Inaugural Platt Fisher Lecture at Bolton School
Above: The Platt Fisher Lecture was held in the Girls’ Division Great Hall with guests also joining virtually via a live stream
Bolton School Girls’ Division was pleased to begin a new tradition this April with the first ever Platt Fisher Lecture.
Governor, minister and more. She took the audience on a captivating review of her life so far, focusing on each decade in turn and sharing her life lessons along the way.
his annual public talk aims to inspire current and former pupils as well as the wider community in Bolton, and began with an address from its namesake: Old Girl Dr Sheila Fisher (née Platt, Class of 1970).
She began with her childhood and early school years and the impact that her primary school headteacher had on her life. She reminded the hall that ‘teachers change your life’ and added, ‘Without his inspiration, I wouldn’t be standing here.’
Mrs Lynne Kyle was delighted to inaugurate this new Bolton School institution in her first year as Head of Girls’ Division. One of the positives to have come from the pandemic, and something the school is keen to continue going forward, is hybrid events: the Platt Fisher Lecture was held both in person and virtually, and Mrs Kyle extended her welcome both to those in the Great Hall and to the many guests watching online. The Head Girl, Summer Kay, then introduced Dr Fisher as the speaker for the evening.
Dr Fisher recalled the friends she made at Bolton School, who have remained friends for life. She said that her time at the Girls’ Division gave her so much more than a good academic education: not only hobbies that she still finds joy in today, but also the ethos of the school, the qualities taught and the confidence to believe in herself. It was a decade about ‘learning to live life in all its fullness’ and grasping the ‘goodly heritage’ of the school. She mentioned a line in the school prayer, ‘much is required of those to whom much is given’, which is an attitude she has carried throughout her life.
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In her lifetime, Dr Fisher has held many roles: maxillofacial surgeon, wife and mother, Bolton School 160
She offered the audience her advice
LANCASHIRE & NORTH WEST MAGAZINE
Above: Dr Sheila Fisher spoke about her life and career in an entertaining and engaging address
for ‘the time life goes pear-shaped’ through her own, deeply personal experience. Two of her uncles died of cancer and her father became seriously ill during her final years at Bolton School, and she went to work helping with the books at the family business. As a result, she didn’t achieve the grades to study medicine. She accepted an offer to study dentistry instead, but knew she somehow had to find a place within cancer treatment. She recalled looking at her options at that point: she could give up, or endure and see where the path would take her. She did the latter, and in her final year she discovered the field of maxillofacial surgery, which required not only a full surgical training but also a dental degree. She therefore encouraged the audience to recognise their dreams and never give up on them. The next decade of surgical training was everything she had dreamed of, particularly because it was a time of revolutionary inventions and innovations within the field, and she was able to be at the forefront. She recapped her career as a surgeon, eventually becoming a www.lancmag.com
