over a hundred talented linguists, from both Divisions and from 14 other schools in the region. The day got off to good start with a French breakfast and language quiz in the Riley Centre café which provided an opportunity to mingle and swap linguistic experiences. The opening talk by Dr Roel Vismans from Sheffield University provided an excellent range of information about the possibilities for studying languages as a single honours degree or in combination with other subjects such as economics, science and engineering. To end the talk, Dr Vismans invited Bryony Mutton, a former BSGD student, to give us a student’s insight into studying at Sheffield and the exciting prospects offered by the year abroad. Students were then able to practise their own linguistic skills in their chosen post GCSE workshop and try a new language taster session in either Italian, Russian or Arabic. To bring the event to a close we were very fortunate to be joined by Andrea Cockram, a former student, currently living in Paris where she runs her own communications company and lectures at the Sorbonne. She was able to illustrate the value of languages both in the world of work and as a skill which makes us better communicators, more culturally aware and offers endless interesting and enjoyable opportunities.

When reel to reel tape recorders were introduced along with a grainy film strip depicting the antics of “la famille Marsaud” things started to get very exciting. I remember delivering a presentation to the governors on the use of the Overhead Projector (there are some still to be found lurking in the Art department) and then on how we might use a language lab. With the introduction of computers and more recently ipads we now have access to a wealth of exciting material. Interactive online textbooks have been the latest addition to the language department this year and communication with exchange partners via Instagram, Whatsapp and even Skype if we are feeling very brave has given us access to authentic language in seconds. On the language pages you will find lots of examples of how we are both using and exploring the use of new technology and taking advantages of all the opportunities for travel abroad and extracurricular activities which are available to language learners in the 21st century.

Angela Shafiq Head of MFL.

Honing our linguistic skills...

In November, four teams of linguists took part in the North Schools’ MFL Debating Competition at Cheadle Hulme School. They had to debate topics such as ‘Give me a pen, not a gun’, ‘University education is a waste of time and money’ or ‘Let’s tackle poverty here, not abroad’. Some of the topics were hard to debate in English, let alone in French, German or Spanish. Nonetheless, all the teams did a fantastic job and showed excellent debating skills and command of their foreign language. Some teams reached the semi-finals and everybody agreed it had been a great experience.

Students talk to guest speaker Andrea Cockram

Málaga

This Easter the annual Year 10 study trip to Málaga was not blessed with the usual sunny weather, but this didn’t dampen our spirits. Manuel’s tour of the city pointing out the famous sights as well as the best ice-cream shops was a big hit. A tour of Picasso’s house and museum where we discussed selected works by the artist meant that we learnt a lot about Málaga’s most famous painter and even managed to get him to pose for a photo! The weather didn’t stop us from improving our dance moves with a flamenco master class or from sampling “chocolate con churros” in the town’s oldest “churrería”. On the last day we visited the impressive aqueduct in Ronda and the bull ring. We learnt about the history of the town as well as the traditions of bullfighting and there were some lively debates on the topic.

El Puerto de Santa María 2014

On Sunday 19th October, we left Manchester for Southern Spain; despite flying across Europe we landed to find ourselves still on British soil… in Gibraltar! Fortunately, the weather was very different to that which we had left behind in England and after crossing the border, we were finally in Spain, and ready to meet our host families.

On Monday morning we met our teacher at Trinity Language School – José. He would be our teacher for the next three mornings at the school, where we enjoyed different sessions to help us improve our Spanish. In the afternoon, we were treated to trips of the local area – firstly we

were taken on a tour of the town with one of the teachers from the language school – Loli. Unfortunately, some of us got more than our bearings: the next morning we all met up at the language school to find we had all been bitten by mosquitos in the night, with some members of the group suffering considerably more than others!

We also enjoyed trips to the beach; a ‘bodega’ where sherry is produced, as el Puerto de Santa María is part of Spain’s‘sherry triangle’; as well as a trip to Cádiz with Marta from the school. On the Thursday we went for a day trip to Seville, where we visited a number of tourist sites, including ‘La Plaza de España’ and the Cathedral (where Christopher Columbus is buried). We had a great time on this trip and I would really recommend it to anyone who is taking Spanish, wants to improve their confidence and enjoys eating a lot of ice cream!

Year 11 explore current environmental problems

L a casa será inteligente

Alarmas que usan huellas digitales

Cómoda con muchos artículos de lujo

Aparatos electrónicos muy avanzados

Será más ecológica

Ahorrará energía

Dormitorios que apagarán las luces cuando te acuestas

Educación interactiva en los dormitorios de los niños

Los aparatos podrán hablar

Fabricada con madera y vidrio

Una conexión a internet muy buena

Tendrá pantallas interactivas en cada cuarto

Una inteligencia artificial

Reconocerá a cada individuo

O pciones para cambiar la decoración

Year 13 consider technological advances in the house of the future

Stephanie Higgins

Alex Brown and Amber Tobin

Year 9 have taken photos on their iPad to keep a record of their work on fashion

Film Competition

Congratulations to Ella Kaut-Hauson in Year 8 who received a “Special Commendation” for her entry into the Oxford University film essay competition in the Years 7 to 11 category. Her task was to watch the first half of the film “Le Petit Nicolas” and to imagine her own ending. Ella’s creative writing impressed the judges who wrote to say that hers was “a very strong entry within a competitive field”.

Year 9 and 10 French Exchange

This year, the French Exchange with Le Collège Saint-Benoît celebrated its thirtieth anniversary in style by travelling to France by plane for the first time! Whilst in Moulins, the girls enjoyed a busy week full of activities and visits allowing them to practise their French first-hand.

French club

I have thoroughly enjoyed French Club this year. We have done all sorts of fun activities, from arts and crafts to charades. One of my favourite things was when we had to run around the school with a checklist of objects in French; we had to find them and take a picture of them. I found it really interesting learning about many of the different traditions in France and playing a game on the French regions. As I progressed with French in lessons, French club gave me the opportunity to have a conversation in French with someone from France. I have made cards for Christmas, Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day, learnt about what people in France do on those days and practised new vocabulary in writing the cards. Katy (the French assistant) is always really helpful and she brings in lots of games and resources for us.

Grace Hansford

Theatre Production

On Monday 1st June, Year 8 French enjoyed the annual visit from Onatti’s theatre company. This year’s play, Erreur d’identité, was set in a hotel in France where the owners, Pierre and Rose-Marie, are convinced that one of their customers is an escaped prisoner they read about in the newspaper.

Spelling Bee

Spelling has always been important in languages, but this competition makes it fun.

Twelve Year 7 girls showed nerves of steel as they competed in front of the whole year group in a French Spelling Bee Competition. The girls had to learn a bank of one hundred words in preparation for the competition, and had to spell as many as possible in one minute. French teacher Miss Tomlinson gave each girl an English word. Pupils had to translate the word into French, say it out loud, and then spell it using the French alphabet including accents and punctuation. This would be difficult enough at the best of times, but doing it on stage and in front of the whole year group definitely intensified the pressure!

Ordinarily girls would be able to recall and spell just a few words in a minute but the competitors recalled up to sixteen words. The girl who spelled out the most words correctly won the prize. It was an incredibly close competition, but the outright winner was Haleemah Mohammed with sixteen words, closely followed by Nabilah Thagia with fourteen words. Miss Tomlinson said: “Congratulations to all girls who took part. It took great courage to stand up on stage in front of the rest of Year 7, who were really supportive. It was so impressive to see the girls in action and this competition is something they will remember for years to come.”

