Celebrating the Impact of Partnerships at Bolton School | News

November 14th 2025

As the ISC’s Partnerships Week draws to a close, Bolton School is proud to reflect on the impact its wide-ranging partnership work has in the local community.

In the past year, the School has worked with primary and secondary schools, Higher Education (HE) providers, youth leaders and the wider community to provide a broad variety of activities that have benefitted 3,050 young people.

83 schools, colleges and youth programmes have been supported through the School’s partnership work, which includes 32 curriculum workshops delivered in schools according to their needs. Bolton School has provided opportunities for pupil at partner schools to access high-quality music education and instrumental lessons; explore Classics through topics on Ancient Greece, the Romans and Ancient Egypt; build confidence and deepen understanding in maths; and enjoy hands-on science workshops and STEM clubs. 140 community arts workshops and enrichment trips were also delivered in theatre, visual arts, film and youth governance in the past year.

2,250 young people have attended events at Bolton School during the past 12 months. The School has also hosted events, shared facilities and supported local initiatives on 23 occasions throughout the year, most recently the annual STEM event attended by 116 Year 6 pupils from 19 local schools earlier this week.

Other popular large-scale events include the annual Football Festivals for children in Years 3 to 6, which take place across three days in the summer; annually hosting the RSC Christmas Lectures for secondary pupils across the region and organising the Year 9 Physics Olympics; hosting maths challenges, competitions and events, including UKMT (UK Mathematics Trust) events; and organising and running the Bolton Children’s Fiction Award, for which the 2026 shortlist was announced earlier this week. In addition, the school shares facilities and staff expertise to meet curriculum and outdoor learning needs for state school partners.

The School’s partnership work with secondary schools and HE providers helps to broaden young people’s experiences and raise their aspirations. Offering A Level taster lessons to enrich learning and sharing skills, guidance and information about career pathways helps to raise students’ engagement and increases their ambitions for the future.

In October, Bolton School was proud to receive not one but two awards for its contribution to social mobility. It was named School/College of the Year at the UK Social Mobility (SOMO) Awards, the ‘Oscars of Social Mobility’, and less than two weeks later became the 2025 Independent School of the Year for Contribution to Social Mobility at the ISP’s Independent School of the Year Awards.

These Awards recognised the School’s nationally-leading bursary scheme, which supports 1 in 5 Senior School pupils; its dedicated outreach and equitable admissions activities, to ensure that every child of ability can access a Bolton School education, irrespective of their family’s financial means; the pastoral provision provided to ensure all bursary students thrive; and the extensive wider Partnership work that supports social mobility for students in Bolton and the surrounding region.

Jane Mees, Bolton School’s Bursary Support and Outreach Manager, said:

“We are proud to partner with Onside Youth Zones, The Bursary Foundation and local primary schools to increase equitable access to our Bursary Scheme. We recognise how important it is to identify, nurture and encourage potential candidates from all backgrounds. Our teachers play a vital role in delivering inspiring Saturday morning sessions as part of our outreach programmes, to help young people believe in themselves and see that they can truly thrive here.

“As the School’s Bursary Support and Outreach Manager I am proud to work closely with pupils in receipt of a bursary place and their families coordinating the right support. My goal is to help pupils and their families feel that they truly belong and experience school life equitably and with confidence.”