The Cockerel - July 2022

The Cockerel

Boys’ Water Polo Success Continues

Boys’ Water Polo Success Continues

Bolton School Boys’ Division remained undefeated in the Under 18 age group at the ESSA National Water Polo Finals! The School has held this title continuously since 2014.

The Under 18 team started the ESSA competition with comfortable first round wins against St. Ambrose, St. Bede’s & St. Joseph’s, The King’s School, Grantham and Manchester Grammar School. They travelled to Northampton for the Semifinals, where they drew with Trinity School and defeated Queen Elizabeth’s, Barnet and City of London. The Bolton team’s goal difference was slightly better, so they came top of their group and met Northampton Boys’ School in the Semi-final. The team won this match and met old rivals Trinity School in the final.

The lead changed several times (1-0, 2-3) over the course of the final match and was ultimately tied at full time. In the penalty shoot-out, Bolton shot first and scored all three penalties, with Year 13s Harry Bentham and James Blenkinship and Year 12 student Seb Thompson making the all-important shots. Trinity missed their second, meaning the game was won for Bolton and the Boys’ Division Under 18 team was crowned as National Champions once again.

Four players on the Under 18 team are in Year 13 – these students have contributed to the Boys’ Division winning all three age group National titles during their time on the School’s water polo teams.

The Boys’ Division also sent teams to the Under 15 and Under 13 ESSA competitions.

Training during lockdown was limited, but the Under 15 team improved massively over the course of the year and the team exceeded all expectations. They finished the first round in third place after defeating St. Bede’s & St. Joseph’s and King’s School, Grantham; however, they received a ‘wild card’ entry for the Semifinals as the ‘best third place’ in the first round. At the Semi-finals in Northampton, the boys defeated St. Ambrose and City of London and drew with Dulwich to end in second place and qualify for the Finals. There, they defeated Trinity School and Manchester Grammar School, winning their group and entering the Semi-final match. Another win against Dulwich College put them in the Final, where they took second place against Northampton

School for Boys.

The Under 13s made it to the Semi-finals after wins against Manchester Grammar School and St. Bede’s & St Joseph’s put them in second place in the first round; however, in the Semi-final round, their win against St. Bede’s & St. Joseph’s wasn’t quite enough to put them forward, as only one team qualifies for the National Finals.

The year was also filled with national call-ups for the School’s water polo players.

Four current and former pupils were selected to represent Great Britain in the Junior water polo team – Harry Bentham and James Blenkinship were joined by Class of 2021 Old Boys Daniel Bentham and Tom Simpson. Prior to the team being selected, they were involved in monthly training camps and a camp held in Germany. The Junior GB team competed in a friendly tournament in Slovakia and then in the European Championships Qualification tournament in Malta, where they finished third and narrowly missed a place in the European Championship. This age group has been coached by Bolton School’s Water polo coach Andy McGinty over the past three years.

Robert Bentham in Year 10 and Joe Carolan in Year 11 were selected to represent the England Youth team (born 2006 or younger). This team competed ‘a year young’ in the EU Nations in the Czech Republic, which is for players born 2005 or later, and finished in eighth place.

Three Bolton School boys were also selected for the National Academy programme – Year 12 student Ellis Matthews (born 2005), Jamie Logan in Year 10 (born 2007) and Harry Butler in Year 9 (born 2008). These squads train one weekend per month at various locations across the country and have a week-long training camp at Millfield School in August.

Finally, Old Boy and Bolton School Junior Boys’ teacher Mr. Aaron Winstanley (Class of 2015) has been selected for the England’s Men’s Development Squad for a friendly international tournament for the Home Nations, to be held in Coventry on the weekend of 28th – 29th May. These will be the first competitive senior men’s fixtures to be played in England for three years. The England senior men will go on to to play in the EU Nations tournament, held in Brno in June, and in an exhibition game in London against the 2012 Olympians, scheduled for July.

The Girls’ Division has also had a good water polo season, with the Under 15s and Under 18s bringing home silver medals from their ESSA competitions.

Boys’ Boost for Bolton Green Umbrella

Boys’ Boost for Bolton Green Umbrella

Pupils from Wigan House in Bolton School Boys’ Division have raised £1,600 for Bolton Green Umbrella, an organisation promoting sustainability and environmentalism.

