The Chance to Flourish

In April 2022, the School was honoured to celebrate a record donation to the Bursary Fund from Old Boy John Roberts (Class of 1992) and his wife, Sally.

John and Sally’s donation has facilitated a new outreach partnership – Flourish – between Bolton School and the youth charity OnSide, which aims to promote social mobility by encouraging a wider range of applications to the School’s bursary scheme from young people who might otherwise never even have heard of Bolton School, nor understood that they might thrive here.

The donation will support 14 pupils with means-tested bursaries, funding two Year 7 pupils a year for seven years through to completion of their A Level studies at the School. These bursaries are available for young people who are members of OnSide Youth Zones, to support their education and cover any additional expenses to ensure they benefit from all the opportunities the School has to offer.

As a result of a pilot scheme which ran during the Autumn Term 2021, in September 2022 three pupils joined Year 7 of the Girls’ Division, all of whom have already thrown themselves into School life wholeheartedly.

“Sally and I know that talent is evenly distributed, but opportunity is not. Bursaries are a brilliant way to level this up. Bolton School is an amazing place and we want young people from OnSide to have the same fantastic experience there as I did. We’re extremely proud of the new pupils and look forward to following their progress.”

John Roberts