Year 7 developed their writing skills by producing short paragraphs about their use of new technologies

Year 10 wrote about their use of the Internet. Year 12 expressed their opinion on Reality TV

German Exchange

Taking part in the German Exchange is one of the best experiences I have had at school. Although I was extremely nervous about staying with a strange family for a whole week, I had been communicating with my partner and many of the other Germans via Whatsapp and Instagram for months beforehand so it was a lot less intimidating. We finally arrived at the school and got to meet our partners. It was very awkward for the first few hours as we tried to stumble around the language barriers but after a while everyone settled in and found ways to communicate. Over the week, we did lots of fun activities including climbing, visiting Köln and Bonn and going to the theme park ‘Fantasialand’. We met up every evening with the other pairs so everyone became really close friends. The trip definitely improved my ability to understand German through reading signs and being put on the spot to have full conversations in German with my exchange’s parents. By the end of the week I had become really good friends with my partner and everyone else so it was sad to leave but we have all kept in contact and are really excited about seeing them again when they come to England!

Lauren Crowther

Girls taking part in the German Exchange used to write letters to each other. Times and technology have changed, as the following girls explain:

Patterdale

Our German study weekend in Patterdale for girls and boys in Y11-13 is an established event in the school calendar. This year, 12 girls, 16 boys and 5 members of staff spent a weekend in January talking and listening to German and enjoying the company, the food and the countryside. The programme has changed little over the last twenty years – why change a winning formula? We may use online dictionaries on the iPad rather than paper dictionaries but there is no signal for most mobile phone networks so we did lots of talking face to face!

The very full programme included: a language ice-breaker (two lies and one truth); a film: ‘Sonnenallee’ (‘Sun Alley’), a comedy set in East Berlin in the 1970s; a round of 10 x 2 minute discussions; rehearsals for an excerpt from ‘Der Besuch der alten Dame’ and sketches by the German comedian Loriot; a walk along the lakeside; singing led and accompanied by Frau Artley ( ‘Die Gedanken sind frei’ and ‘Ein Mann, der sich Kolumbus nennt’); speed reading using newspaper articles; practice for the oral examination; and a second film: ‘Kokowääh’, a comedy directed by and starring Til Schweiger, The Patterdale staff provided delicious food including lots of cake! Der Kuchen war lecker!

Frau Sheaff

I was quite nervous about the German exchange as I had never done anything like it before and I was worried that I wouldn’t get on with Jasmin, my exchange partner, or fit in with her family. However, my uneasiness was soon put to rest as she gave me a massive hug when we finally met, after our unexpectedly long journey to Bonn. We had been talking to each other on Snapchat for a while, and in the last few months prior to the trip, we had been speaking almost every day. This communication certainly made things easier as we discovered that we had similar interests and the same personality. From the first evening of the trip, we met up with others from the exchange, which gave me the opportunity to listen to the Germans speaking and their pronunciation of words which has since helped me in listening and speaking exercises in class. I would recommend the exchange to anyone who is considering it, as it was a thoroughly enjoyable experience in which I learnt a lot and made many new friends, both English and German.

Asena Akdeniz

Three months or so before the exchange we were given the name and contact details of our exchanges. We all began using Whatsapp as our chosen form of communication. Day by day we were learning more and more about each other: our likes, dislikes, friends, family and what we did at school. By the time the exchange came about late March, we were more than ready to go and meet them. Whatsapp proved vital up until the last second when speculation regarding the cancellation of our flight arose from their end. Throughout the exchange we visited various town centres, museums, theme parks, rock climbing centres and the school. My favourite part of the trip was going to Fantasialand on Sunday as it was great fun and it allowed us to test our German in various shops and situations.

Hannah Saad

Language apps Recommended by Year 12 and Year 13

Technology is constantly changing the way we learn languages: the introduction of iPads has led to the discovery of some wonderful apps which the Sixth Form Germanists have been using to help them study.

The Flashcards app has been incredibly useful for learning vocabulary throughout my time studying German. Vocabulary learning is something that I know a lot of people struggle with as pages and pages of long lists of words can often seem daunting and overbearing. Flashcards has a completely different approach to learning vocabulary. Whether you want to quiz yourself, match up the English words with the German words or play Vocab Ninja, Flashcards has something for everyone. You can even compete against your friends in a Vocab Battle to see who knows the words better.

Lizzy Dillon Y13

Using the German Grammar Guide app as an aid to my German studies has been extremely beneficial to me. It has allowed me to fully comprehend the different tenses and cases in the German language as well as being a great help when completing homework tasks. The layout is simple and clear and it includes everything from prepositions and pronouns as well as a list of all irregular verbs.

Samreen Chohan Y13

Learning vocabulary is one of the key parts of learning a second language. There are so many words and so many topics that it seems impossible to know everything. Let’s face it: It’s no fun with the ‘look, cover, write, check’ method. That might work for some people but most of us want other ways to remember confusing words and how to spell them.

Memrise is a free app on the App Store that really helps with vocabulary learning. It’s really simple and easy to use on the iPads whether in school or at home. It’s perfect when revising last minute for a test you have first period that you completely forgot about!

You can download courses on their website after creating an account. Many of these courses are specific to the exam board so you get the exact vocabulary lists you need. It works off short term memory and shows you the word and a few ways to remember it either by breaking down the word into shorter bits, by diagrams or by a completely wacky way that sticks in your brain.

Farewell

At Christmas we said goodbye to Mrs Hall who retired after 22 years teaching PE at the

Running Club Cross Country

At the Bolton Town Cross Country Championships in November, the Bolton School team of 15 girls battled hard through the wind and mud against some strong opposition from the local schools.

As a result of their excellent individual performances at this competition, Ellie Bridge, Abigail Duckworth and Isobel Faulkner were selected for the Bolton Town Cross Country team and went on to compete at the Greater Manchester Cross-Country Championships in February.

Isobel was placed 15th in the senior race, whilst in the junior race, Ellie was placed 44th and Abigail finishd in 59th position.

Athletics 2014

The Summer Term was very short which made fitting track and field event fixtures in alongside exams quite tricky. There were matches against Canon Slade and Bury Grammar School that involved large numbers of girls, with lots of excellent individual performances and plenty of new personal bests achieved.

TOWN ATHLETICS CHAMPIONSHIPS

In the Year 10 competition, the team did well to finish 5th overall against some tough opposition from other schools. A special mention should go to Cerys Baines, who won the Javelin whilst recording a season’s best distance of 21.94m and Priya Chevli, who came second in the Discus. The team members were: Cerys Baines, Eleanor Broome, Louisa Brophy, Priya Chevli, Sara Crompton, Caitlin Duckett, Emma Jackson, Imogen Joyce and Alisha Maini.

GREATER MANCHESTER

ATHLETICS CHAMPIONSHIPS 2014

Cerys Baines and Hannah Stephenson were both nominated to take part in the Greater Manchester Athletics Championships. Hannah qualified for the final of the 200m where she finished in 3rd place. Following her excellent result in the Javelin competition, Cerys Baines finished second and just narrowly missed out on selection for the English Schools Athletics finals in July.

BURSARY GOLF DAY

Well done to Polly Hughes, Rachel Metcalfe, Megan Smethurst and Mrs Hayes for their efforts at the Bursary Golf day in September. A great day’s golf was had by all.

INDEPENDENT SCHOOLS’ GOLF COMEPTITION

Congratulations to Ellie Broome in Year 11, who at the Independent Schools Golf Competition held in April at Fleetwood Golf Club, scored a nett 80, finishing 4th in the girls’ gross section and 28th out of 38 in the overall gross section. Ellie was also reselected for the Cumbria county U18s Elite golf squad for the 2015 season, and is the Junior Captain at Kirkby Lonsdale Golf C lub.

School.