The Form raised funds through a ‘Skate to School Day’ earlier in the Term, when boys were encouraged to take alternative modes of transport to School for the day, with cycling, walking, rollerblading and jogging being popular options. They were given inspiration by their teacher Mr. Wyatt, who skateboarded the twelve miles from his home on the morning.

Boys’ Illustrations used for Degree Project

Boys’ Illustrations used for Degree Project

Former student, Luke James, who left Bolton School Boys’ Division in 2019 and who is now in his final year of a BA degree in Illustration at the Cambridge School of Art, recently set pupils at his alma mater an interesting Art challenge.

Luke asked artists in Years 5 and 6 at Park Road, Bolton School’s Junior Boys’ School and Year 7 of the Boys’ Division to create some illustrations of monsters. The boys took on the challenge with relish, producing some stunning artwork, some adaptations of which can be viewed on Luke’s Instagram account. Working with their creations, Luke produced a number of sculptures, stickers, gifs, posters and a range of innovative gifts, all of which went on display as part of his monster skate project for his degree. The Bolton School artists look forward to receiving stickers from Luke as a thank you for their contribution.

School receives Duke of Edinburgh Commendation

School receives Duke of Edinburgh Commendation

Bolton School was recently delighted to receive a certificate of achievement from the Duke of Edinburgh Award scheme, congratulating its pupils on delivering 9,555 hours of volunteering. Their work in the community and beyond during the period between 1 April 2021 and 31 March 2022 was, the DofE reported, the equivalent, in social hours, of the value of £44,144.10.

The certificate, which will be proudly displayed in the School said: ‘We are immensely proud of the dedication, effort and achievement of young people making an impact in their community’.

Earlier in the term, pupils from both Divisions enjoyed a Duke of Edinburgh Celebration Evening, when girls and boys picked up their Gold and Silver awards. Separate assemblies have to be held to make the awards to those receiving their Bronze certificates, which all Year 9 pupils achieve. This year saw 26 girls alone achieve their Gold award, the highest number in recent years.

Mr. Philip Britton, Head of Foundation, congratulated the pupils on their amazing achievements in what had been very difficult circumstances. He praised them for being imaginative in completing their Service, Physical and Skills sections of the awards.

From Park Road to National Athletics Stage

From Park Road to National Athletics Stage

Mark Lintott, a Year 10 pupil at Bolton School Boys’ Division, who first tested his athletics skills at Park Road, the Junior Boys’ School, is now competing on the regional and national stage.

Looking back, Mark’s mum, Catherine Lintott, said: ‘It was during his time at Park Road that it became clear that Mark possibly had a talent for athletics. Specifically at their annual Sports Day, he won the 75m and 150m races and went on to be awarded the School’s Athletics Cup. Up until that point, his dad and I did not know how good he was. He still uses the high-jump technique taught to him by Mr. Duxbury to this day!’

Shortly after this, Mr. Pledger, a former Head of PE in the Boys’ Division, suggested Mark join Bolton Harriers, which he did. Covid then disrupted Mark’s development, but he trained throughout with his coach, Les Hall, via Zoom and was grateful that athletics was one of the first sports to open up again after the pandemic.

Last year was Mark’s first proper year of competing in races. He represented Bolton in the 100m Greater Manchester County

Schools Athletics Championships in the Under 15s’ competition. His winning performance there enabled him to then qualify for the English Schools’ Athletics Championship, where he represented Greater Manchester.

From January of this year, Mark moved into the Under 17s’ age group, and even though he was only 14 at the time and competing against boys who were sometimes two years older than him, he ran qualifying times in the 60m which enabled him to reach the Semi-final of the Northern Championships and to take part in the National Indoor Championships at Sheffield.

More recently, Mark has returned to 100m and 200m races and has just taken part in the Greater Manchester County Championships, where he won a Silver in the 200m and placed fifth in the 100m. He is also hopes to compete in the Northern Championships in August.

Mark trains with Les Hall at Bolton Harriers and is usually on the track three times a week, whatever the weather. He continues to gain invaluable experience and to work on building his strength and achieving personal bests ahead of hopefully competing at the top level next year when he is a year older.

Teachers win National Awards

Teachers win National Awards

Three teachers from Bolton School have won prestigious awards in this year’s Pearson’s National Teaching Awards, which were announced on National Thank a Teacher Day.

Ms. Naomi Lord, a former pupil who now works as Director of Creative Learning and Partnerships across the Bolton School campus, was Highly Commended in the Teacher of the Year in a Secondary School category. Ms Lord was the driver behind the Boys’ Division recently being re-accredited as an Artsmark Platinum school. The award – first afforded to the school in 2018 – signals that its arts and cultural provision remains at the highest possible standard.

