Bolton School
Encyclopedia
Bolton School is an independent day school
in Bolton
, in the North-West
of England
. It comprises a co-educational Nursery and Infant School (Beech House) and single sex Junior (ages 7-11) and Senior Schools (with Sixth Forms). With almost 2,400 pupils it is one of the largest independent day schools in the country.
The Bolton Girls' Day School was established in 1877 and was one of the earliest public day schools for girls in the country. It was quickly renamed to Bolton High School for Girls and moved to the Park Road site (where the current Junior Boys' School stands) in 1891, where it was opened by the suffragist Mrs Millicent Fawcett with 67 girls.
In 1913, Sir William Hesketh Lever
, later the first Viscount Leverhulme
, gave a generous joint endowment to the Bolton Grammar School and the Bolton High School for Girls on condition that the two should be equal partners known as Bolton School (Girls' and Boys' Divisions). On 1 April 1915, the Bolton School Foundation formally came into existence.
The current buildings were begun in the 1930s though they were not completed until the late 1960s. The motto of the school (used only by the Boys' Division) is Mutare Vel Timere Sperno, meaning "I scorn to change or to fear".
In the government's new EBacc ranking of schools by 2010 GCSE results, the Girls' Division was placed 23rd in the country.
In the 2011 Daily Telegraph ranking of independent schools by GCSE
results, the Girls' Division was 65th best in the country and the Boys' Division was 160th.
In the Daily Telegraph's 2011 A level results league table of independent schools, the Girls' Division was ranked 123rd (and 79th in 2010) and the Boys' Division was ranked 202nd (62nd in 2010) in the country.
Unusual offerings include Greek, Latin, Classics, Russian (Boys' Division only) and Spanish. Separate sciences are taught. Both divisions of the school are featured in the Good Schools Guide.
). Miss Sue Hincks (MA Oxon, almuna of Magdalen College, Oxford
) became Headmistress of the Girls' Division in September 2011. The Head of the Boys' Junior Division is Mr Stephen Whittaker and the Head of the Girls' Junior Division is Mrs Ruth Brierley. Mrs Deborah Northin is Head of the Infant School.
Bolton School has its own private coach company, BSS Coaches, and brings in over 900 pupils on 22 coach routes, spreading from Preston to Warrington to North Manchester to Wigan
to Rochdale
. A new coach route from Penwortham, Preston has been running since September 2008.
The school also hires out its buildings and services through BSSL Events and Lettings. The school is a very popular venue for weddings - in both the Arts Centre and the boys' Great Hall - and for conferences and exhibitions as well as a location for film shoots. The Mark of Cain (2007 film)
, a BAFTA Award winning television film, was filmed on the premises. The excellent sporting facilities are utilised by local clubs and both Bolton Wanderers FC and Bury FC have based their academies at the school in recent years.
The school also operates a pre- and post-school club for children, Kidzone, which offers childcare over the holiday periods for children from across Bolton.
The Junior Boys' School on Park Road has also been extended and renovated and an official "opening" ceremony took place on 2 December 2009. The Park Road community is now making full use of their permanent extension to the main school, comprising two Year 6 classrooms, a new library, changing rooms and showers, storage facilities, staff/visitor toilets, staff accommodation and a kitchen and dining hall.
A new state-of-the-art Junior Girls' School (adjacent to the Girls' Senior School), Hesketh House, opened to children on 9 September 2010. The purpose built school comprises eight classrooms, its own large computer suite, a science room, a well-resourced library, an art/design and technology room and a main hall.
Work is set to begin in the summer of 2012 on a new stunning £7m Sixth Form Centre which will sit in the heart of the campus. It is due to open in September 2013.
The Girls' Division and Boys' Division Senior Schools (11-18 year olds) have approximately 850 students each. Across both divisions, over 300 pupils receive fee assistance through bursaries, many pupils enjoying full fee bursaries. The Junior Girls' and Junior Boys' schools (ages 7–11) have about 200 pupils each. The co-educational Infant School also has over 200 pupils. The Nursery has about 90 places available and there is a waiting list.
The Girls’ Division offers an extensive extra-curricular portfolio with over 90 activities to choose from in any week. There are many subject-based clubs as well as a Literary and Debating Society and more eclectic offerings such as a Philosophical Film Society. Many girls undertake the Duke of Edinburgh Award and there is much involvement in charitable work. Across the Senior and Junior School over 1300 girls take part in activities.
Sport is strong with much interest in athletics, lacrosse, netball, badminton and swimming. There is ongoing success in netball, swimming and lacrosse and girls regularly win town and county championships, with many pupil representing Lancashire. The U14 netball team was crowned National Champions in 2003-04 and the U17 team reached the national finals in 2007; the U15 lacrosse team was Northern Schools’ Champions in 2010 (in 2009 the U15 team were one of the best eight teams in the country) and in 2008 the U12 and U13s were Northern Schools’ Champions. The Junior School Swim Team was runners-up in the national championship in 2007. The Girls’ Division tennis team won the Aegon Schools’ Regional tennis competition in 2011.