Sports Day 2014

Captains’ Reports

Imane Nagi 7D

B Haleema Fazal 7B Yr 8 70m A Ella Stenton 8C B Zara Walsh 8C Yr 9 75m A Megan Phillips 9N B Emma Higginbottom 9S

Yr10 80m A Abbie Gregson 10B Yr7 100m A Sarah Mogg 7B B Rachel McGinty 7D Yr8 A Hannah Ferrier 8B Sophie Brown 8D B Melissa Cartwright 8D Yr 9 A Daisy Francis 9S B Jennie Maher 9N Yr10 A Emma Jackson 10C

I started playing lacrosse in Year 7 and enjoyed it from the beginning. It was not a sport that I had ever seen being played before. I always admired the first team; their games were fast and exciting. Being chosen to be the first team captain was something that I’d aspired to be since those early days playing. This season has not only been successful but also a lot of fun and I have enjoyed leading and motivating the team in all matches and at National Schools. Sport has played a very important role in my life at school and it has made my time at Bolton School so much more enjoyable and I will really miss Saturday fixtures next year. I also wish the first team the best of luck next season and want to thanks all the PE staff, especially Miss Donaghy, for their constant support.

Ellen Dick

Mabel Horridge 7S

Bolton School Sport is no doubt one of the greatest aspects of the school, so not only being involved in the netball team (the best team) for many years, but being selected as Captains in our final year truly was an honour. Despite loving lie-ins on a Saturday morning, we’ll miss our 8am matches at the pavilion, and of course the annual trips to Edinburgh, which really united our team into a strong group of friends. A particularly proud moment of ours was beating Manchester High in a nailbitingly close match, as the whole team fought with perseverance until the end. Although we’ve had many trials and tribulations along the way, our determination and team spirit have made our time unforgettable.

We’d like to thank the rest of the team for a wonderful season, and for always making time for practices despite our hectic Year 13 schedules. Lastly, we’d like to thank Mrs Heatherington for being the best coach we could ask for, and for the memories that we’ll always cherish.

Sarah Richards & Taylor Heywood

From being 10 years old, swimming has been a huge part of my life. Competing at national level for the last 5 years has provided me with many experiences within the sport, which as Captain, I have thoroughly enjoyed sharing with the team. Helping to coach and improve racing performance has been a challenge but an experience I have found very rewarding and extremely enjoyable.

We have had many successes over my time at Bolton School, from joining the team in year 7, participating in friendly galas and even having the opportunity to represent the school in the English schools final in London. My time within the Squad has flown by and I have thoroughly enjoyed every second. Every moment has been memorable and I am so proud and privileged to have been a part of and captained such a great team.

Katie Nightingale

Lacrosse

Throughout the year, the lacrosse teams have competed in a number of matches and tournaments across the North of England, and also further afield to Guildford for the National Schools Championships. The season got off to a good start with an exciting trip to Edinburgh with the Senior Lacrosse and Netball squads. Over the course of the weekend, the girls played matches against St George’s School and Fettes College, and they also had the opportunity to discover and explore Scotland’s historic capital city... and of course a trip to Hard Rock Café! This year, many pupils have also played lacrosse at representative level for their County and Territory. During the early part of the season the following girls were selected to represent the U18, U15 and U13 Lancashire County Lacrosse squads.

U18 ‘A’ Squad

Hannah Al-Saidi Ellie Broome

Louisa Brophy Ellen Dick (C)

Molly Dick Amelia Howe

Georgina Owen Georgia White

U18

‘B’ Squad

Millie Adamson Scarlett Amos

Marie Decadt Alisha Maini

Amie Murray

U15 ‘A’ Squad

Scarlett Amos Louisa Brophy

Maisie Camm Eleanor Gibbons

Jaya Guhathakurta Amie Murray

U15 ‘B’ Squad

Gabriella Appleby Arabella Barker-Smith

Ellie Bridge Priya Guhathakurta

Maddie Kennedy Hannah Saad

Reserves: Rachael Crompton & Asmara Stubley

U13 ‘A’ Squad

Arabella Barker-Smith Imogen Bootle

Ellie Bridge Esme Higgins

Mabel Horridge Millie Hurt

Elizabeth Lees Bryony Meech

Asmara Stubley

Reserves: Maddie Kennedy

NORTHERN SCHOOLS LACROSSE

Throughout the year, the lacrosse squads have competed in the Northern Schools Tournaments in Yorkshire and Shropshire. The younger age groups played well, with the U12 team beating Queen’s School Chester, Withington School and Harrogate Ladies College, finishing in 3rd place overall. The U13 team qualified for the semi-final stages of the tournament, where they came up against Birkenhead School. The match was closely contested, but unfortunately Bolton lost the game by 2 goals to 1.

NORTH

Following on from their success at County level, the following girls were selected to represent the Junior North of England Squads at the Territorial Tournament, which was hosted by Stowe School.

‘A’ Squad

Ellie Broome Georgina Owen

‘B’ Squad

Ellen Dick Molly Dick Georgia White

NATIONAL SCHOOLS LACROSSE

During the Spring Term, the U15 and 1st Team Lacrosse Squads competed in the National Schools Championships in Guildford, Surrey. The younger age group played against schools from around the country including Down House, Stowe, Sherbourne and Heathfield, finishing 4th in their section.

The 1st team played over 2 days, qualifying for Division 1 for Saturday’s matches. They played extremely well throughout the tournament, beating a number of schools including King’s School Canterbury, Sherbourne, St George’s Harpenden and Westonbirt.

The 1st team met Bedford High in the quarter finals but narrowly lost 3-2 in what was a very exciting match right to the final whistle.

LACROSSE ACADEMY

English 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.

Congratulations to the following girls who are currently enrolled on the programme:

U15 Regional Academy: Scarlett Amos (Year 10)

Louisa Brophy (Year 11)

U17 Regional Academy: Ellie Broome (Year 11)

Georgina Owen (Year 11)

SCHOOL LACROSSE SQUADS

Senior Squad

(*Half colours, +Full colours)

Millie Adamson * Hannah Al-Saidi Emily Bibby + Ellie Broome * Louisa Brophy * Marie Decadt Ellen Dick + (C) Molly Dick * Amy Hadjinicolau Taylor Heywood + Amelia Howe Alisha Maini * Jessica Melling + Georgina Owen * Nikita Padmakumar + Sarah Richards *

Abigail Sikorski Georgia White Charlotte Winrow *

U15

Scarlett Amos (C) Zoe Ashworth

Maisie Camm Hannah Daley

Harriet Flatt Daisy Francis

Priya Guhathakurta Rebecca Lees

Hannah Lever Jennifer Maher

Amie Murray Hannah Saad

Emily Stansfield Hannah Stephenson Jessica Stiles Isobel Tailor

LANCASHIRE COUNTY LACROSSE

Swimming

The School Swimming team have had another busy and successful year. The year, which started with convincing wins against Canon Slade, Westholme and Merchant Taylors during the first half term. Interest in the School Swimming team grew and new girls were looking to join, adding strength and depth to the squad. Following the Christmas break, the squad recorded wins against Bury Grammar School and again against Westholme in the return fixture.

Outside of the inter-school fixtures, the squad produced a range of good performances across the age groups. In November, an U15 and Senior team travelled to Leeds Grammar School for the prestigious John Parry Relays. The Senior team finished in a respectable 3rd place, with the U15 team finishing 1st with wins in both the medley and freestyle relays.

Three teams also competed in the Bolton Town Swimming Championships with the Junior, Intermediate and Senior teams all finishing 2nd in the respective competitions, with individual wins for Katie Nightingale in the individual 50m butterfly and Louisa Brophy in the breaststroke at Senior level.

Year 7 Improvers

Year 8 Improvers

Annette Elmes Lara Grime

Rounders

At the start of July, the Year 7 and 8 Rounders teams both took part in the Bolton Schools’ Key Stage 3 Rounders tournament. Both teams were drawn in opposite sections of the competition, which saw 13 schools from across the borough take part.

Year 8 was outstanding in all of the games and came up against some very strong opposition. They won 3 of their 5 games, losing the other 2 matches by the narrowest of margins, to finish in 3rd place overall in their section.

SALFORD 100S LIFE SAVING COMPETITION

In December 2014, nine Year 7 girls took part in the Salford 100s Lifeguarding Competition in Westhoughton. Fifty five girls competed, from schools across Bolton. Katherine Baker and Ella Harkness finished in 3rd and 4th places respectively, with Jennifer Taberner in 6th, Ellie Wallis in 7th and Olivia Stubbs finishing in 11th place.