Considering what made her choose a career in teaching, Ms Lord said: ‘I have always been excited about the world and everything in it and compelled to share that wonder and intellectual curiosity with others.

‘My career in education began in special educational needs mentorship; that is where I learned what a huge difference I could make to individual lives by lending my focus and support. It matters to be truly interested in people. Teaching came next and it was the making of me.

‘I quickly worked out that the young people I worked with needed to know that what I was teaching mattered to me and why it should matter to them.

‘I have the great fortune now to work in school partnerships and community arts – I enjoy a close relationship with my school and the opportunity to work out how we can enable all young people in our local area to access quality cultural experience and careers opportunities.

‘I often pinch myself when I find myself directing large-scale productions, running festivals, asking businesses and local authorities to give up their time and resources to support youth projects. At heart, I'm a shy person that fends o ff being overwhelmed by the world to try to make change for good.

I often use the phrase “shoulder partners” to relate working together – to me, being a teacher is walking in empathy with children to get them to all of the glorious places they can imagine.’

Mr. Aaron Winstanley, also a former pupil, was a Bronze Winner in the Teacher of the Year in a Primary School award. He is the Design and Technology (D&T) Lead Teacher in the Junior Boys’ School at Bolton School. Besides being an outstanding teacher, it is the incredible range of extra-curricular clubs and activities that he runs that sets him apart from other educators. He looks to develop interests and talents of boys aged 7-11 through offering a Raspberry Pi Club, a D&T Club, a Climbing Club, a Sailing and

Paddle Boarding Club, a Snow Sports Club and leading on a biennial ski trip. As a current England and GB Water polo player, the boys are in excellent hands when they enrol for the School’s Water polo Club too! In 2019, he became an Apple Distinguished Educator. He is also a Showbie Certified Educator and a Sphero Hero and, as such, pioneers the use of 3D printing with Sphero products, promoting this worldwide. As part of the School’s outreach, Mr. Winstanley also coordinates the teaching of D&T to Year 7-9 children from Thomasson Memorial School for the deaf.

Having trained in secondary education, with D&T as a specialism, he explains how he wanted to move into teaching primary: ‘I felt I could offer pupils a better start in the subject I loved, than the start I had when growing up. I wanted to break down the barriers

to primary D&T, which mean that it is typically left to a nonspecialist, that it is too expensive to do properly and that it is less important than many other areas of the curriculum.’

Ms. Jessica Sigrist, an English Teacher in the Boys’ Division of Bolton School, won a Certificate of Excellence in the Teacher of the Year Digital Innovator category.

At the end of the former academic year, Head of Literacy in the Boys’ Division, Ms. Sigrist, offered all incoming Year 7s the opportunity to consolidate their foundations in reading skills and technical accuracy by offering access to the Century Tech platform. Reflecting, Ms. Sigrist said: ‘Century has had a huge impact on the reach and support we have been able to offer students almost instantaneously.

‘As a result of its introduction, we currently have smaller gaps in terms of spelling, punctuation and grammar and reading ages than in other year groups.

‘After thirteen years of teaching in both state and the independent sector, the e ffect of technology is evidently increasingly impactful.

‘We are now looking at using further digital technologies, including Lexonik Vocabulary as well as signing up for a trial in a new programme called Vocabulous which engages students in the etymology of Greek and Roman words in a fun manner which should also support both reading and vocabulary understanding.’

Tree Planting as part of School’s Jubilee Celebrations

Tree Planting as part of School’s Jubilee Celebrations

Celebrations for the Queen's Platinum Jubilee began several weeks ago at Bolton School with the planting of Jubilee trees for the Queen's Green Canopy. Eco-clubs and pupils right across the School planted 33 Jubilee trees – at the coeducational Nursery and Infant School and at the single-sex Junior and Senior Schools as well as at Brookside, the 19th Bolton Scout Group’s headquarters. Wild Cherry, Lemon Balm, Rowan, Oak, Horn Beam and Beech trees have been planted as part of the programme.

Sixth Form girls began their Jubilee celebrations at Bolton School when they organised a special Jubilee Tea at the Riley Sixth Form Centre, which saw large numbers of local residents bring in Jubilee and royal regalia dating back to the Queen’s coronation in 1953.

