Friends of Bolton School Friends of Patterdale Hall
Welcome From The Friends
Many parents are saddened when their son or daughter leaves School because their departure represents a significant break with the past. Similarly, many members of the local community have indicated that they would welcome a greater involvement in the life of the School, even though they are not Alumni and have not had children themselves at the School. Finally, there are times when it would be both convenient and desirable for the different groups which already have a stake-hold in the School (such as current parents, past pupils and former members of staff or governors) to be able to communicate and collaborate with one another.
The Friends of Bolton School is intended to enable two key objectives - to allow the existing groups to use the Friends as a means of coordinating effort when that is mutually advantageous and to allow some groups (most obviously former parents, locally prominent people who are friendly to the School and members of the public) to have some association with the School more formally and to allow the School to have cause to contact and engage them.
Membership is free and is open to all current and former parents, all Alumni and all current and former staff. Anyone else who considers themselves a Friend of the School can also become a member. Members will receive an e-update on news from School and events at least twice each year, as well as an invitation to the biennial Friends' Dinner.
Many members of the Friends of Bolton School enjoy attending School and Alumni events and volunteering to help for example serving drinks at the School productions, selling merchandise at the Alumni events or manning a stall at the second-hand uniform shops or the School Firework Display. All of these events help members of the Friends of Bolton School, to maintain a connection with the School and are a huge help to the various departments within the School community.
To learn how we use your details read our Development Office's full Privacy Statement.
You can keep up to date with the Friends of Bolton School by following them on Twitter @FriendsofBS. The Friend of Bolton School Choir is also on Twitter @FOBSChoir. If you have any specific queries or comments, please get in touch.
Friends of Patterdale Hall
The Friends of Patterdale Hall (FOPH) group has been established in order to progress the development of Patterdale Hall. The group is seeking Friends to join them in order to support events for the Hall and its grounds; regular newsletters will update members on developments. Some of the Friends will be part of a small steering committee.
Weekend working parties have already started to restore the gardens to their former glory. Objectives already in place for the group include:
- Ensuring the Hall remains as a centre of excellence into the future
- Raising funds for the renovation of the student accommodation
- Reinstalling of the orangery that once overlooked the Victorian Italian gardens as well as restoring the rest of the gardens
- Improving facilities for changing
- Widely publicising the varied activities on offer out of the centre
If you would like to become a Friend of Patterdale Hall or support the group in any way, please contact the Secretary, Debra Hardman: [email protected] or 01204 434751.
Some other ways you might consider supporting the Friends of Patterdale Hall:
- Join one of the FOPH’s volunteer days or working weekends
- Raise money through your own fundraising event – don’t forget to ask for Gift Aid permission and to collect names and addresses
- Sponsor the renovation of a dormitory or aspect of the centre – we can name the room after you
- Offer to donate your professional skills to the many ongoing projects at Patterdale Hall, this can greatly offset cost
- Join in future FOPH fundraising events.
The first President of the group is John Amatt, an international adventurer and mountain climber, author and Old Boy of Bolton School. Reflecting on his appointment, John said:
I am delighted and honoured to be asked to be the inaugural President of the Friends of Patterdale Hall group.
I have stayed at Patterdale Hall and know what a wonderful place it is, not only for the students of Bolton School but for many other young people who use it each year, some from deprived and disadvantaged backgrounds. The outdoor learning opportunities on offer at Patterdale Hall are very similar to those which I experienced. It was from these confidence building and developmental opportunities that my passion for developing others using the outdoors was established. I have made adventure my business.