SWIMMING SQUADS

Under 12

Katherine Baker Maisy Ferguson

Ellie Fielding Anabelle Gibbs

Rosalyn Harper Ella Harkness

Alice Higginbottom Shreya Kamath

Eleanor Murray Olivia Stubbs

Jennie Taberner Ellie Wallis

Under 13

Lucinda Butterworth Anita Cardozo

Amy Chicken Lizzy Glover

Zoe Grainger Mabel Horridge

Maddy Kennedy Cate Lord Anabel Nuttall Lucy Nuttall

Intermediate

Isabelle Devine Jessica Harper

Emma Higginbottom Niamh Knowles

Havana Lloyd Emily Manock

Jennie Mayer Thea Simpson

Jess Stiles Tara Wallis Samantha Woods

Senior (*Half colours, +Full colours)

Louisa Brophy * Priya Chevli * Chandrani Gupta Katie Nightingale + (C) Anna Rowlands * Radhika Sharma + Laura Simmonds

The Year 7 team was undefeated in its section, winning 5 of 6 matches and drawing the other. This excellent result saw them qualify for the final which was against Turton High School. The girls played exceptionally well and managed to outfield the Turton batting side to win the game by a nail-biting 26 points to 25.

The week after, the Years 9 and 10 Rounders Tournament took place. The girls in the A Team found themselves in a tough section against some experienced opposition. After a promising

start beating Harper Green by 32-27, the girls came up against some very fast bowlers and tactical fielding and so found it difficult to score enough points to win the games. This resulted in them finishing 6th in their section. The B Team started with a marginal loss against Rivington but then improved their performance with every game, winning 3 out of their 4 games. This meant that they finished a very creditable 2nd in their section, just missing out on a place in the final.

Olivia

Aaminah

Naeema Bux Shivani Chohan

Aamina Patel

Fatima Patel Amelia Wood

Netball

The 2014-15 Netball season was particularly busy in the first half term with a record number of friendly, league and cup competition games in addition to the usual Saturday matches. There was a period of disruption just before and after Christmas with a disappointing number of matches cancelled during a particularly cold and frosty spell of weather. Nevertheless, things soon picked up again after February half term as the usual round of local and county tournaments began. Particular highlights to mention include the success of the Under 12 and Under 13 teams, who after being entered into the National Netball Cup competition for the first time, progressed to the 3rd and 4th rounds

respectively. This was a great achievement for both teams.

Well done also to the Under 16 team who won the Bolton Schools Tournament in October and narrowly missed out on qualifying for the regional finals after finishing in a very creditable 3rd place at the County Round of the National Schools Tournament.

The Under 15 and Under 13 teams were double trophy winners this season at their respective Bolton School Tournaments and league play off finals. A fantastic achievement by both squads who said goodbye to Mrs Hall in December and welcomed Miss Schofield in January.

The Under 14 team worked hard and gained much confidence throughout the season under the guidance of Mr Owen and were worthy runners-up at their Bolton Tournament in March. The Under 12 team have demonstrated they have huge potential after also becoming Bolton League champions.

The Seniors have been an absolute delight to work with over the last 7 years and have been great ambassadors for the school – we shall miss them all next year but look forward to welcoming them back in December for the Old Girls’ Game.

Year 6 Memories...

“Since I joined in Year 6 I have enjoyed meeting new friends and we have had many happy memories together.” Sarah Al-Falahi

“My special memory is when we went to Patterdale and my friends and I had lots and lots of fun together!” Jessica Bailey

“I loved all the World Book Day celebrations at Hesketh House. I had so much fun dressing up with my friends and doing different activities.” Isabel Brennand

“I really enjoyed going on the extra Patterdale trip in Year 5 because I was with all my friends.” Katie Burgess

“I really enjoyed going on the ski trip. I loved going on the skidoo to the top of the mountain and eating pizza with my friends.”

“I enjoyed attending the cross-country tournaments as I love running.” Gracie Grundy

“Year 4 Patterdale was by far my favourite school trip; I really enjoyed rock climbing. I thought it was great.” Isabella Hawkins

“Tanzania Day was one of my favourite experiences in Hesketh House. My mum made me an amazing leopard print dress and braids for my hair. The senior schools prepared stalls for us as well.” Amerleen Hundle

“Looking back my favourite memory is World Book Day 2015 when I dressed up as Violet Beauregarde and performed a scene from Charlie and the Chocolate Factory with Mrs Worsley.”

“I came to Bolton School when I was in Year 5 and my very special memory is of Patterdale. In Patterdale, we took part in a lot of fun activities that I never had the opportunity to do in China.”

“One of my favourite memories was the extra Patterdale trip in Year 5. I really enjoyed going for ice creams with all my friends.”

“In Year 4, we went to Patterdale for the first time. When we were meant to return home, it started to snow heavily. We got to make a snowman and snow angels with the instructors.” Isha Nunkoo

“I found the musical concerts and festivals throughout school the best because I got a chance to listen to other people’s music and also to perform my own.” Estelle Pass

“In Year 5, I enjoyed participating in the AJIS athletics and doing the high jump for the first time and getting to 110 cm.”

“My special memory is when I sang at the Open Afternoon and got to take a family on a tour around Junior School in my role as an ambassador.” Louise Perry

“Looking back, my favourite memory is going on the ski trip to Italy and going on a skidoo; it was so much fun!” Maya Peter

“One of my best memories is when we went to Patterdale. It was amazing and we did lots of fun activities such as rock climbing, canoeing and archery.” Ani Sastry

“One of my best memories is when we went to Patterdale and I did the ‘Hairy Scary Man Jump!” Mia Short

“My favourite memory was when I went to the AJIS Swimming. I came third in my twenty-five metres front crawl and won a bronze medal. It was also on my birthday! I felt so proud of myself.” Genevieve Storey

“In Hesketh House, my special memory is the Ski Trip because everyone was having fun and working together as a team.”

Ariella Tanfield

“World Book Days are my favourite memories from Hesketh; my friends and I got to dress up as characters from books. It’s good to talk to people about their book choices.” Daisy Taylor

“World Book Day is, and will always be, a magical memory to me.”

“Hesketh House is a wonderful school and I have lots of good memories like going to Patterdale where we went canoeing on Lake Ullswater.” Lily Morrow

“My most memorable experience in the Junior School is going to Claviere, Italy, on a skiing trip. We did so many exciting activities including going on a skidoo ride up the mountain and going bowling.” Katie Wild

“One of my best memories was when we went to Patterdale. I loved it. We went rock climbing up a huge hill, canoeing and did an obstacle course. We had a good instructor - Hal.” Connie Williamson

Caitlin Foster

Madihah Jiva

Sophia Liang

Helena Lintott

Manahil Masood

Emma Payne

Musical Maestros!

It has been a busy year in Hesketh House - with our annual Christmas Production in December starting off the festive season in Hosanna Rock style!

Sporting Stars!

AJIS Swimming Gala - 22nd April 2015

This is a very prestigious event in the Independent Junior Schools calendar and a large number of schools from the North West were represented. The U10 Freestyle Relay Team of Caitlin Nuttall, Kiana Murray, Lucy Sackfield and Bethany Shum performed superbly well in their final and were worthy recipients of bronze medals.

Greater Manchester School Games SWIMMING - 24th March 2015

Our girls were delighted to be awarded gold medals, showing that they were the fastest Year 5 girls’ team in the whole of Greater Manchester!

February saw our two-day Music Festival, when we heard from our pianists and instrumentalists. The adjudicators were duly impressed by the quality of playing.

The Bridgewater Hall Concert in March was an opportunity for the Hesketh House Choir to sing in this prestigious school event at a wonderful venue.

AJIS X-Country - 1st October 2014

The Y5 team ran a great race with the top 5 runners all in the top 30 out of 124 runners at Rossall School in Fleetwood. It was a fantastic achievement from the Y5 team who finished second overall! Well done girls!