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

Beech House children, aged 3-7 years, celebrated the Jubilee on the last day of Term by dressing in red and white blue, singing songs, playing games and organising themselves into the Union Jack during a special assembly. Later in the day, they were joined by girls and boys from Hesketh House and Park Road, who were also enjoying dress down days, for a a special Jubilee Jamboree picnic on the Levels. Children enjoyed lots of treats including sandwiches, sausage rolls, cupcakes and melon.

On the day before the Bank Holiday, children in Bolton School’s Nursery dressed in red, white and blue and made crowns to wear to their afternoon tea garden party where they played “pin the tail on the corgi” before dancing to their favourite songs. Each child received an official Platinum Jubilee medal to mark the occasion.

School Games Gold Award for Boys’ Division

School Games Gold Award for Boys’ Division

Bolton School Boys’ Division has, once again, received a Gold Mark Award from School Games. The School has won the award for 2021-22, but has also picked up the prize on several previous occasions, the last time being in 2018-19. The report from the School Games’ team said that the certificate was awarded for the School’s commitment and engagement in the School Games’ programme.

The School Games Mark is a Government-led award scheme launched in 2012 to reward schools for their commitment to the development of competition across their school and into the community. Registered schools apply annually through a short application form, which is then verified by their local School Games Organiser (SGO).

School Games aims to provide every child with a positive experience in an environment where the young person’s motivation, competence and confidence are at the centre of the competition. The government-led scheme is funded by Sport England National Lottery funding and delivered by the Youth Sport Trust and is designed to deliver competitive school sport to all young people.

A network of SGOs and School Games County Alliances have worked alongside the Youth Sport Trust in delivering three distinct levels of competition since the Games' inception in 2010 – ranging from intra to inter school activity, in addition to the National Finals, which is supported by National Governing Bodies.

The School will also receive a plaque for display.

School releases New Equality and Diversity Report

School releases New Equality and Diversity Report

After the death of George Floyd in May 2020 and the subsequent international awareness of the Black Lives Matter movement, many institutions were catalysed to examine their approach to diversity and inclusion. At Bolton School, this was encouraged by Alumni, who wrote to the School and then helpfully and constructively engaged with us in examining the past, assessing the present and making sustainable changes for the future to school life.

This year's report summarises the activity and change in School since our last report in June 2021. Similar reports will be produced in the summer of every year for five years to ensure a sustained approach to the issues and in order to systematically change habits within school life. For those interested, the last report (which was less inclusive across the Foundation) can be found through this link.

Head of Foundation Philip Britton said: ‘May I thank all colleagues who have been involved in all the activity recorded in the report. It really is impressive as a summary of our work on an issue that will continue to remain a focus of activity for some time to come. My thanks especially to Mrs. Waller and Ms. Bradford-Keegan for drawing the report together this year.’

Bolton School fosters Teacher Training Opportunities

Bolton School fosters Teacher Training Opportunities

Training the next generation of teachers plays a significant part in school life. Bolton School has hosted trainee teachers from local universities for many years and we are a regional hub school for the National Mathematics and Physics SCITT (School Centred Initial Teacher Training). This means we recruit Maths and Physics trainees for this national programme and provide weekly subject specialist training at Bolton School in conjunction with their placements in local schools.

This year thankfully saw a return to ‘normal’ for hosting trainees, last year’s cohort having started teaching placements online during the national Lockdown! In Boys’ Division, we welcomed trainees from the universities of Sheffield and Manchester, Manchester Metropolitan University and the University of Bolton. The breadth of institutions reflects the School’s ability to offer placements in a range of specialist subject disciplines such as Russian and DTE.

Trainee placements could not run smoothly without the support and expertise of colleagues mentoring trainees throughout their time here. Trainee teachers typically spend between eight and sixteen weeks with the school. Over that time, they are required to teach an incrementally increasing timetable of lessons, plan

and prepare resources, support form tutors, help run ECA and generally involve themselves with day to day routines of the school, so it should provide challenge!

This year, we hosted trainees in DTE, PE, the sciences, Mathematics, Modern Foreign Languages and English. Despite the inevitable hurdles faced by new members of any profession, the benefits of hosting trainees are considerable. They can contribute a wealth of new ideas, resources and perspectives to a department and school. They enable colleagues the opportunity to pass on their own expertise and act as role models and mentors. Forging links with universities and other schools enables educational networks to be strengthened and CPD and recruitment opportunities to arise.

