The foundation of the school in 1877 was inspired by a group of public-spirited Bolton citizens. Housed in a room of the Mechanics’ Institute, the Young Ladies Day School, as it was first known, opened its doors to twenty-two girls on October 1 1877. Pupil numbers steadily rose during the school’s first three decades and by the 1890’s it had moved to larger premises on Park Road.
In 1913 Sir William Hesketh Lever, the first Viscount Leverhulme, gave a generous joint endowment to the High School for Girls, as it had become known, and the Bolton Grammar School for Boys on condition that the two should be equal partners known as Bolton School (Boys’ and Girls’ Divisions). In order to bring them together onto one site, a new building was proposed but the First World War intervened and it was not until 1928 that the School began the move onto its current campus.
As a result of Viscount Leverhulme’s vision, the girls and boys of both Divisions now enjoy fine buildings and grounds, an increasing number of joint activities, often in shared facilities, and a strong tradition of academic excellence. This is the “goodly…heritage” to which our School Prayer refers.
For a detailed account about the history of Bolton School, please click here.