POP Lacrosse Festival - 19th March 2015

25 pupils from Year 6 participated in the Bolton Schools Pop Lacrosse Festival. The girls had a great afternoon, developing their skills and understanding of the game and playing in a round robin tournament.

Everyone played with enthusiasm and good spirit and the overall winners of the Festival included the following girls:

Some members of the choir went to sing in the Music for Youth festival in Huddersfield, where they were commended for their performance.

Bolton Schools X-Country Championships - 17th March

Our Years 3 & 4 girls showed true grit and determination at Canon Slade School during their run, securing excellent positions and an overall score that secured both individual medals and the trophy.

Well done Anna!

Recitals, assemblies and attendance at the School’s series of lunchtime concerts has also allowed us to celebrate and enjoy music throughout the year.

Having shown consistently good form throughout the cross-country season this year, Anna Wiggetts in Year 5 was selected by the Bolton Team Manager to represent Bolton at the Greater Manchester Cross Country Championships at Heaton Park in Manchester.

She joined a team of Years 5 & 6 girls who had been selected from other primary schools across Bolton to run a long and complex course. Anna ran with great commitment and determination and finished in a very commendable 59th place.

Lucy Sackfield, Bethany Shum, Caitlin Nuttall & Kiana Murray

Our Gold Medal Winners; Martha B, Caitlin, Martha H & Bethany S

Our Gold Medal Winners; Isha Nunkoo, Trinity Entwistle, Genevieve Storey, Taya Panter, Isabel Brennand, Madihah Masood & Lily Morrow

Year 5 team with their silver medals

Years 3 and 4 ready for the off!

Year 6

Victorian hand-painted wallpaper designs in the style of William Morris. Patterns were rotated to create these colourful, repeating designs.

Art Attack!

Year 5

Silk paintings based on studies of Islamic art and Suzani patters. Inspired by Learning Challenges work on Tudor Explorers and the Silk Route.

Year 4

Paul Klee’s artwork ‘Castle and the Sun’ (1928) has inspired our work using oil pastels.

Year 3

Busy, colourful, expressive minds

Hesketh House Ambassadors

Term 1

Back Row: Lily Morrow, Isabel Brennand, Ani Sastry, Emma Payne, Amelia Myall, Trinity Entwistle, Reet Kaur, Sophia Liang, Rhianna Taylor-Birch

Front Row: Connie Williamson, Millie Ashton, Olivia Sample, Gracie Grundy, Vanessa Wong, Ruby Hill, Rebecca Parkinson, Ariella Tanfield

Term 2

Back Row: Natalia Bromilow, Katie Burgess, Ellen Masterson, Megan Potter, Taya Panter, Daisy Taylor, Mia Short, Helena Lintott

Front Row: Sarah Al-Falahi, Isabella Hawkins, Lauren Hilton, Louise Perry, Chloe Ferguson, Isha Nunkoo, Amy Scoble

Term 3

Back Row: Katie Wild, Jessica Bailey, Amerleen Hundle, Caris Williams, Estelle Pass, Eleanor Haighton, Rachel Roscoe, Genevieve Storey, Manahil Masood

Front Row: Maya Peter, Holly Stevenson, Caitlyn Howard, Madihah Jiva, Isabelle Corrigan, Molly Morrow, Caitlin Foster, Ella-Rose Parkin

Year 6 Memories...

“The Careers Carousel is one of my favourite memories of Hesketh House because we learnt about different jobs. I was particularly excited to learn about being an architect.” Millie Ashton

“My favourite memory from Hesketh House is when my best friend, Holly, and I made a board game and played it with Mrs Brierley and other teachers and some of the pupils from other year groups.” Natalia Bromilow

“I really enjoyed it when Olympians came in to show us their medals.” Isabelle Corrigan

“My favourite moment at Hesketh House was when we went to Patterdale in Year 4 and it snowed!” Trinity Entwistle

“‘The H Factor’ in Year 3 is one of my best memories of Hesketh House. We tried lots of new fruits and learned about having a healthy diet. I even made a smoothie by riding a bike!”

Chloe Ferguson

“One of my favourite memories is from when I first joined the school because everyone was very nice and friendly to me.”

Eleanor Haighton

“I really enjoyed it when an Olympic rower came in and showed us her gold medals.” Ruby Hill

“My funniest memories of Hesketh House are when Mrs Brierley went outside at the end of school in her ‘onesie’ and when she came into assembly in a Winnie the Pooh costume and did exercises!” Lauren Hilton

“My best time was when Caris and I made an origami icosahedron in Year 6.” Caitlyn Howard

“One of my favourite memories of Hesketh House is the Drama Taster Day we did in Year 6.” Reet Kaur

“My favourite memory of Hesketh House is when we went to Patterdale in Year 5. It was the best experience with my friends ever!” Ellen Masterson

“My favourite memory is when we went to Patterdale and did lots of fun activities like the ‘Hairy Scary Man Jump!’” Molly Morrow

“I very much enjoyed the Drama Day in Year 6 and it will remain one of my favourite memories of Hesketh House.” Amelia Myall

“My best moment was the feeling on Induction Day when Rhianna gave me a welcoming look. It made me feel that I belonged here.”

Taya Panter

“My favourite time in Hesketh House was when I went to Port Sunlight with all my friends. We had lots of fun exploring!”

Ella-Rose Parkin

“I really enjoyed play times on the school field and doing wheelbarrow and piggy-back races!” Rebecca Parkinson

“My favourite memories of Hesketh House are when I joined because everyone made me feel welcome. I also enjoyed Patterdale.” Megan Potter

“When I joined Hesketh House in Year 6 it was lovely. I made lots of new friends and they were all really kind, caring and friendly (and still are). They all looked after me and showed me where to go. I feel like I have been at this school forever!” Rachel Roscoe

“I really enjoyed it when we had a whole day of drama. I found this really exciting and I really liked pretending to be somebody different.” Olivia Sample

“I really enjoyed going to Seven Acres in Year 5 because we found many different plants and animals in the woodland habitat.”

Amy Scoble

“The best time was in Year 4 on the Patterdale trip when it snowed and we made snowmen and buried Mrs Tatlock!” Holly Stevenson

“My favourite Hesketh House memory is when it snowed in Patterdale in Year 4 and we had a snowball fight with the instructors!” Rhianna Taylor-Birch

“I have particularly enjoyed World Book Days at Hesketh House. Every year in school we dress up and do different activities. There is a different theme each year and it is lots of fun!”

“My favourite memory of Hesketh House is going to Port Sunlight. I enjoyed finding out that William Hesketh Lever, who built Port Sunlight, also founded our school.” Caris Williams

“My favourite time in Hesketh House was in Year 5 when we made our own mythical creature masks. Mine was called Cyduca.”

Amelia Thompson

Vanessa Wong

I think I’m going to go back to school and do:

• Art - I’ve joined a local art group called Woodsmoor Artists (see their FB page). I’ll visit art galleries and go on guided tours.

• Biology - I’ll cultivate my garden at home and also my allotment. I’m a member of Hazel Grove and District Gardening Club which meets every month, and may even join their committee.

• English - I’m going to carry on reading and will look for some local reading groups and I’ll use my local libraries. I’ll go to daytime performances at the Royal Exchange Theatre and the Home theatre in Manchester. I’ll go to play readings.

• Mathematics - I’m going to get on top of my finances.

• Modern Foreign Languages - I’ll carry on reading German language books and may apply to be an AQA examiner. I’ll visit France regularly and talk French with my French friends. I’m hoping to be the Treasurer of the Manchester Association of Language Learners which meets every couple of months.

• Music - I’m going to play my digital piano and might have some more lessons. I’ve just got a season ticket for the Hallé so I’ll be going there once a month with the Bolton Opus One group.

• Politics - I’m already a member of Friends of the Earth and am thinking now of joining the Green Party.