It is a duty for schools to help train the next generation of teachers. Training at Bolton School is an amazing opportunity due to the outstanding sta ff, facilities and students we undoubtedly have. 2021/22 saw an impressive crop of trainees who really bought into the Bolton School experience, the majority of whom have successfully attained jobs in local schools. We look forward to welcoming a new cohort next year.

Stunning performances in Matilda the Musical Jr.

Stunning performances in Matilda the Musical Jr.

For a limited three night run, thirty Year 7, 8 and 9 students from across Boys’ and Girls’ Divisions performed Matilda the Musical Jr. Directed by Mr. Lovatt and Miss Talbot, we followed a script provided by Broadway Jr.

I personally played the role of Eric, who is one of Matilda’s classmates. I loved my role because I featured in many of the amazing numbers; such as ‘Bruce’, ‘Revolting Children’ and ‘When I Grow Up’.

Also I was able to react to the amazing performances of Lucy McLoughlin’s Matilda and Eleanor Holland’s evil Miss Trunchbull!

All the cast were fantastic and I have made lots of memories – including myself falling in the curtain whilst performing for the new Year 7s! I have made lots of friends with other year groups and from across Girls’ Division. I cannot wait for next year’s Lower School production! On behalf of the entire cast, I would like to give a huge thanks to Mr. Lovatt and Miss Talbot.

The Lost Words: Told in Gold

The Lost Words: Told in Gold

Recommissioned by Bolton School and supported by Arts Council England, The Lost Words: Told in Gold came to life in the School grounds over the Summer Term and will now tour across the local area visiting Bolton at Home community centres.

The production is the official adaptation of the book The Lost Words by Robert Macfarlane and Jackie Morris and has been adapted and directed by Collette Murray. The production takes its audience through a giant goldfinch nest and then onto a woodland trail, featuring stunning 3D installations of Morris’ golden illustrations and Macfarlane’s words.

All of our Infant, Juniors and Year 7 pupils have enjoyed watching the production as a treat in the final weeks of the School year. Infants have attended dressed in red and

gold as goldfinches. Community groups supported by School, Junior and Year 7 pupils have contributed to the set of the show too. Year 10

Drama pupils have visited to watch the show as part of their course, considering its scope as a piece of Theatre in Education work. Our Saturday Social theatre group (in partnership with the Octagon Theatre) and Creatives Now group (in partnership with Bolton at Home) have enjoyed linked page to stage workshops and have crafted a murmuration of swifts and the willow welcome archway.

Audiences are invited to seek, find and speak the lost words; spells wrapped around trees, words to be discovered in the undergrowth and perched on branches like starlings. Let new words take root and thrive and grow!

Excellent Participation at Model UN Conference

Excellent Participation at Model UN Conference

As the year drew to a close, it was time for the Model UN society to attend one final conference. This year has seen a number of new delegates joining the club and WIMUN provided them with the perfect opportunity to put their newly acquired skills into practice.

WIMUN is a one-day beginners’ conference organised by Withington Girls’, with this year being the thirteenth edition and their first in-person conference since 2019. We sent a delegation representing Pakistan and our delegates spent the day debating topics including cyber warfare, election interference or private healthcare, raising their placards, lobbying students from other schools or simply enjoying more informal chats during breaks.

Well done to the team which included Khushal Gola, Tristan Hughes, Miguel JonesBrosed, Ashton Kay, Dylan Lincoln, James Parfrey and Jack Swires, for their involvement and hard work. Congratulations to Jack Swires who was Highly Commended in the Political committee for his final conference with Bolton School, ending an outstanding MUN career with another achievement. Well done also to James Parfrey who represented us in the World Health Organisation and received a special mention.

It was very pleasing to see so many of our new delegates getting involved and hopefully a sign of more successes to celebrate next academic year.

Boys enjoyed annual Sports Day

Boys enjoyed annual Sports Day

The annual Sports Day took place on 1st July. It was a fantastic morning of track and field events with every boy in Year 7-10 competing on behalf of their House. Although cut slightly short by the rain, the final Year 8 B team relay race ran in torrential rain will live long in the memory for all!

