CONTINUING SUPPORT

Thanks to the extraordinary kindness of our supporters, the School continues to offer one of the most generous bursary schemes in the country. Currently, one in five pupils in the two Senior Schools receives financial support for their education, with one third of recipients – 6% of the pupil body – receiving fully-funded bursaries. Two recent bursary recipients, both of whom left the Girls’ Division this summer to take up places to study Dentistry at university, explained the impact their bursary place has had on their ambitions and success: “I will be taking with me to university many wonderful memories as well as the skills which I have gained at Bolton School. My education at Bolton School has allowed me to realise my talents, develop my selfconfidence, and has inspired me to achieve success in my future career. I will never forget my time here and I will always remain grateful to Bolton School for the opportunities it has given me.” “I am writing to thank you for the bursary I have received for my Sixth Form education at Bolton School. It has been a dream come true to be able to get an education in such an amazing setting. Your bursary has opened many doors and thanks to you I am one step closer to reaching my goals. I cannot express my gratitude enough for the outstanding educational experience you have enabled me to have at Bolton School.”

The School remains intent upon its long-term ambition to deliver needs-blind access to the transformational education it offers, and is indebted to its donors, who have continued to offer their generous support to the Bursary Fund despite the challenges of the past eighteen months.

One such supporter is Old Girl Eva Marshall (née Leach, Class of 1953), a regular donor to the Bursary Fund who has also remembered the School in her will. She wrote to us recently reflecting on the family circumstances, and on her experiences as a pupil and an Old Girl, which have prompted her to support the Bursary Fund so exhaustively:

Eva, pictured with her son and grandchildren “My father was offered a funded place at Bolton School aged 11, which his mother would not allow him to take up. He instead attended a state school, as did my mother, whose formal education lasted only until she was 12. At the appropriate age I, too, entered both the State Scholarship Exam, and the Entrance Exam for Bolton School; I passed both and was awarded a place at both the Girls’ Division and the local state school. My father insisted that I took the place at Bolton School despite it involving some payment of fees: it was quite some time after my father died that I connected his wish for me to go to Bolton School with the opportunity which was denied to him.

“I enjoyed my years at School, and looking back can quite honestly say that at no time did I feel anything other than support and good wishes; whilst there were obviously girls from differing backgrounds in my classes, we were all treated with the same consideration. Many years later, in 2014, I visited the School as part of the 100/500 anniversary celebrations. During that visit, I was impressed to learn that the School intended the Bursary Fund should enable any girl with the ability to pass the Entrance Exam and a financial need to be able to take up a bursary place. Afterwards, I thought about how my Father would have benefited from the education he was clearly capable of, and perhaps also reflected a little for myself, that, if wider horizons had been suggested to me at the time I attended School, my ambitions could have been greater. I started making a monthly contribution from that time and also decided to mention School in my will. It is good to think that today’s pupils will have every opportunity to achieve their potential.” If you remember your time at the School fondly, and would like to ensure future generations of Boltonians receive the same opportunities your education offered to you, then please do consider pledging your support to the Bursary Fund. Whether you choose to make a one-off gift, set up a regular donation or remember the School in your will, your generosity will make a real difference to the School’s ability to offer financial support to future generations of bright, talented young people, who will in their turn go out into their communities and make a difference for good. To discuss in more detail how you might choose to support the Bursary Fund, please contact Laura Firth, Director of Development and Alumni Relations, by calling 01204 434718 or by emailing development@boltonschool.org.

Apologies to Jessica Price (2013-2020) who was omitted from the list of 2020 Leavers’ Destinations published join the Spring edition. Jessica is now studying for a BSc in Physiotherapy at the University of Liverpool. Apologies, too, to Molly Scholefield (2006-2020) whose name was spelt incorrectly in the list of 2020 Leavers’ Destinations published in the Spring edition.