• Sport - I’ve started going on bike rides with Skyride. I’ll be looking for a local pilates/yoga class and may join some walking groups. I might even take up freshwater swimming with the Outdoor Swimming Society!

• Technology - knitting, baking, cooking, sewing. And then there’s the travelling! I’m provisionally planning four trips a year: a short city break in Europe; a weekend in London; a week away somewhere in GB (Cotswolds, Isle of Wight, Snowdonia, Ireland) and a three week trip further afield (Switzerland, Croatia, Greece, Japan). Do you have any memories of your first day teaching at this school? I do remember it very well. I had been a pupil at Manchester High School for Girls, then a student at Somerville College, which was a women’s college in Oxford. I then taught for over ten years at a mixed comprehensive school in Wythenshawe, which was a very different environment. When I came to BSGD, it felt as though I was coming home! How has the school changed while you have been teaching here? There used to be an enormous tree in the GD Quad and crows used to sit on the branches and squawk very loudly and disturb the lessons that were going on in classrooms overlooking the Quad.

Form tutors used to sit at dining tables with the girls and serve the food out. Other members of teaching staff would sit at so called “High Table’ with the headmistress. We used to say grace before eating lunch. We sang hymns much more regularly at assemblies. Sometimes we would have one hymn at the beginning of assembly and a second one at the end. Staff used to stand up when the headmistress entered the staffroom for a staff meeting! Women members of staff were expected to wear a skirt, not trousers, and to wear tights, even when it was very hot.

I can remember when I came for interview and members of staff came into the staffroom from a lesson; I can remember being surprised to see the members of staff smiling and laughing; they had obviously enjoyed the lesson. That is what made me want to teach here!

What are you doing next?

I’m moving to a school that is nearer to my house to take up a Head of Department position. I wouldn’t have felt confident enough to go for this without the experience that I have gained from my departmental colleagues and from the children here, so I’m really grateful to all concerned for that.

What will you miss the most about BSGD?

I will miss my colleagues and my classes. I’ve taught some of these girls since Year 5, and most of them since Year 7. The Sixth Form lessons have always been something to look forward to because the students have always been of such a high calibre, so you can really get into some interesting discussions.

What has been the most unforgettable moment?

I really loved the experience of co-directing the Joint School Production for 2011 with Mrs Worthington. We produced ‘The Frogs’ by the Greek Comedy writer, Aristophanes. The cast, from Years 10 to 13, were absolutely outstanding and gave incredibly witty and clever performances. I watched all the performances through the window of the theatre doors every night (wearing my fingernails away…).

Why did you choose to become a teacher?

I always wanted to be a music teacher when I was at school. I was a guitar tutor in a music shop from the age of 16, teaching people from ages 5 to 70! I liked being able to show people how to do something and watching them get enjoyment from achieving something. I did lots of other jobs before I decided to go into teaching in schools but by then I’d been a professional musician and couldn’t face teaching music again. That’s why I decided to teach my other love: languages and literature.

What advice do you have for students at BSGD?

I will say that you must never be shy of being seen to want to learn something. So, learn as much as you can and grab as many opportunities as you can, right now while you’re here and while you’re young!

I’ve really loved my time here and I’ve met some brilliant people - both staff and pupils. I wish everyone here all the very best for the future and, since I’m still in the great North West, I hope I’ll see many of you again from time to time.

Mrs Pauline Sheaff, Head of German, is retiring this year. She has worked at the school since 1990.

Mr Phill Challinor is leaving us after teaching here for 16 years. We wish him every success. He has brought a love of the Classics to many during his time at Bolton School. What do you plan to do once you are retired?

Inspiring the Next Generation

In September, Janette McCormick (1979-1986), the Deputy Chief Constable of the Cheshire Constabulary, was the keynote speaker at the annual Year 12 Business Enterprise and Skills Training (BEST) Day, which offers girls the opportunity to develop their soft skills during sessions led by professionals with expertise in a variety of different fields.

After studying Physical Geography at Nottingham University, Janette joined Greater Manchester Police in 1989. During her time with GMP, Janette was involved in the policing of the Commonwealth Games and worked as Manchester United’s Match Commander for three years, before being awarded the title of ‘Ultra-Woman of the Year 2008’ while working as Chief Superintendent of the Trafford Division. She transferred to Cheshire Constabulary in 2010 as Assistant Chief Constable, and in July 2014 took up the post of Deputy Chief Constable. Janette was awarded the Queen’s Police Medal in the 2015 New Year’s Honours List, recognising her work in developing Neighbourhood Policing and working with partner organisations on issues such as domestic abuse and mental health.

BEST Day Engineering Day

In October 2014, pupils in Years 10 to 13 from both Divisions attended a day designed to offer them an insight into the rich variety of career paths open to them in Engineering, during which they attended sessions given by a variety of speakers, including three Old Girls and one Old Boy.

Amy Williams (1990-1997) was one of the speakers, and told pupils about her career working as a Chartered Civil Engineer for the Highways Agency. After leaving School, she undertook a four year Civil Engineering degree at UMIST, graduating in 2001 with a 1st Class MEng (Hons) degree. After working as a graduate engineer for Babtie (now Jacobs) for five years, during which she worked on the M6 Thelwall Viaduct bearing replacement scheme, in 2006, Amy moved to the Highways Agency, where she is now ‘Asset Operation Lead’ for the Smart Motorways programme, working at a national level with the teams designing and delivering large scale projects.

During her speech, Janette spoke to the girls about her life and career, going into detail about some of the most important lessons she has learned over time. Janette’s mother, sister and eldest daughter were also pupils at the School and her youngest daughter is currently a pupil in Girls’ Division. She offered her assistance to School partly because of these family links:

“I have two girls at Bolton School who wrestle with what they should do, and I value people telling them about their experiences so that they can think about alternative careers and options. It costs nothing to offer advice and you will perhaps help someone – why wouldn’t you?”

MFL Morning

In November, the School played host to almost 100 talented Year 11 linguists from the two Divisions and from 14 other schools across the region, who spent the morning pursuing their love of languages whilst hearing from speakers who use their linguistic skills in their careers.

Andrea Cockram (1989-1996) studied Modern Languages at New College, Oxford after leaving School, then worked as a financial journalist and then as Head of Communications for Hammerson, a FTSE 100 Company. In 2013, she set up IMPACT Communications, a small marketing and communications agency based in Paris which focuses on creating English-language campaigns for international companies, work which she juggles with lecturing in communications and advertising at the Sorbonne.

During her closing speech, Andrea was able to illustrate the value of languages both in the world of work and as a skill in itself. She says: “I really enjoy my job, and wanted to share that with students and perhaps give them ideas about alternative careers in which they could use foreign languages”.

Amy knew that she wanted to be an engineer from a very young age, and is keen to encourage young people to pursue a career in the civil engineering sector, which, with the onset of large infrastructure investments such as HS2, is an industry actively looking to recruit bright and innovative young people. She says:

“I thoroughly enjoyed talking to the current pupils and was hugely encouraged by their interesting questions and ideas. It was also brilliant to see the new Riley Sixth Form Centre, which I feel is modern and yet compliments the existing school buildings.”

Shakti Patel (2004-2011) is currently completing a year-long industrial placement working as a Warhead Engineer based within the Aerodynamics, Propulsion and Lethality department of MBDA, before she returns to Loughborough University to complete her Masters Degree in Aeronautical Engineering. Shakti, who was recently awarded an Engineering Leadership Advanced Award from the Royal Academy of Engineering, spoke to pupils about her undergraduate experience and aeronautical engineering in general, as well as her current work placement, which involves co-ordinating teams based in France, Germany and Italy, necessitating a lot of European travel.