The Tug of War competition also took place, with the trophy named after Mr. Doug Wardle, who many will know as a fierce competitor. The results of which were as follows:

4th - Wigan

3rd - Manchester

2nd - Blackburn

1st - Chorley

The final Sports Day trophy went down to that last race, with the points as follows:

4th - Wigan with 331

3rd - Manchester with 343

2nd - Chorley 389

1st - Blackburn 3

Eco-Committee awarded a Green Flag by EcoSchools

Eco-Committee awarded a Green Flag by Eco-Schools

This half term, the Eco-Committee has been awarded an Eco-Schools Green Flag. Eco-Schools reviewed the application and gave the following feedback: We love that pupils have defined roles and responsibilities within your Eco-Committee. It’s very reflective of professional environments and great experience for later life. It was wonderful to see how completing your Environmental Review helped your Eco-Committee to spot gaps in your school's existing environmental activity. But equally important is that it helped you to recognise the great work that you were already doing. This helps to keep up the good activity whilst making you feel empowered to do different things. We love this!

It was also great to see accountability and monitoring and evaluation clearly marked in your Action Plan. Great work! We’re really impressed at how you’ve linked environmental issues to a variety of curriculum areas. This approach looks at the big issue of climate change in a holistic way, which is the best approach to understanding and appreciating the enormity of the issue. Great work!

It was wonderful to hear how pupils have gained so much from being a member of the Eco Club! The parent quote is a great testament to the work that you are doing with your EcoCommittee, that they are taking their Eco-Schools work home with them and getting their families on board is something to be proud of!

Well done for all the tree planting you have achieved this year. It is great to hear you have also helped to raise money for Cancer Research! I hope you and your Eco-Committee take great pride in your achievements, everyone involved should be incredibly proud of the changes they have made!

We thought your Eco-Code was brilliant! It was punchy and really creative, setting out tangible and accessible calls to action your whole school can get behind!

Congratulations to everyone for the great work you have managed to do, earning your Green Flag (Merit). You should all be very proud of your work and the application you have submitted.

A snapshot of Extra-curricular School Life

A snapshot of Extra-curricular School Life

The Biochallenge competition is a National Biology competition organised by the Royal Society of Biology for Year 9 and 10 students. This year has been another good year with 18 boys awarded Medals.

Congratulations to Thomas Sibley in Year 7 who was highly commended for his performance of a Shylock Speech at the English Speaking Union Performing Shakespeare Competition Regional Final. He was just pipped to the post, an excellent achievement for the youngest entrant. Impressive quality across the board!

Congratulations to the following boys who all obtained Gold in the recent Junior Mathematics Challenge.

Year 7

Marton Lange

Oscar McVerry

Shay Patel Neeraj Patel

Benjamin Sheard

Ian So

Stephen Nagai

Vince Parkinson

Charlie Feng – Best in Year and Best in School Year 8

Zain Burrill

Advaith Govindu

Dhilan Jacobs

Temka Khadkhuu

Sid Kumar

Rith Narla

Kenzie Naylor

Ahmed Tahir

Matthew Yeung

Abdullah Zaeem

Ziming Ma – Best in Year

Congratulations to Rith Narla (8f) for his commended Spanish entry in the Anthea Bell Translation Competition, run by Queen’s College, University of Oxford. Congratulations also to Fletcher

Mellor-Brook and Ben Rimmer in Year 11 and Barnaby Keogh in Year 12 for their outstanding French and Spanish submissions.

Many congratulations to the following pupils who have been successful in their recent music examinations:

Mark Liu (12i) Trinity Grade 8 Violin Distinction

Ed Goodfellow (9e) Trinity Grade 5 Guitar Merit

George Burrows (7a) Rockschool Grade 1 Vocals Merit

Freddie Higham (13i) ABRSM Grade 5 Piano Merit

Six organ pupils gave a splendid recital in Bolton Parish Church in the church’s lunchtime series. They all enjoyed playing a large instrument in and adapted to it really well. The audience were really impressed with the standard. Congratulations to Laurence Britton, Xuan Wang, William Martin and Lucas NG (and to the two pupils from Girls Division).

Well done to Levi Higham (Year 11) who has reached the finals of the 2022 Wigan Young Musician of the Year competition.

Well done to Kieron Holt Year 8 who set a new year 300m record of 42.7 at the recent ESAA Athletics event.

Congratulations to Oliver Scales (8b) who has been selected after three weeks of intensive hockey trials for the Tensworth Academy to represent North West of England at the Under 13’s

National Hockey Championships in Nottingham on the 24th to 26th of June.

Congratulations to Ethan Herring, Lucas Horridge, Harry McLoughlin, Alex Pearce and Joseph Williams who gained their British Canoeing Paddle Sports Awards during Year 9 Kayak Club.