Girls have recently represented Great Britain in the World Athletic Championships, water polo and swimming. In 2010, a current Sixth Form student, Emma Saunders, was nominated for the BBC Young Sports’ Personality of the Year award after winning silver and bronze medals with the GB Swim Team in the Commonwealth Games in Delhi.
Girls have also enjoyed recent success in sports outside school, including one pupil who is currently the U17 national fencing champion, another pupil who is a triple gold medal winner at ju-jitsu (in the United Nations Games) and a pupil who, in 2008, was the U12 national chess champion. The girls’ squash team has also enjoyed regional success in recent years. In 2008, Rachel Flanders became the youngest person to ever row across the Atlantic Ocean. In 2011, Hannah Pike captained the England U16 hockey team.
There are lunchtime clubs across all areas of activity. Drama productions take place in the School’s Arts centre and in the girls’ own theatre. There are spectacular annual productions with the Boys’ Division, recent productions include Aristophanes’ The Frogs, Les Miserables, Little Shop of Horrors and Hamlet. Some girls become members of the National Youth Theatre.
Music is flourishing with many girls learning instruments in school – well over 300 instrument lessons are given each week - and beginners to grade 8+ students are catered for. There are five permanent music teachers and 21 instrumental and vocal specialists. More merits and distinctions are recorded than straight passes in Associated Board exams.
Art is also a very popular extra-curricular pastime and the school’s impressive studios are open during lunchtime and both before and after the school day. There are many activities and competitions. GSCE students can take part in weekend and holiday art workshops at an artist’s studio and theirs and A level students’ work are exhibited at the University of Bolton’s Best of Bolton display.
Girls travel the world on school trips and there have been recent ski trips to France, Italy and Switzerland. Netball and lacrosse teams have toured Canada, America, Malta, Australia and Barbados. Choirs and orchestras have performed in Florence, Paris, Bruges, Barcelona and Prague. In the summer of 2011, a group of Year 10 students visited the Maasai in Tanzania, having forged links with them via a Skype link-up and the internet. The visit is part of an ongoing project with the Maasai, which has seen girls help them with their English studies. The project is part of a larger concept, the Bolton School Global Village, which sees pupils making international link-ups with schools, students and organisations.
In the Boys’ Senior School, pupils in Years 7-9 are expected to attend at least three societies each week; Year 10 and 11 pupils are expected to involve themselves in at least one weekly activity. As well as the societies catering for sixth form students, there are many opportunities for members of Year 12 and Year 13 to become involved in the leadership of the activities. Aside from developing vital leadership qualities, elder students who assist members of staff in the organisation of societies are rewarded with a 'Leadership Certificate' at the end of each academic year.
Depending upon the term, there are up to 90 weekly or fortnightly clubs, societies and practices available to the boys (this number excludes the many music practices on offer). These range from subject-based clubs, such as Art Club, Science Club, Computer Club, Biology Club and The History Society to more wide-ranging societies such as Film Society, Warhammer Club, Creative Writing Club and Gameshow Club. There is also both a Junior Literary and Debating Forum and a Senior Literary and Debating Society, in which pupils of all ages can sharpen their oratorical skills.
Boys with musical and acting talents are also well-catered for. Music ensembles and drama rehearsals all take place in the lunch break and there are numerous concerts and productions every year. Over 450 boys have an individual music lesson. Many ensembles operate jointly with the Girls' Division. The School performed a joint concert at the Bridgewater Hall, Manchester in 2009, which involved over 650 pupils from Year 4 upwards. The Joint Chamber Choir has performed live on BBC Radio 4. The Senior Guitar Group has also won the Kirklees National Youth Guitar Orchestra Competition in recent years.
Sport plays a central role in the activities programme, it also takes up 10% of the timetable: soccer, rugby and hockey in winter, cricket in summer. There have been national victories in the Independent Schools’ FA competition in 2003 at U18 level and in 2010 at U13 level. The school boasts a number of alumni who play professional football. Current pupil James Roberts plays for the England Cerebral Palsy Development team. The School is an ISFA focus school, one of only nine in the country.
In 2011 the Year 8 rugby team won the North West Emerging Schools’ Cup Final and in 2006 the school was awarded Lancashire’s Rugby School of the Year. Both the rugby and cricket teams enjoy much regional success. Alex Davidson, who completed his A levels in 2011, plays professional rugby league for Salford Reds. Recent Old Boy Jack Forster is currently with Sale Sharks. Boys regularly represent the national independent schools’ Barbarians team. There is also regular representation for Lancashire Country Cricket Club. The U14 team were the Lancashire County Cricket winners in 2010.