Having been taught to weld by her father at the tender age of 11, Shakti was inspired to pursue a career in engineering by a fellow Old Girl, Amy Durrant, following her talk at a similar careers event while Shakti was at School. Shakti thus felt compelled to share her

own experiences in the sector with current pupils, in the hope of encouraging others to follow the same path. She says:

“I think there are a lot of misconceptions about what an Engineer does, so I felt that it was really important to come back to school and share my experiences. As the youngest speaker on the day, still at university, with (somewhat vivid!) memories of UCAS deadlines still fresh in my mind, I was able to offer a different perspective to the other presenters. It was an exceedingly worthwhile experience and a great opportunity to give a little back to a school that did so much for me.”

Old Girls studying and working in a variety of professions have continued to offer their assistance to the current generation of Bolton School girls, sharing professional expertise and offering guidance. The Development Office and the Careers Department have been delighted to work together to welcome these Alumni back to School for the benefit of pupils throughout the Girls’ Division.

News of Young Old Girls Chasing Dreams

In January, Siân Pledger (2002-2009) returned to the Girls’ Division to talk about her pursuit of a career in athletics to a small group of girls who have been selected for the Talented Athlete Programme.

Siân took a gap year between her GCSEs and A Levels to train with her coach in Malta. After leaving School, she returned to Malta to train further whilst completing her qualification as a Physical Trainer, before studying Geography at the University of Malta. Despite suffering an injury to her ankles which has kept her out of national competition since 2011, Siân has persevered with her pursuit of a career in athletics and was able to advise the girls on the importance of not giving up on ‘chasing your dreams’.

After being introduced through mutual Bolton School friends, Joanne married Matthew Cooper on 21st May 2014, at Storrs Hall in Windermere. The weather was on the couple’s side and the ceremony was held outside in a stunning pavilion in front of the Lake, with several Old Boys and Old Girls in attendance.

KPMG Interns

In February, Old Girl Katie Clinton (1990-1997) launched KPMG’s summer internship programme for Sixth Form pupils. Now in its fifth year, the flagship scheme is exclusive to Bolton School and offers a Year 12 pupil from each Division the opportunity to work a four-week placement in a prestigious corporate environment.

Katie is now one of the thirty partners at KPMG’s Manchester office, and is in charge of the Financial Services Audit team across the North West. At the launch, Katie talked to the Sixth Form pupils about KPMG and what each of the different areas of this professional services firm actually does, before moving on to talk about the placement scheme. Katie has directed the internship programme since its inception, and says: “I attribute a significant part of my success to my Bolton School education and the superb foundation it provided which is the reason why I am so keen to come back and work with the School.”

Joanne’s bridesmaids included her cousin Laura Marginson (Class of 2008) and her best friend from school Sarah Pimblett (Class of 2006).

Matthew’s Best Man was Tom Willan (Boys’ Division, Class of 2008) and Alex Hertity (also Boys’ Division, Class of 2008) was an Usher.

Joanne graduated from the University of Manchester with a degree in History in 2009. After studying Law at the Manchester College of Law, she qualified as a corporate lawyer in September 2013, and now practises in Cambridge. Matthew works in advertising in London.

Jennifer Anderson (2002-2009)

In July 2014, Jennifer successfully completed her LPC at the University of Law, Bloomsbury and she is now enjoying a season working as a ski instructor in Verbier, Switzerland for Adrenaline Ski School and Les Elfes International. In August this year she will be commencing her Training Contract with the law firm Mishcon De Reya in London.

Florence Hughes (1999-2009)

After leaving School, Flo completed an Art and Design Foundation Degree at Central Saint Martins, continuing in 2010 to a BA Honours Degree in Fashion Design at the University of Westminster – an experience she loved. Flo chose to do a Sandwich Course which included a third year in industry. Having

Alumni Events & Dinners

Young Old Girls have attended a variety of events around the country in the past year, including Dinners in Oxford, Cambridge, London and Scotland.

The Class of 2013 returned to School last summer to attend a special reunion for their year group, where they offered Year 12 pupils advice and guidance on university life before catching up with friends and former teachers over drinks and canapés.

previously worked at Katie Hillier twice during her time in London, she developed a huge interest in accessories design and successfully gained an internship with Mulberry as an Accessories Design Assistant, where she had an amazing year and learnt a lot to take back for her final year at university.

Flo’s final year was extremely hard work, although she was lucky enough to be asked to visit Paris in January to attend the Dior Haute Couture Show and an LVMH event. Attending these two incredible events gave her the extra push she needed to complete her final collection. Flo’s collection was called ‘Wilder’ and was influenced by many different folk tribes and cultures, something she has been interested in since studying her Art A level.

After Flo’s work was presented in front of a panel of designers, writers, stylists and bloggers within the fashion industry, she was thrilled to gain a place in the runway show, which was the highlight of her whole degree. After working on her collection day and night for five months, seeing all the garments on the runway was something Flo says she will never forget!

Flo graduated on 3rd July 2014 with First Class Honours, and her collection can be seen at www.westminsterfashion.com/flo-hughes, whilst the catwalk show can be found at www. westminsterfashion.com.

Flo is proud to be an Old Girl of Bolton School, and has many fond memories of her time in the Girls’ Division. Her School friends are still a huge part of her life today. Flo credits Miss Fazackerley, M s Fisher and Miss Stafford with endowing her with the confidence to move to London and follow her dreams.

Helen Mercer (2000-2009)

Helen graduated this Summer from The University of Sheffield with an MBChB (Medicine) and with Distinction in the Student Selected Components.

Helen is all smiles here.

Siân Pledger (2002-2009)

Siân has been awarded a First in her Geography degree at the University of Malta. She has also been given a scholarship for a two-week research programme in sea floor exploration. She now plans to work for 12 months and prioritise her athletics before doing a Masters.

Thank you to all of those Old Girls who have given so freely of their time, knowledge and expertise to help current pupils. If you would like to offer your assistance, please contact the Development Office.

Joanne Cooper (née Redford, 1999-2006)

Sadie Scorah (2002-2009)

Sadie studied French and Russian at the University of Leeds, during which time she spent a year in Moscow and a term in Dijon. During her final year of university she worked in retail and found a real passion for customer service. After graduating with a 2:1 she decided to continue her work in retail whilst applying for graduate jobs, and in March 2014 was one of only ten people from across Europe (and the only British person) to gain a place on the Hilton Worldwide Fast-track General Management Development Programme, known as the Elevator Programme, which is designed to fasttrack participants to managing their own hotel within five to eight years. Sadie is currently working in Bucharest and in June will be starting her second training placement in Warsaw. She loves working for the world’s number one hotel brand and is very happy to have a job which combines travelling, languages and customer service – although she still enjoys coming home to Bolton and seeing her friends from School.

Kate Fawell-Comley (1996-2010)

Kate graduated this Summer with a 2:1 in Law with French Law from University College London.

Holly Morton (2004-2010)

After thoroughly enjoying her years at Bolton School, Holly is now studying English Literature at Chester University. She has just completed her second year there and is applying for a Masters at Oxford University and Queen Mary’s in London. This Summer, she took part in a Youth Rotary Exchange, joining students from 17 different countries to spend two weeks in Denmark at an Iron Age and Viking Age Camp!

Amy Naughton (Class of 2010)

Amy graduated this summer with a First Class BA Hons in Fashion Design from the University of Leeds.

Sara Ward (2003-2010)

Sara graduated in July with a 2:1 BA Combined Honours in Economics, German and Spanish and Latin American Studies from Newcastle University. Since July, she has worked in the Finance Department at Proctor and Gamble in Newcastle Upon Tyne.

Lauren Woodcock (2003-2010)

Having completed a Geography degree at Sheffield University whilst doing her initial training with the Naval Cadets, Lauren has been accepted as a Naval Warfare officer in the Royal Navy and started her ship-based training in Portsmouth in October.

Emily Clark (1996-2011)

Emily recently returned from a trip to China, representing the University of Nottingham in Women’s Football at the Tri Campus games.

