Hundreds of pupils, parents, teachers and helpers gathered at Glasson Dock in Lancashire on Sunday 16 September 2007 for the official naming ceremony of "Tenacity of Bolton", a 48 foot sailing ketch built by pupils in the Boys' Division. 

The crowd was entertained by the School band in a large marquee before the boat was launched by the Chair of Governors, Sir Alan Cockshaw and special guest the Rt Hon Richard Caborn MP, ex-Minister for Sport and now England's 2018 World Cup ambassador.  Mr Caborn praised the project as being “truly unique and inspirational” and hoped that it would encourage pupils to take up sailing both for pleasure and sport - especially bearing in mind the 2012 Olympics! 

Over a period of 9 years, more than 1,000 boys from the Senior School have been involved in the construction.  The project coordinator has been Mr Mike Whitmarsh, ex-Head of Technology at the School.  Mr Whitmarsh won the North-West Teacher of the Year Award for Enterprise and will take part in the national final, which will be screened on the BBC in October.  Explaining how the boat got its name, Tenacity of Bolton, Mr Whitmarsh said: “I got the idea from a quote by Amelia Earhart, who said 'the most difficult thing is the decision to act: the rest is merely tenacity’”.

When fully operational, the boat will work the Clyde and West Coast of Scotland, taking Bolton School pupils on leadership and sail training courses run by Patterdale Hall, the School’s own outdoor education centre.  The aim is to also make the boat available to the local community.

You can learn more about the construction of the boat by clicking here.