A twenty five metre pool means the School is strong in water polo and swimming. There are two sports halls, one with a climbing wall, a multigym and quality games pitches on the 32-acre (130,000 m2) campus. The boys have recently won national titles in water polo, football and chess. Several Old Boys play in the British water polo team and Daniel Sliwinski is a 2012 Olympic hopeful in swimming. Pupils also represent the county, region and country at pentathlon, golf, tennis, skiing, sailing and kayaking. Andrew Keat has been the British Biathlon Champion in his age group for the past five years.
The Bolton School Paper is a quarterly-released newspaper, founded in 2002 and printed on tabloid newsprint. As of 2009, its circulation was 500. It is distributed free of charge to Bolton School students, staff, visitors and alumni. It is written solely by the students of the school - with students from Year 7 through to Year 9 taking a role in production, whether writing content, editing it or finalising the data. The newspaper also takes part in the TES Newsday competition annually. In 2007 it was awarded a Distinction.
There are also many Newsletters regarding the school libraries which the boys may write book reviews for, such as LSL Bulletin. The School also has a new BBC News School Report Programme for the Lower School. There is a web design and journalistic side to this new project.
As well as being a key part of the main curriculum, Outdoor Pursuits plays a central role in the extra curricular programme. Many pupils are introduced to a particular discipline via the Outdoor Education Programme and then go on to further their interest via the extra curricular programme. Pupils gain valuable experience of the world of business and commerce through the 'Business Awareness' course held each year at Patterdale Hall. The Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme is also pursued successfully by students, several having achieved the Gold Award whilst still at school.
For eight years (1999–2007), the School undertook the construction of a concrete yacht as a millennium project ("The Third Millennium Ketch"). The boat was constructed in a temporary boat shed attached to the school. It was launched in May 2007, and is owned by the School and is for use in outdoor pursuits. The boat, christened "Tenacity of Bolton", allows all Year 8 pupils (girls and boys) the chance for sailing lessons in the Irish Sea as part of the curriculum. Sixth Formers have also used the boat as part of their Duke of Edinburgh training. It is also available for commercial hire.
Independent school (UK)
An independent school is a school that is not financed through the taxation system by local or national government and is instead funded by private sources, predominantly in the form of tuition charges, gifts and long-term charitable endowments, and so is not subject to the conditions imposed by...
in Bolton
Bolton
Bolton is a town in Greater Manchester, in the North West of England. Close to the West Pennine Moors, it is north west of the city of Manchester. Bolton is surrounded by several smaller towns and villages which together form the Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, of which Bolton is the...
, in the North-West
North West England
North West England, informally known as The North West, is one of the nine official regions of England.North West England had a 2006 estimated population of 6,853,201 the third most populated region after London and the South East...
of England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. It comprises a co-educational Nursery and Infant School (Beech House) and single sex Junior (ages 7-11) and Senior Schools (with Sixth Forms). With almost 2,400 pupils it is one of the largest independent day schools in the country.
History
Bolton School is one of the oldest schools in Lancashire. Established as Bolton Grammar School, it is not known exactly when the Boys' School was founded, though it is recorded as being a going concern as early as 1516. In 1524 William Haigh of Wigan left land worth 33s 4d towards the maintenance of a schoolmaster to teach grammar in Bolton. In 1644 it was endowed by Robert Lever and so began a long and close relationship with the Lever name. In 1899, the school moved from its site next to the Parish Church in central Bolton to its current site on Chorley New Road.The Bolton Girls' Day School was established in 1877 and was one of the earliest public day schools for girls in the country. It was quickly renamed to Bolton High School for Girls and moved to the Park Road site (where the current Junior Boys' School stands) in 1891, where it was opened by the suffragist Mrs Millicent Fawcett with 67 girls.
In 1913, Sir William Hesketh Lever
William Lever, 1st Viscount Leverhulme
William Hesketh Lever, 1st Viscount Leverhulme was an English industrialist, philanthropist, and politician....
, later the first Viscount Leverhulme
Viscount Leverhulme
Viscount Leverhulme, of the Western Isles in the Counties of Inverness and Ross and Cromarty, was a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom created in 1922 for the industrialist and philanthropist William Lever, 1st Baron Leverhulme...
, gave a generous joint endowment to the Bolton Grammar School and the Bolton High School for Girls on condition that the two should be equal partners known as Bolton School (Girls' and Boys' Divisions). On 1 April 1915, the Bolton School Foundation formally came into existence.
The current buildings were begun in the 1930s though they were not completed until the late 1960s. The motto of the school (used only by the Boys' Division) is Mutare Vel Timere Sperno, meaning "I scorn to change or to fear".
Academics
The School is consistently ranked amongst the best independent schools in the North of England.In the government's new EBacc ranking of schools by 2010 GCSE results, the Girls' Division was placed 23rd in the country.
