Staff in the Spotlight: Ms Felton, Mrs Brown and Mrs Shafiq

At the end of the Summer term the Girls’ Division bade a fond farewell to three long-serving members of the teaching staff: Mrs Brown (Information Systems Manager), Ms Felton (Art) and Mrs Shafiq (Modern Languages). Year 13 students Olivia Stubbs and Roxanne Asumu caught up with Mrs Brown, Serena Arya and Emilie Fielding chatted with Ms Felton and Lizzy Lees and Sara Salim quizzed Mrs Shafiq about their time at Bolton School and their plans for the future.

How many years have you worked at Bolton School? Thirty-eight! I never thought I’d be here this long! Was it your first teaching post? No, I had a temporary post for one year teaching in a comprehensive in Wolverhampton before moving here to a permanent job in 1983. Have you always taught girls? No – in Wolverhampton I taught boys and girls. Fifteen or so years ago we taught one boy in the Girls’ Division because his A Levels wouldn’t fit in the Boys’ Division. He now runs his own design company in Manchester and he wrote to me to thank me for encouraging him to do what he does. Did you always want to be a teacher? No! Never! Guess what I wanted to be?”

Serena and Emilie guessed an artist or a fashion designer – both wrong answers. Finally they guessed ‘a singer?’ Yes! A singer! I won lots of talent competitions as a teenager and that’s what I wanted to do.

So why did you want to be a teacher? I didn’t! When I said I wanted to be a singer I was encouraged to have something to 'fall back on!' That was how I ended up in art college. But I didn’t want to be a teacher – I was going to do a fellowship at a Victorian tile factory in Shropshire after I graduated, but I didn’t get the post. I thought maybe I could teach children with special needs; I went for teacher training and was trained as an art teacher and art therapist. But I couldn’t get a job at any special schools at that time as Margaret Thatcher started closing them down. So I ended up in Wolverhampton and then finally Bolton! However, I carried on my singing I was in a band which brought out two records during my first few years teaching at Bolton School. I would be out till three o’clock in the morning singing in Manchester, Hebden Bridge, all over the North West. And then I’d come in and teach the next day! I want to get back in a band when I retire. I go out and I see a lot of live bands in Manchester. I’m really interested in all the new music that’s around.

What would you have done if you had not become a teacher? I’d like to think I could have become an internationally famous singer, either on my own or in a band. There’s still time! I auditioned for Britain’s Got Talent and The Voice – maybe I should have another go! What is the best part of teaching at Bolton School? The girls – they’re wonderful. And, obviously, art: feeling I’ve had a hand in teaching the girls to develop their talent and their confidence. And the music! I can’t believe there is a school anywhere that does music and productions as well as Bolton School does, and. I have been very privileged to have been part of the musical life here. Over the years I’ve sung in the parents’ choirs and the staff choirs. I was in a staff-only production of Twelfth Night – I think there has only ever been one staff production like that, and that was very special. Do you have any stand-out memories from your time here? So many! A funny one was being chased by a bull in a field with Mrs Shafiq (when she was still Miss Kelly) when we were at Cautley. We had to run for our lives while the girls watched us from over the wall! Another standout is the music: singing, attending amazing concerts, performing at Bridgewater Hall – and seeing my son, who attended the Boys’ Division, playing his violin on stage there as part of the orchestra. I met Princess Diana when she came to School to open the Arts Centre. We put on an art exhibition, and the girls met her, and she was absolutely delightful. In one of the Year 10 Christmas Posts I was Cleopatra: I was wheeled down the Hall on a science trolley and onto the platform to do a rap. I had my hair shaved off for charity. I was up on the platform and Mrs McCann sprayed my hair green and started cutting it off with garden shears, then my hairdresser ran up the hall with his box of tricks and came to sort things out. Girls had paid about 50p to come and watch it, but I only raised around £50, which is not as much as I had hoped to raise for losing all of my hair! How has School life changed over the years? Some things seem to be perennial, but other things have changed. The original dining room was very different. We used to eat at great big wooden tables and a member of staff had to dish up the food. The uniform has undergone many changes. The girls used to have ‘outdoor’ and ‘indoor’ shoes – the latter were those horrible Clarks sandals that children wear, they were very unpopular! Ties changed enormously from really small knots to loose floppy undone ones and eventually they were replaced with blouses.

It used to be freezing cold – there were no carpets, the cloisters were open. I also remember the wooden chairs in the Hall; there was a big ‘hoohah’ when they were replaced. What is your favourite Bolton School tradition? The Ceremony of Carols – it’s magical. I will be there this Christmas to hear it. Also the shows and productions – I got involved with many of them. What are your plans for your retirement? I would really like to join a band again; I would like to do some more recording. I will decorate my big old tatty house. I am going to travel a lot and visit new places and places I love, especially art galleries. I am going to miss the place. I live round the corner and can hear the boys playing sports on the field. It will be emotional to leave after so long – but, having said that, I’m not going to miss the reports and the admin!

