Bolton School Celebrates Record Donation From John and Sally Roberts That Will Help Level Up Talent and Opportunity Through New Means-Tested Bursaries Flourish - Workshop Day at Bolton School
• Old Boltonian, AO Founder and CEO, John Roberts and his wife Sally, will support 14 pupils through their full senior school experience • It is the largest one-off donation received by Bolton School to its bursary fund • The donation has facilitated a new outreach partnership between Bolton School and youth charity OnSide to support applications
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hrough a new partnership between Bolton School and the youth charity OnSide, John and Sally Roberts 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. This builds on their previous support for bursaries at the school over the past six years. The first two pupils, both members of the OnSide Network of Youth Zones, join Year 7 in September.
The donation is part of John and Sally’s ongoing commitment to support more young people to achieve their full potential. The bursaries are available for young people 152
LANCASHIRE & NORTH WEST MAGAZINE
that are members of OnSide Youth Zones to support their education and cover additional expenses to ensure they benefit from all the opportunities the school has to offer. As a result of the gift, Bolton School and OnSide have established a new outreach scheme called Flourish to promote social mobility by encouraging a wider range of applications to the School’s bursary scheme. At the heart of its success is the high quality, dedicated work by OnSide’s youth workers. Through the Flourish programme, Year 6 members of Youth Zones in Blackburn, Chorley and Wigan took part in activities including science experiments, performing arts workshops and graphic design sessions at Bolton School and received academic support ahead of taking the entrance exam. This led to 8 young people taking the entrance exam in January 2022. Three pupils were successful, with two bursaries being provided by John and Sally and one provided by Bolton School. The Flourish programme will expand to Bolton Lads and Girls Club and Warrington Youth Zones this year, and work with Year 5 pupils throughout the coming Summer Term and then during the Autumn Term of their Year 6 studies, to support them to undertake the School’s entrance examination in January 2023. www.lancmag.com