In the 2011 Daily Telegraph ranking of independent schools by GCSE
General Certificate of Secondary Education
The General Certificate of Secondary Education is an academic qualification awarded in a specified subject, generally taken in a number of subjects by students aged 14–16 in secondary education in England, Wales and Northern Ireland and is equivalent to a Level 2 and Level 1 in Key Skills...
results, the Girls' Division was 65th best in the country and the Boys' Division was 160th.
In the Daily Telegraph's 2011 A level results league table of independent schools, the Girls' Division was ranked 123rd (and 79th in 2010) and the Boys' Division was ranked 202nd (62nd in 2010) in the country.
Unusual offerings include Greek, Latin, Classics, Russian (Boys' Division only) and Spanish. Separate sciences are taught. Both divisions of the school are featured in the Good Schools Guide.
Administration
From September 2008, the Headmaster of the Boys' Division has been Mr Philip Britton MBE (alumnus of St Hugh's College, OxfordSt Hugh's College, Oxford
St Hugh's College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford. It is located on a fourteen and a half acre site on St Margaret's Road, to the North of the city centre. It was founded in 1886 as a women's college, and accepted its first male students in its centenary year in 1986...
). Miss Sue Hincks (MA Oxon, almuna of Magdalen College, Oxford
Magdalen College, Oxford
Magdalen College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. As of 2006 the college had an estimated financial endowment of £153 million. Magdalen is currently top of the Norrington Table after over half of its 2010 finalists received first-class degrees, a record...
) became Headmistress of the Girls' Division in September 2011. The Head of the Boys' Junior Division is Mr Stephen Whittaker and the Head of the Girls' Junior Division is Mrs Ruth Brierley. Mrs Deborah Northin is Head of the Infant School.
Bolton School has its own private coach company, BSS Coaches, and brings in over 900 pupils on 22 coach routes, spreading from Preston to Warrington to North Manchester to Wigan
Wigan
Wigan is a town in Greater Manchester, England. It stands on the River Douglas, south-west of Bolton, north of Warrington and west-northwest of Manchester. Wigan is the largest settlement in the Metropolitan Borough of Wigan and is its administrative centre. The town of Wigan had a total...
to Rochdale
Rochdale
Rochdale is a large market town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies amongst the foothills of the Pennines on the River Roch, north-northwest of Oldham, and north-northeast of the city of Manchester. Rochdale is surrounded by several smaller settlements which together form the Metropolitan...
. A new coach route from Penwortham, Preston has been running since September 2008.
The school also hires out its buildings and services through BSSL Events and Lettings. The school is a very popular venue for weddings - in both the Arts Centre and the boys' Great Hall - and for conferences and exhibitions as well as a location for film shoots. The Mark of Cain (2007 film)
The Mark of Cain (2007 film)
The Mark of Cain is a British Academy of Film and Television Arts Award-winning British television film first broadcast in 2007 following three young men as they experience the extremity of war for the first time, and the permanent effects of what they have seen and done as they return from their...
, a BAFTA Award winning television film, was filmed on the premises. The excellent sporting facilities are utilised by local clubs and both Bolton Wanderers FC and Bury FC have based their academies at the school in recent years.
The school also operates a pre- and post-school club for children, Kidzone, which offers childcare over the holiday periods for children from across Bolton.
Expansion and Renovation
The 32 acres (129,499.5 m²) campus is set 1 miles (1.6 km) to the west of Bolton town centre and a £12 million building project has just been completed. On 1 June 2009, infants (boys and girls aged 4–7) moved into their brand new school, Beech House, built alongside the School's Nursery.The Junior Boys' School on Park Road has also been extended and renovated and an official "opening" ceremony took place on 2 December 2009. The Park Road community is now making full use of their permanent extension to the main school, comprising two Year 6 classrooms, a new library, changing rooms and showers, storage facilities, staff/visitor toilets, staff accommodation and a kitchen and dining hall.
A new state-of-the-art Junior Girls' School (adjacent to the Girls' Senior School), Hesketh House, opened to children on 9 September 2010. The purpose built school comprises eight classrooms, its own large computer suite, a science room, a well-resourced library, an art/design and technology room and a main hall.
Work is set to begin in the summer of 2012 on a new stunning £7m Sixth Form Centre which will sit in the heart of the campus. It is due to open in September 2013.
Population
The school comprises:- A nursery on Dobson Road (ages 0–4)
- A co-educational infantInfantA newborn or baby is the very young offspring of a human or other mammal. A newborn is an infant who is within hours, days, or up to a few weeks from birth. In medical contexts, newborn or neonate refers to an infant in the first 28 days after birth...
school, called Beech House (ages 4–7) - A junior independent girls' school (ages 7–11, known as Hesketh House
- A junior independent boys' school (ages 7–11), known as Park Road
- Two separate secondary divisions, both with Sixth Form provision - Bolton School Girls' Division and Bolton School Boys' Division (ages 11–18).
