‘Perspectives’ Lecture: Healthcare Champions

‘Perspectives’ is a lecture series hosted by the Girls’ Division, held once every half-term. The lectures are free to attend via Zoom and are open to pupils in Year 10 and above, parents, Alumni, all other members of the School and to the local community.

The December 2021 Perspectives lecture focused on careers in Healthcare. Chartered Physiotherapist Julie Littlehales (née Barwise, Class of 1990), Chief Pharmacist Helena Bird (née Read, Class of 1995), Consultant Anaesthetist Dr Catherine Collinson (Class of 1999), Clinical Commissioner Dr Helen Wall (Class of 2001), and Student Midwife Eleanor Gibbons (Class of 2019) reflected upon the opportunities and challenges of a career in this field and discussed the diverse range of career choices within the sector and the skills requires to succeed. Julie’s family has strong connections with Bolton School. Her brothers Anthony Barwise (Class of 1984) and Andrew Barwise (Class of 1988) attended the Boys Division, her aunt, Mrs Dorothy Barwise, was a language teacher and Head of Beech House, and two of her cousins also attended the School. Julie has fond memories of being a Prefect, the Ceremony of Carols and playing lacrosse at county level. She firmly believes that Bolton School gave her the inspiration and the confidence and ability to pursue the career of her choice. Julie worked in the NHS before a stint as a physiotherapist in Australia and New Zealand. She now works at the Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust and is currently studying for a Masters in Musculoskeletal Trauma Management. After leaving School, Catherine studied Medicine at the University of Edinburgh. She decided to pursue a career in anaesthesia, so, after completing Foundation Programme Training, she secured a specialty training programme place at the South East Scotland School of Anaesthesia. She was awarded a Certificate of Completion of Specialist Training in October 2016, and was appointed as a Consultant Anaesthetist at the Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh. Her day-to-day practice includes obstetric anaesthesia, acute pain management and anaesthetising patients undergoing major gynaecological cancer surgery. Eleanor is studying Midwifery at the University of Salford. Healthcare runs in the family – her brother, Ben (Class of 2015) is a doctor and is currently working as an F1 at Salford Royal NHS Foundation Trust. Miss Stafford and Mrs Entwistle sparked Eleanor’s love for sewing and fashion and have inspired her to continue designing and creating items since leaving School. She also has fond memories of being part of the Lacrosse team (even though they didn’t win much!) and has also continued her love of the sport, currently playing for Stockport Ladies Lacrosse team. One of her proudest achievements was winning the Victrix Ludorum for commitment to sport in Years 11 and 13. And Eleanor is very grateful to Bolton School for instilling in her a very driven work ethic which has helped her through university and during my hospital placements.

Helena loved her time at Bolton School – she enjoyed the Sixth Form and Physics with Mrs Hall, and loved Art lessons with Miss Fisher, spending hours creating cubism pieces, acrylics and clay structures. Other teachers who created a big impression were Mrs Partington (French), Mrs Foster (RE), Mrs Hanrahan and Mrs Robinson (Maths) and the wonderful and hugely inspiring Mrs Spurr. She also has great memories of whole-School assemblies and the orchestra, particularly performances, and School trips, notably the ski trip to Serre Chevalier and the French exchange. Above all, Helena is proud to have attended Bolton School and attributes the confidence to be her own person and to build her own career to her time there – the Girls’ Division motto, ‘Mutare Vel Timere Sperno', and the words to the School song are values she still endeavours to uphold today. Helena is Chief Pharmacist and Controlled Drugs Accountable Officer at Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust. Helen was the first in her family to attend Bolton School and her son is now at Park Road. Memories of her time at School are too many to mention, although the Christmas Post and the Ceremony of Carols with the angels in the Great Hall stand out. Unusually for a student dedicated to studying medicine, Helen did Geography A Level which she thoroughly enjoyed thanks to the enthusiasm of Mrs Keenan, Miss Wells and Mrs McLellan. Studying inequalities in towns and habitats on human geography sparked her passion for managing health inequalities in her current roles. Helen firmly believes that Bolton School gave her the confidence to believe that the ability to achieve lies within each of us – and, of course, the importance of working hard and playing hard! Helen is a Clinical Commissioner GP at Bolton CCG and has overseen the Covid-19 vaccination programme in the town.