Bolton School
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Bolton School is a leading British public school (independent school) situated in the town of Bolton in the North-West of England. It consists of two main sections - Bolton School Boys' Division and Bolton School Girls' Division.
The Boys' School was established in 1516 as Bolton Grammar School. In the early 1900s, it was re-endowned by Viscount Leverhulme and a building of high architectural quality was completed on Chorley New Road.
Today, the school is regarded as one of the best in the country. The Boys' Division came in the top 20 nationwide in recent GCSE examinations. It won national titles in water polo and football.
The Boys' Division has a Junior section, known as 'Park Road'. The Girls' Division also has a junior school. There is a co-educational infant school called 'Beech House'. In addition, 'Bolton School Nursery' caters for the very young, allowing the School to cover ages from 0 to 18.
Bolton School owns its own private coach company, 'B.S.S. Coaches', which has routes spreading from Preston to Rochdale.
The Headmaster of the Boys' Division is Mr. M. E. W. Brooker, in post since 2003, and the Headmistress of the Girls' Division is Miss E. J. Panton.
The motto of the School (used only by the Boys' Division) is "Mutare Vel Timere Sperno", meaning "I scorn to change or to fear".
Both divisions of the School were featured in the 2005 edition of the Good Schools Guide.
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The Boys' Division
The Boys' Division Senior School consists of around 1100 students, 450 in the Lower School (Yrs. 7-9), 300 in the Middle School (Yrs. 10-11) and 400 in the Upper School or Sixth Form (Yrs. 12-13). Girls' Division pupil numbers are slightly smaller.
Subjects on offer in the are based around the traditional academic subjects, the School being one of few to insist on three separate sciences at GCSE, those being Physics, Chemistry and Biology. The School has a high reputation for the sciences, with distinguished chemist Sir Harry Kroto being an old boy. Also compulsory at GCSE are the two English subjects and Mathematics.
All boys study ten subjects to GCSE. Further options are available in Classics, the School being one of few to maintain a strong Department in the study of Ancient Greek as well as Latin. History is a highly popular option. Geography and Religious Studies are both offered as humanities.
Modern foreign languages offered are French, German and Russian.
Although the focus at the School is undeniably academic, vocational subjects have enjoyed an increase in status in recent years. Art and Music are both offered at GCSE as well as several Technology options.
Extra-curricular activities
Sport thrives at Bolton. In particular, the School has won the national independent schools title in recent years in both football and water polo. Many students are chosen to represent their town or county at a higher level.
Bolton School is known for excellence in Outdoor Pursuits. It maintains a large, full-time Outdoor Pursuits department, called Bolton School Outdoor Pursuits (BSOP). The School runs Patterdale Hall in the Lake District, a large residential outdoor pursuits centre.
Music is also highly successful. Superb facilities are available, and over 450 boys have an individual music lesson. Many ensembles are operated joint with the Girls' Division. The Joint Chamber Choir has peformed live on Radio 4.
All boys are expected to be involved in several extra-curricular societies each week. Societies include academic ones, such as French, Debating, and Classics and also sporting activities. The breadth of extra-curricular activity is exceptional and seen as a significant strength of the school.
Student journalism is very strong at Bolton. Students contribute to the staff-edited Boltonian magazine, which is published annually. The Lower School publishes its own student-edited newspaper, The Bolton School Paper on a monthly basis. This provides a high-quality compact newspaper, predominantly featuring politics, national news, sport and school affairs with a specialist magazine for entertainment.
In the past few years, the Boys' division has run a "Mechatronics" club, which has given boys an opportunity to help create remote controlled vehicles for several national competitions, including Technogames and Rex Garrod's Robot Challenge. This society built the "LoonyCycle", a Robotic unicycle (actually a monowheel), which won the award for "Most original concept" at Technogames 2002.
For the past 8 years, the school has been building a concrete yacht, as a millenium project ('The Third Millenium Ketch'). The boat is being constructed in a temporary boat shed attached to the school. This is scheduled for launch in 2006, and will be owned by the school and used for outdoor pursuits.
Famous alumni
Famous Alumni of Bolton School include:
- Sir Harry Kroto, chemist
- Sir Ian McKellen, actor, who visited the Boys' Division on 10th November, 2004 to deliver the annual Tillotson Lecture
- Nigel Short, chess player
- Ralf Little, UK television actor
- Arthur Henry Rostron, Captain of the RMS Carpathia, first ship to aid the RMS Titanic.
External links
- Bolton School home page (http://www.boltonschool.org/)
- Boys' Division home page (http://www.boys.bolton.sch.uk/)
- Third Millennium Ketch Project (http://www.boys.bolton.sch.uk/boat)
- Girls' Division home page (http://www.girls.bolton.sch.uk/)
- Technology Department home page (http://www.boltontech.org.uk/)