The Girls' Division and Boys' Division Senior Schools (11-18 year olds) have approximately 850 students each. Across both divisions, over 300 pupils receive fee assistance through bursaries, many pupils enjoying full fee bursaries. The Junior Girls' and Junior Boys' schools (ages 7–11) have about 200 pupils each. The co-educational Infant School also has over 200 pupils. The Nursery has about 90 places available and there is a waiting list.
Extra-curricular activities
The School takes its extra-curricular provision seriously with multiple activities taking place in the extended lunch break, after school, at weekends and during holiday periods. Pupils are very much expected to involve themselves in the school's varied range of clubs and societies.The Girls’ Division offers an extensive extra-curricular portfolio with over 90 activities to choose from in any week. There are many subject-based clubs as well as a Literary and Debating Society and more eclectic offerings such as a Philosophical Film Society. Many girls undertake the Duke of Edinburgh Award and there is much involvement in charitable work. Across the Senior and Junior School over 1300 girls take part in activities.
Sport is strong with much interest in athletics, lacrosse, netball, badminton and swimming. There is ongoing success in netball, swimming and lacrosse and girls regularly win town and county championships, with many pupil representing Lancashire. The U14 netball team was crowned National Champions in 2003-04 and the U17 team reached the national finals in 2007; the U15 lacrosse team was Northern Schools’ Champions in 2010 (in 2009 the U15 team were one of the best eight teams in the country) and in 2008 the U12 and U13s were Northern Schools’ Champions. The Junior School Swim Team was runners-up in the national championship in 2007. The Girls’ Division tennis team won the Aegon Schools’ Regional tennis competition in 2011.
Girls have recently represented Great Britain in the World Athletic Championships, water polo and swimming. In 2010, a current Sixth Form student, Emma Saunders, was nominated for the BBC Young Sports’ Personality of the Year award after winning silver and bronze medals with the GB Swim Team in the Commonwealth Games in Delhi.
Girls have also enjoyed recent success in sports outside school, including one pupil who is currently the U17 national fencing champion, another pupil who is a triple gold medal winner at ju-jitsu (in the United Nations Games) and a pupil who, in 2008, was the U12 national chess champion. The girls’ squash team has also enjoyed regional success in recent years. In 2008, Rachel Flanders became the youngest person to ever row across the Atlantic Ocean. In 2011, Hannah Pike captained the England U16 hockey team.
There are lunchtime clubs across all areas of activity. Drama productions take place in the School’s Arts centre and in the girls’ own theatre. There are spectacular annual productions with the Boys’ Division, recent productions include Aristophanes’ The Frogs, Les Miserables, Little Shop of Horrors and Hamlet. Some girls become members of the National Youth Theatre.
Music is flourishing with many girls learning instruments in school – well over 300 instrument lessons are given each week - and beginners to grade 8+ students are catered for. There are five permanent music teachers and 21 instrumental and vocal specialists. More merits and distinctions are recorded than straight passes in Associated Board exams.
Art is also a very popular extra-curricular pastime and the school’s impressive studios are open during lunchtime and both before and after the school day. There are many activities and competitions. GSCE students can take part in weekend and holiday art workshops at an artist’s studio and theirs and A level students’ work are exhibited at the University of Bolton’s Best of Bolton display.
Girls travel the world on school trips and there have been recent ski trips to France, Italy and Switzerland. Netball and lacrosse teams have toured Canada, America, Malta, Australia and Barbados. Choirs and orchestras have performed in Florence, Paris, Bruges, Barcelona and Prague. In the summer of 2011, a group of Year 10 students visited the Maasai in Tanzania, having forged links with them via a Skype link-up and the internet. The visit is part of an ongoing project with the Maasai, which has seen girls help them with their English studies. The project is part of a larger concept, the Bolton School Global Village, which sees pupils making international link-ups with schools, students and organisations.
In the Boys’ Senior School, pupils in Years 7-9 are expected to attend at least three societies each week; Year 10 and 11 pupils are expected to involve themselves in at least one weekly activity. As well as the societies catering for sixth form students, there are many opportunities for members of Year 12 and Year 13 to become involved in the leadership of the activities. Aside from developing vital leadership qualities, elder students who assist members of staff in the organisation of societies are rewarded with a 'Leadership Certificate' at the end of each academic year.
Depending upon the term, there are up to 90 weekly or fortnightly clubs, societies and practices available to the boys (this number excludes the many music practices on offer). These range from subject-based clubs, such as Art Club, Science Club, Computer Club, Biology Club and The History Society to more wide-ranging societies such as Film Society, Warhammer Club, Creative Writing Club and Gameshow Club. There is also both a Junior Literary and Debating Forum and a Senior Literary and Debating Society, in which pupils of all ages can sharpen their oratorical skills.