Congratulations to Tristan Hughes, Ashton Kay, Zach Tyrer-Hall and Daniel Hunter for their excellent performances in the RYA Northern Region Junior Dinghy Sailing Championships at Ullswater Yacht Club. Over the weekend, they participated in nine races in the RS Feva Regatta Fleet with Tristan and Ashton achieving a second place finish overall and Zach and Daniel achieving a third place finish overall. Considering they have only been sailing together since November, this is an incredible achievement! They have demonstrated a high degree of resilience and mental toughness during the weekly Saturday morning training sessions, when on occasions

they have had to chip ice off the boats prior to sailing them. Very well done to them.

Congratulations to three members of the Boys’ Division Common Room, Mr. Jackson, Mr. Watkinson and Mrs. Cotton, who completed the IRONMAN UK over last weekend. What an achievement - 2.4 mile swim followed by a 112 mile bike race finished off with a 26 mile marathon run! The whole School community are immensely proud of them. Bolton has been home to England’s only full-distance IRONMAN since 2009 and has since added the world’s largest IRONKIDS event and the popular Night Run.

Bolton School has been shortlisted for an award in this year's Independent School Parent magazine's School of the Year Award for Contribution to Social Mobility. The date of the Awards will be announced next year.

Chorley House have raised £1885.81 for Cardiac Risk in the Young – Boys have been taking part in the Chorley 12 for 12 Challenge, raising funds and awareness for the 12 young people who die from undiagnosed heart conditions every week.

Manchester House raised almost £400 for the Ronald McDonald House Charity by completing individual distances totalling over 200km. A big well done to Marley Oakes, Adam Isaji, and Nathan and Daniel Watts who raised the most money and travelled the furthest distances. This brings our fundraising for the academic

year to a close. We have supported worthy charities including Cancer Research and Stonewall and hope to continue on our mission to support many more next year.

Félicitations to Neeraj Patel of 7e for his sterling performance in the Routes into Languages French Spelling Bee National Final at Cambridge University. Out of nearly 20,000 pupils who took part in the competition, Neeraj placed 5th in the country. We are so very proud of all he achieved – spelling 21 words in 60 seconds in impeccable French! Well done for his hard work over the last year and to his supporters on the day – George Stoddart, Seb Hergart and Marton Lange in Year 7 and Spelling Bee 2nd place winner in 2014 – Alex Gao, Boys’ Division alumnus and current Engineering student at St. Catharine’s College, Cambridge.

Congratulations to our Under 12 cricket team who have reached the final of the Lancashire County Cup, another great team performance in last week’s Sports Fixture. Chess – last Thursday and Friday, our A

team - James Logan, Hashir Sapra, Laurence Britton, Marcus Fung, Amrit Mishra and Marlon Wen, competed in the final of the ECF National Schools Chess Championship. The Grand Ballroom of the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Stratford-upon-Avon was filled by the 19 teams of six who had made it through all their regional rounds to get to there. The champions would be decided during five 2-hour rounds, played over two days

This was the first time for well over a decade that Bolton School had qualified for the final tournament, and ranked 16th before the start of the first day, we expected to struggle against the stronger, more experienced teams. However, the team held its own over the two days, finishing where it started, in 16th place, but would have finished higher if teams that were given byes because of the odd number had not been gifted two match points each.

The boys themselves, gained some much-needed experience over the board against the strongest chess schools in England and enjoyed giving of their best in every round. Congratulations to the team for getting to the final, and well done for the way you conducted yourselves both in the games, and away from the boards. Congratulations to all those boys involved, you showed great support to your teammates and were a credit to the School. Thanks to Mr. Costello for giving of his time to enable the boys to participate in such a prestigious event.

Credits

Credits

Editor: Miss K.S. Wrathmell

Contributors: Mr. M. Power, Mr. J. Newbould, Miss A. Bradshaw, Dr. M. Yates, Mr. A. McGinty, Mr. N.R.W. Wyatt, Mr. P.J. Britton, Ms. H. Tunstall, Mrs. Lintott, Ms. N.R. Lord, Mr. A. Winstanley, Ms. J. Z. Sigrist, Miss E.A. Bramhall, Mr. S.P. Heald, Isaac Lucas 10a, Thomas Sibley 7h, Miss C.M.V. Buttigieg, Mr. M.G. Chilton,