Friday 12 February 2016

12 February 2016

Girls' Division Young Enterprise team 'Oh Crumbs' has won the Greater Manchester Dragon's Den competition! The team of ten girls presented their 'cake in a jar' business to three 'dragons' as part of the competition and were named the winners! The girls are now looking forward to the Young Enterprise finals in March, when they will have to set up a trade stall and once again present their business to a panel of judges.


Bolton School Boys' Division has been awarded the Sainsbury’s School Games Gold Mark Award for the academic year 2014/2015. This national scheme rewards schools for their commitment to the development of competition across their school and into the community. The Schools Games Team were really impressed with the wealth of sporting opportunities available at Bolton School.


The Year 7 boys this week joined the Sale Sharks' Number Cruncherz programme and had a touch rugby training session with none other than former England rugby player Hendre Fourie! The boys were put through their paces by Hendre and two Sale Sharks Community Trust coaches before playing a number of touch rugby matches. They picked up some great hints and tips that they will be able to take forward into their future rugby matches, and now look forward to attending further Number Cruncherz sessions at the AJ Bell Stadium.


The Junior Girls recorded great success at the recent AJIS Biathlon running and swimming event at Rossall School. The Year 4 and Year 6 teams finished first overall, and the Year 5 team took second place: a wonderful achievement for all of the girls. There were also some excellent and impressive individual results on the day, which helped the teams to win these coveted podium positions.

The Year 8 boys have also shown their athleticism and nerve this week in the vaulting gymnastics final. The boys were whittled down to the final six, who then vaulted in front of the whole year group and their form teachers during morning assembly. The vaults increased in complexity as the competition went on, with some performing somersaults on through vaults, and the P.E. department had to consider carefully before announcing the overall winner.

The Junior Girls' Chess Teams have done well at the recent English Primary Schools' Chess Association (EPSCA) Tournament held at Park Road, the Junior Boys' School. The Under 9 team gained enough points to see them through to the Northern Finals, which will be held at Prestatyn in June - a fantastic achievement.

Sixth Form pupil Daniel Anderson won second place at the regional heat of ARTiculation 2016. He addressed a panel of judges on the Boundary Street social housing scheme in London as part of this national public speaking competition and was praised for his clear delivery and ability to answer challenging questions.


The Junior Girls' annual Modern Foreign Languages Day took place this week and this year had a French theme. Pupils celebrated Mardi Gras and La Chandeleur - the French equivalent of Pancake Day - and took part in a wide range of activities based on France and the French language. With artwork, crafts, pancake races, storytelling in French, and even a French-style lunch provided by the catering department, this was a fantastic way to get the girls inspired about language learning.


The Sixth Form French conference was once again a huge success, with boys and girls in Years 12 and 12 enjoying an immersive experience with native speaker Richard Peltier. They discussed a variety of topics relating to the A Level and were able to improve their vocabulary and understanding as well as their confidence.

Girls in Year 11 studying Spanish enjoyed a visit to HOME, a centre for contemporary international film, art and theatre in Manchester, to watch Gente de Bien. This award-winning Columbian film by director Franco Lolli focused on issues such as family, friendship and abandonment.

Six Girls' Division pupils ran for the Bolton Town team at the Greater Manchester Cross Country Championships last weekend. They were nominated to run by the School and took part despite difficult conditions on the day.

This year's Junior Girls' Music Festival saw more than 100 pupils perform as individuals and as part of ensembles! The invigilators were very impressed with the high standard of performance across the board, from Year 3 to Year 6. The girls really enjoyed performing and watching the Music Festival unfold, and it was a great opportunity for the girls to showcase their musical talents.


The Senior Girls' Music Festival also took place this week, culminating in the Celebration Concert for the winners on Wednesday evening. This concert showcased the best musicians from Year 7 to the Sixth Form and was a wonderful evening of music-making.

It's been a busy week at Beech House. The children thoroughly enjoyed Pancake Day on Tuesday and even had a go at flipping their own pancakes!


Children in Year 2 have been reading 'The Man on the Moon' and other stories by Simon Bartram. As part of their work on the book, the children designed their own 'moon buggies' that Bob, the man on the moon, might use to get around.

Following Reception and Year 1's visit to Blackpool Zoo, the children have been finding out more about their favourite animals that they saw on the trip. They have also combined their learning about cold and hot habitats with science work on freezing and melting! The trip to the zoo has inspired lots more learning back in the classroom and has really helped the children to engage with lots more topics.


Last week's Inspiring Mind was John Blakey, a member of the Boys' Division mathematics department from 1944 to 1976. He is remembered fondly to this day by Old Boys. The pair of tributes that form the Inspiring Minds piece were both written by Jim Dawson for The Boltonian, one on the occasion of his retirement and the second as his obituary in 1981.

This week the Inspiring Mind is Old Girl Judith Knott (née Kenyon). After leaving Bolton School, she went on to study at Trinity Hall, Cambridge, and completed a PhD in Historical Linguistics at SOAS, University of London. After five years as a research assistant, she joined the civil service. Reflecting on her career and time at School, she gives an interesting insight into her memories and how School has in some ways influenced her choices in life.

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