Boys with musical and acting talents are also well-catered for. Music ensembles and drama rehearsals all take place in the lunch break and there are numerous concerts and productions every year. Over 450 boys have an individual music lesson. Many ensembles operate jointly with the Girls' Division. The School performed a joint concert at the Bridgewater Hall, Manchester in 2009, which involved over 650 pupils from Year 4 upwards. The Joint Chamber Choir has performed live on BBC Radio 4. The Senior Guitar Group has also won the Kirklees National Youth Guitar Orchestra Competition in recent years.
Sport plays a central role in the activities programme, it also takes up 10% of the timetable: soccer, rugby and hockey in winter, cricket in summer. There have been national victories in the Independent Schools’ FA competition in 2003 at U18 level and in 2010 at U13 level. The school boasts a number of alumni who play professional football. Current pupil James Roberts plays for the England Cerebral Palsy Development team. The School is an ISFA focus school, one of only nine in the country.
In 2011 the Year 8 rugby team won the North West Emerging Schools’ Cup Final and in 2006 the school was awarded Lancashire’s Rugby School of the Year. Both the rugby and cricket teams enjoy much regional success. Alex Davidson, who completed his A levels in 2011, plays professional rugby league for Salford Reds. Recent Old Boy Jack Forster is currently with Sale Sharks. Boys regularly represent the national independent schools’ Barbarians team. There is also regular representation for Lancashire Country Cricket Club. The U14 team were the Lancashire County Cricket winners in 2010.
A twenty five metre pool means the School is strong in water polo and swimming. There are two sports halls, one with a climbing wall, a multigym and quality games pitches on the 32-acre (130,000 m2) campus. The boys have recently won national titles in water polo, football and chess. Several Old Boys play in the British water polo team and Daniel Sliwinski is a 2012 Olympic hopeful in swimming. Pupils also represent the county, region and country at pentathlon, golf, tennis, skiing, sailing and kayaking. Andrew Keat has been the British Biathlon Champion in his age group for the past five years.
The Bolton School Paper is a quarterly-released newspaper, founded in 2002 and printed on tabloid newsprint. As of 2009, its circulation was 500. It is distributed free of charge to Bolton School students, staff, visitors and alumni. It is written solely by the students of the school - with students from Year 7 through to Year 9 taking a role in production, whether writing content, editing it or finalising the data. The newspaper also takes part in the TES Newsday competition annually. In 2007 it was awarded a Distinction.
There are also many Newsletters regarding the school libraries which the boys may write book reviews for, such as LSL Bulletin. The School also has a new BBC News School Report Programme for the Lower School. There is a web design and journalistic side to this new project.
Outdoor Pursuits
Bolton School maintains a large, full-time outdoor pursuits department, called Bolton School Outdoor Pursuits (BSOP). The school operates Patterdale Hall, a large residential outdoor pursuits centre on the shores of Lake Ullswater in the Lake District.As well as being a key part of the main curriculum, Outdoor Pursuits plays a central role in the extra curricular programme. Many pupils are introduced to a particular discipline via the Outdoor Education Programme and then go on to further their interest via the extra curricular programme. Pupils gain valuable experience of the world of business and commerce through the 'Business Awareness' course held each year at Patterdale Hall. The Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme is also pursued successfully by students, several having achieved the Gold Award whilst still at school.
For eight years (1999–2007), the School undertook the construction of a concrete yacht as a millennium project ("The Third Millennium Ketch"). The boat was constructed in a temporary boat shed attached to the school. It was launched in May 2007, and is owned by the School and is for use in outdoor pursuits. The boat, christened "Tenacity of Bolton", allows all Year 8 pupils (girls and boys) the chance for sailing lessons in the Irish Sea as part of the curriculum. Sixth Formers have also used the boat as part of their Duke of Edinburgh training. It is also available for commercial hire.
Notable Old Boltonians
The Old Girls' Association and Old Boltonians' Association are very active with over 9,000 members. Regular reunions are held throughout the year in Bolton, Manchester, Leeds, Oxford, Cambridge, Durham, Edinburgh, London, Bristol, Birmingham and Cumbria. Notable alumni include:- Sir Arthur RostronArthur RostronSir Arthur Henry Rostron, KBE, RD, RNR was a Captain for the Cunard Line and was the master of the ocean liner RMS Carpathia when it rescued the survivors of the RMS Titanic which sank on 15 April 1912 after striking an iceberg.Captain Rostron won wide praise for his energetic efforts to reach the...
(1869–1940), Captain of the RMS CarpathiaRMS CarpathiaRMS Carpathia was a Cunard Line transatlantic passenger steamship built by Swan Hunter & Wigham Richardson. Carpathia made her maiden voyage in 1903 and became famous for rescuing the survivors of after the latter ship hit an iceberg and sank on 15 April 1912...
, first ship to aid the RMS Titanic - Wing Commander John Scott-Taggart (1897–1979) radio and radar pioneer, author.