How long have you worked at Bolton School? Thirty years! I didn’t think it would be so long, it just worked out that way! Was it your first teaching post? Yes, this is my first official teaching post. I did teacher training at two other schools, so this is my third school. I previously worked in industry, with two years at Rowntree Mackintosh and five years with Cheshire County Council.

Have you always taught girls? I have always taught girls, apart from during my training. Did you always want to be a teacher? Yes, I always wanted to be a teacher, but wanted to do some work in industry so that I could bring that into my teaching. Why did you want to be a teacher? I like passing on my enthusiasm for subjects. Where did you train to be a teacher? I trained at Crewe and Alsager College. What would you have done if you had not become a teacher? I was a computer programmer and then a computer analyst before I came into teaching, so I would have pursued that field.

What do you enjoy most about working at Bolton School? Teaching the pupils – in general, they are fantastic!

Mrs ShafiqHow many years have you worked at Bolton School? I joined the school in 1981 fresh from my PGCE course at Manchester University, so that makes 40 years in the same job! I had previously studied French and Spanish at Leeds University, spending time near Lyon in France and in Granada in Spain. If you need an incentive to continue your languages then the year abroad would be it. A steep learning curve both linguistically, socially and practically, but probably the best time of your life. Did you always want to be a teacher? I had always wanted to be a teacher, but then I had the idea that I would like to join the diplomatic service. Unfortunately, I was not able to get over the Maths hurdle (never my strongest subject), so that meant back to Plan A. Was it your first teaching post? I applied for the job here, as the Head of Languages at the time, Miss Morley, wanted to appoint a French teacher who could also introduce a new language. I was interviewed by Mrs Spurr, the Headmistress, and I was lucky enough to be given the job. What is the best part about teaching at Bolton school? When I arrived, I was in awe of the amazing staff, such a talented set of individuals. That is still the case today – although I think we are a lot less scary! In the staffroom everybody had their own chair where some left their knitting, and woe betide you if you turned up not wearing tights or wearing trousers. A very different world. Do you have any stand out memories from your time here? In my first year, I went to Cautley three times. In those days staff leading the trip had to do the shopping and cook all of the meals, as well as clean the house at the end of the stay. I think that is why I really appreciate Patterdale and the staff there. We also organised the activities and Miss Felton shares the tale of walking through a field only to be met by a dangerous-looking bull … not sure how we missed that one off the risk assessment, but we lived to tell the tale! My first School trip abroad was to Paris where the accommodation turned out to be in the red light district and I shared a room with a view of the sky with Mrs Garthwaite. I also went on the very first French exchange to Moulins. Mrs Hutchings, the then Head of Languages, and I stayed in a chateau and I accessed my bedroom through a room full of spiders, cobwebs and men in suits of armour – the stuff of nightmares! In School, Spanish went from strength to strength and we had exchanges to Barcelona, Málaga, Granada and Madrid. They were the best of times and it was so rewarding when girls realised that somebody actually spoke the language they had been trying to master and that with even a few words you can make yourself understood. In School, we put on plays, had MFL drama evenings and even turned the Great Hall into ‘Micro-ville’, a version of France, Germany and Spain where we had stalls and cafés and girls went shopping, used currency, ate typical food and wrote a postcard home. Sounds like madness, but it was great fun. What is your favourite Bolton School tradition? The tradition I value most is being in the Hall on those memorable occasions when you get the sense of what a great community we are, everybody feeling positive and realising just how lucky we are to be there. What are your plans for retirement? I have not yet made any plans for my retirement – I am waiting for enough headspace to start thinking about it. School is part of my DNA and I am going to miss the girls, the staff and the excitement of every day being different. Most people cannot understand how somebody can be in the same school for 40 years – I would say that it has been a privilege and I have enjoyed every moment (well almost!).

Do you have any stand-out memories from your time here? When I first started we used to do teacher/staff reviews in front of the pupils. One year Miss Dickinson and I choreographed a dance to perform to the School, which the girls found very amusing! How has School life changed over the years? During the first years, there were very few changes. Since Covid-19 struck, the goal posts in and out of the classroom have constantly been changing. If you strip off the technology, we fundamentally still teach the same content in the computer science department. However, there are now many more computers on a network! We no longer have the BBC and Apple Macintosh computers we had at the start, and logging on at the start of a lesson is much more straightforward. I first started teaching computing at Bolton School, then moved to IT, and now I’m back to computing. What is your favourite Bolton School tradition? Assemblies and the Ceremony of Carols are my favourite traditions; although they have changed over the years, they have changed the least. What are your plans for your retirement? The environment! Promoting ‘reduce, reuse, recycle’ and planting some more trees. What does School mean to you? Bolton School is completely different to my own education experience. I was apprehensive at first, but seeing how you can grow and develop in this environment is lovely – witnessing students growing in confidence rather than hiding under a bushel!