A packed audience of pupils, parents, governors and staff was in celebratory mood at the annual Sixth Form Presentation Evening.  Mrs Richards, the Headmistress, reflected on a highly successful year.  Academically, there had been a 100% pass rate at A level and at GCSE, 81% of all entries were graded A or A*.  The Girls' Division was placed 58th nationally at A level and 82nd nationally at GCSE in the BBC's league tables.  Special mention was made that the numbers taking Sciences, Mathematics and Modern Languages are still very strong, bucking the national trend.  There had also been sporting successes and, over the year, the Girls' Division had produced 17 county players and 10 students gaining national or international honours in a variety of sports.  Music continues to flourish at the School.  Mrs Richards commented that in her 30 years in schools she had never come across such consistently high levels of performance.  The range of extra curricular activites was praised - school trips went to numerous UK cities, to many European countries as well as to India and Borneo.  Within the School much emphasis was placed on developing the whole person and preparing them for life beyond Bolton School; students' CVs were bolstered by the Business Enterprise Awareness Training, Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme, Community Service and Young Enterprise teams successfully setting up small businesses.

Mrs Richards concluded by saying: "The girls who leave tonight to go onto the first stage of adult life at University are confident, articulate, open-minded and have fulfilled their academic potential.  They are girls that are going to go out into the world and make a difference.”

The writer, Jackie Kay MBE, distributed the prizes before captivating the audience with an entertaining and inspirational speech, which included some of her award-winning poetry and writing.