At the start of her final year at University, Emily set up a Ladies’ Football Team for The History Society. This was greeted with enthusiasm and the team were accepted into an IMS league which consisted of other Ladies Football teams representing other subjects. Towards the end of this year each team was asked to nominate a member of their squad to form a team to send to Ningbo Campus, two hours from Shanghai. Emily was nominated by her teammates and spent her final week of University in China. After scoring the final goal of the final match, making lifelong friends and enjoying a lifechanging ten days, she returned to the UK to discover she had been awarded a First Class in her BA History degree.

Shakti Patel (2004-2011)

Shakti was recently awarded an Engineering Leadership Advanced Award from the Royal Academy of Engineering, recognising her as an exceptional Engineering graduate with marked leadership potential by the UK’s national academy of Engineering. There is strong competition for the awards; nationally, only thirty-five of the most outstanding undergraduates are chosen each year, following a robust selection process.

Before her degree, Shakti also secured a scholarship from the Institute of Mechanical Engineers, who sponsor her MEng studies in Aeronautical Engineering at the University of Loughborough.

Alexandra Jade Kelly (2005-2012)

Jade is currently studying Events Management at Sheffield Hallam University and is spending her placement year on an internship with Walt Disney World in Florida, where she is a Guest Service Front Office Hostess at the deluxe resort Animal Kingdom Lodge. She is thoroughly enjoying her time and role there and is making the most of the many wonderful opportunities available.

Emily’s blog about her experiences in China can be read at http://pursuit-of-sparkle.blogspot. co.uk/2014/06/tri-campus-games-ningbochina-2014.html.

Kate Hiepko

(2004-2011)

Kate has graduated with a First in History from the University of Bristol.

Bethany Hughes (2005-2011)

Inspired by a Chinese taster session which formed part of the Curriculum Enrichment Programme in Lower Sixth, Bethany is studying Chinese and Spanish at Nottingham Trent University and has just completed a year abroad in Beijing.

Jade and Mickey Mouse!

Claire Ross (2007-2012)

Claire is in her first year at Manchester University, where she is studying Pharmacology. In June this year she will join some of her fellow students on a six-day trek to climb Mount Kilimanjaro as part of her efforts to raise £2,750 for Childreach International (a charity which advocates for children’s rights). She is also holding a variety of fundraising events, including quizzes, cake sales and band nights. Read more about Childreach and Claire’s mountain challenge at https://mydonate. bt.com/fundraisers/claireross1.

Bethany in Beijing

Saira Ahmad

University of Manchester Mathematics (2015)

Annisah Arshad Aston University Pharmacy

Salaha Ashraf Lancaster University Medicine

Annabel Ault Deloitte Gap Year

Vicki Baldwin University of Central Lancashire Fashion and Brand Promotion with Journalism

Nadia Barabash

Deloitte Gap Year; Durham University Natural Sciences (2015)

Arianna Barnes Durham University Law

Georgina Barrow Liverpool John Moores University Human Resource Management

Antonia Bate University of Nottingham Psychology

Elisha Bell University of Bristol Dentistry

Hannah Bentley Manchester Metropolitan University

Fashion Design and Technology

Maddie Bewlay University of Bristol Economics with study in Europe

Holly Bland University of Leeds Social Science

Emily Bodger University of Cambridge Law

Hannah Boote University of Leeds Economics and Geography

Grace Brookes

Instituto de Empresa, Madrid Business Administration

Zara Brown Nottingham Trent University Criminology

Millie Camm Deloitte Bright Start English

Abigail Close University of Manchester Fashion Marketing

Alex Close University of Manchester Life Sciences with Industrial Experience

Zoe Cockerill University of Edinburgh Linguistics and English Language

Charlotte A Cooper University of Nottingham Medicine

Charlotte E Cooper University of Liverpool Anatomy and Human Biology

Isobel Cotogni Durham University Classics

Lucy Croston University of Lincoln Product Design

Isabelle Currie University of Leeds Psychology

Sadiyah Davda Gap Year

Stephanie Dean University of Bristol Medicine

Olivia Edwards University of Manchester Chemistry

Ellen Faulkner University of Nottingham Architecture

Eleanor Ferm

King’s College London International Relations

Francesca Fernside Bangor University Zoology

Isobelle Gore-Ward McGill University, Canada Psychology and Behavioural Science

Corin Greaves Bath Spa University History Philosophy and Ethics

Amy Hackin

Leda Hadjigeorgiou

Manchester Metropolitan University

University of Oxford, Classics

Foundation Diploma in Art and Design

Archaeology and Ancient History (2015)

Madison Hall University of Sheffield Hispanic Studies and Economics

Emily Harper Durham University Classics

Emily Harrison Gap Year

Miriam Harrison University of Reading Ecology and Wildlife Conservation

Lucy Harvey University of Bath Pharmacy

Emily Henderson

Manchester Metropolitan University Foundation Diploma in Art and Design

Jennifer Heyes Imperial College London Materials Science and Engineering

Charlotte Holden University of Hull Psychology

Holly Holt University of Cambridge Music

Beth Horry University of Nottingham Classical Civilisation

Mollie Hunter Durham University Geography

Rebecca Jenkinson University of Birmingham History

Elizabeth Jones Nottingham Trent University Philosophy and History

Rachel Jones Keele University English and American Literature

Maddie King

Natasha Lomas

Emma Metcalfe

Abigail Mills

University of Nottingham

French and History

Royal Northern College of Music Music

Liverpool John Moores University Marketing

Nottingham Trent University Psychology

Hannah Mitchell University of Salford Music: Popular and Recording

Ragini Moharty University of Manchester Geology

Ammarah Moheed University of Manchester Audiology

Elizabeth Moore University of Cambridge Theology and Religious Studies

Isabella Mott University of Nottingham Psychology and Philosophy

Fatima Munshi

Teesside University

Dental Nurse Practice

Nasreen Musa University of Salford Physics

Juliet Netting University of St Andrews Classics

Georgina Nicol University of Lincoln Bio Veterinary Science

Ellie O’Connell

Nottingham Trent University Psychology

Ellena Owen Durham University Mathematics

Priya Pancholi University of Leeds Economics with Spanish

Humairaa Patel

Kajol Patel

PricewaterhouseCoopers

Leavers’ Programme

Edge Hill University Children and Young People’s Learning Development

Rashida Patel University of Leeds Medicine

Saba Patel University of Liverpool Biological and Medical Sciences

Subhashi Patel De Montfort University Accountancy and Finance

Jennifer Pearson Cardiff University Medicine

Elisabeth Pepper Leeds Metropolitan University Foundation Diploma in Art and Design

Ellie Pickard University of Huddersfield Music

Kirsten Reader Sheffield Hallam University Food and Nutrition

Anna Reynolds University College London Philosophy

Raihaanah Rhind-Mohammed University of Bristol Law

Lydia Riding University of Warwick History

Alice Rigby University of Aberdeen English

Jessica Ryan

Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts Foundation Certificate for Acting and Musical Theatre

Sian Ryan University of Huddersfield Music Technology

Paloma Shakouri Pearson College Business and Enterprise/Entrepreneurship

Tejal Shanbhag University of Cambridge Engineering

Alex Smith University of Hull Biology

Emma Spenceley

Sheffield Hallam University

Languages with Marketing

Peaches Stanforth University College London Law

Michelle Sun Loughborough University Materials Engineering

Georgia Toole Sheffield Hallam University

Nabeela Umar Gap Year

Sana Valli Gap Year

Daisy Varley Gap Year

Bethany Warke

Criminology

University of Liverpool Psychology

Alexandra Weir University of Chester Criminology and Spanish

Hayley Wilding

Durham University

Combined Honours in Social Sciences

Deborah Wilson Newcastle University Biomedical Sciences

Eleanor Winters Durham University Modern Languages

Emily Woodhead Nottingham Trent University Psychology

Lucy Worrall

Loughborough University Foundation Diploma in Art and Design

Hannah Wylie Durham University Law

Leena Zafrani

University of Liverpool, Dentistry Pharmacy