- Edmund Clifton StonerEdmund Clifton StonerEdmund Clifton Stoner was a British theoretical physicist. He is principally known for his work on the origin and nature of itinerant ferromagnetism , including the collective electron theory of ferromagnetism...
)1899–1968), theoretical physicist. - Sir Geoffrey JacksonGeoffrey JacksonSir Geoffrey Holt Seymour Jackson, KCMG was a British diplomat and writer.Jackson received his education at Bolton School and Emmanuel College, Cambridge. He entered the Foreign Service in 1937, his first ambassadorship coming in 1957, a post in Honduras. In 1969, he became ambassador in Uruguay...
(1915–1987), British AmbassadorAmbassadorAn ambassador is the highest ranking diplomat who represents a nation and is usually accredited to a foreign sovereign or government, or to an international organization....
to UruguayUruguayUruguay ,officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay,sometimes the Eastern Republic of Uruguay; ) is a country in the southeastern part of South America. It is home to some 3.5 million people, of whom 1.8 million live in the capital Montevideo and its metropolitan area...
, kidnapped by TupamarosTupamarosTupamaros, also known as the MLN-T , was an urban guerrilla organization in Uruguay in the 1960s and 1970s. The MLN-T is inextricably linked to its most important leader, Raúl Sendic, and his brand of social politics...
guerrillas and held prisoner for 8 months - Leslie HalliwellLeslie HalliwellRobert James Leslie Halliwell was a British film encyclopaedist and television impresario who in 1965 compiled The Filmgoer's Companion, the first one-volume encyclopaedia devoted to all aspects of the cinema. He followed it a dozen years later with Halliwell's Film Guide, another monumental work...
(1929–1989), film writer and historian - Sir Harry KrotoHarold KrotoSir Harold Walter Kroto, FRS , born Harold Walter Krotoschiner, is a British chemist and one of the three recipients to share the 1996 Nobel Prize in Chemistry with Robert Curl and Richard Smalley....
(born 1939), Nobel Prizewinner in Chemistry - Sir Ian McKellenIan McKellenSir Ian Murray McKellen, CH, CBE is an English actor. He has received a Tony Award, two Academy Award nominations, and five Emmy Award nominations. His work has spanned genres from Shakespearean and modern theatre to popular fantasy and science fiction...
(born 1939), actor - Dame Janet Smith (born 1940), judge
- Ann Taylor, Baroness Taylor of BoltonAnn Taylor, Baroness Taylor of BoltonWinifred Ann Taylor, Baroness Taylor of Bolton, PC is a British Labour Party politician, who was Minister for International Defence and Security, based at both the Ministry of Defence and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, from October 2008 until 11 May 2010.-Member of Parliament:Taylor was the...
(born 1947), politician - Clive CrookClive CrookClive Crook is a columnist for the Financial Times, the National Journal and a senior editor at The Atlantic Monthly...
(born 1953) Journalist for the Financial Times - Patricia Morris, Baroness Morris of BoltonPatricia Morris, Baroness Morris of BoltonPatricia Morris, Baroness Morris of Bolton OBE DL is a British peer and former Shadow Minister for Women and an Opposition Whip for the Conservative Party....
(born 1953), politician - Mark RadcliffeMark RadcliffeMark Radcliffe is an English broadcaster who has worked in various roles for the BBC since the 1980s and remains one of Britain's most recognised DJs. He is currently a presenter on BBC Radio 2 and BBC 6 Music, where he hosts an afternoon show five times a week alongside Stuart Maconie, called...
(born 1958), radio broadcaster - David RuffleyDavid RuffleyDavid Laurie Ruffley is a Conservative Party politician in the United Kingdom. He is the Member of Parliament for the constituency of Bury St Edmunds in Suffolk, which encompasses Bury St Edmunds and Stowmarket, having been first elected in 1997.A solicitor by profession, Ruffley served as...
(born 1962), politician - Nigel ShortNigel ShortNigel David Short MBE is an English chess grandmaster earning the title at the age of 19. Short is often regarded as the strongest English player of the 20th century as he was ranked third in the world, from January 1988 – July 1989 and in 1993, he challenged Garry Kasparov for the World Chess...
(born 1965), chess player - Monica AliMonica AliMonica Ali is a British writer of Bangladeshi origin. She is the author of Brick Lane, her debut novel, which was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize for Fiction in 2003...
(born 1967), author - Angela Williams, Director UNRWA Affairs (Syrian Arab Republic)
- Harriet Steele, MP
- Anthony Lilley, OBE, Digital Media Producer and BAFTA Winner
- Julian DarbyJulian DarbyJulian Timothy Darby is a former English footballer who played for his local club Bolton Wanderers from 1986 to 1993, scoring 36 goals in 270 league appearances. He scored in the 1989 Sherpa Van Trophy final, with Bolton beating Torquay United 4–1 at Wembley, in a side captained by future Derby...
(born 1967) ex premiership footballer - Roger DraperRoger DraperRoger Draper is a British sports administrator. He was chief executive of Sport England from 2003 to 2006. Since 2006 he has been chief executive of the Lawn Tennis Association.-External links:*...
(born 1970), Chief Executive of the Lawn Tennis AssociationLawn Tennis AssociationThe Lawn Tennis Association is the national governing body of tennis in Great Britain, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man.As the governing body, the LTA is responsible for the coaching and development of junior players, offering courses and qualifications on coaching, as well as the...
and formerly Chief Executive of Sport EnglandSport EnglandSport England is the brand name for the English Sports Council and is a non-departmental public body under the Department for Culture, Media and Sport... - Archis Tiku (born 1977), bassist with the band Maxïmo ParkMaxïmo ParkMaxïmo Park are a British alternative rock band, formed in 2000. They are signed to Warp Records. The band consists of Paul Smith , Duncan Lloyd , Archis Tiku , Lukas Wooller and Tom English...
- Ralf LittleRalf LittleRalf Alistair J. B. Little is an English actor, writer and semi-professional footballer, working mainly in television comedy. He is best known for playing Antony Royle in The Royle Family and Jonny Keogh in the first six series of Two Pints of Lager and a Packet of Crisps.-Early life and work...
(born 1980), actor - Alex Wotherspoon (born 1982), Candidate on the 2008 series of The Apprentice.
- Joyce TyldesleyJoyce TyldesleyJoyce Tyldesley is a British archaeologist and Egyptologist, academic, writer and broadcaster.Tyldesley was born in Bolton, Lancashire and attended Bolton School. In 1981, she earned a first-class honours degree in archaeology from Liverpool University, and a doctorate in Prehistoric Archaeology...
(born 1960), Egyptologist - Gordon CloughArthur Gordon CloughArthur Gordon Clough , was an English radio presenter and journalist, primarily known for his work on BBC Radio 4....
(1934–1996), Broadcaster - Chris GoudgeChris GoudgeChristopher Edward Goudge was a British athlete who competed in the 400m hurdles at the 1960 Summer Olympic Games in Rome.-Early life:...
, Olympic1960 Summer OlympicsThe 1960 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XVII Olympiad, was an international multi-sport event held from August 25 to September 11, 1960 in Rome, Italy...
hurdlerHurdlingHurdling is a type of track and field race.- Distances :There are sprint hurdle races and long hurdle races. The standard sprint hurdle race is 110 meters for men and 100 meters for women. The standard long hurdle race is 400 meters for both men and women...
, 1960 - Jack BondJack BondJohn David "Jack" Bond, born in Kearsley, near Bolton, Lancashire, on 6 May 1932, is a former cricketer who played for Lancashire and, for one season, for Nottinghamshire....
(born 1932), Cricketer - Robert Haslam, Lord Haslam, Former Chair of British Steel and the Coal Board
- Sir Philip Craven MBE, Chair of the British Paralympic Association
- Andy PatersonAndy Paterson-Filmography:* Incendiary * Beyond the Sea * Girl with a Pearl Earring * Hilary and Jackie * Restoration -External links:...
, Oscar-winning film producer - John Markland CBE, Chair of Scottish National Heritage
- Carol KleinCarol KleinCarol Klein is a British gardening expert, who also works as a television presenter and newspaper columnist.Born in Walkden, Salford, Lancashire, in 1945, Carol attended Bolton School and then trained as an art teacher and taught in schools in the London area before moving to Devon...
(born 1945), Gardening expert, TV presenter and newspaper columnist - Caroline Plumb, Management Today cited her as being in the top 35 women under 35 years of age, co-founder of Fresh Minds
- Daniel Sliwinski, Swimmer, Junior UK Breast Stroke record holder, 2012 Olympic hopeful
- Andrew "Chubby" Chandler, MD, International Sports Management Ltd (clients include Andrew Flintoff, Darren Clarke etc.)
- Chris EatoughChris EatoughChris Eatough is a mountain bike racer, part of the Trek Racing Cooperative team. He is a six-time 24-hour solo World Cup champion and five-time 24-hour solo National Cup champion.-Career:...
, World Champion Mountain Biker - Max George, Singer in the boy band The WantedThe WantedThe Wanted are a British-Irish boy band based in London, England. The band consists of Max George, Siva Kaneswaran, Jay McGuiness, Tom Parker and Nathan Sykes. Their debut single, "All Time Low", was released in July 2010 and reached number one in the United Kingdom for one week...
. - Alex Davidson (rugby league)Alex Davidson (rugby league)Alexander Davidson is an English professional rugby league player, who currently plays for the Salford City Reds of Super League. As an amateur, he played second row, but has played mainly at prop in the professional game. Davidson signed for Salford's Academy from amateur club Blackbrook Royals,...
Salford City Reds Rugby League player - Andrew Kirkham (Pokemon TCG) World Champion