The annual Cups and Colours assembly is a very special occasion at Bolton School Boys’ Division, where young sportsmen receive full colours, half colours and awards to reflect their involvement with school sport. As Head of Sport Mr Chilton said in the assembly: “These colours unite us. They should inspire us to give our absolute best effort, to support one another and to make our school proud. Whether you play a sport or not, we all have a role to play in upholding the spirit of these colours.”
March Sports Recap - Boys’ and Girls’ Divisions
The performances of teams and individuals across all sports throughout the year are recapped and celebrated during the assembly, leading up to the final presentation: the Hindley Trophy. This award is given to the best individual performance or outstanding sporting moment of the year.
This year, the Hindley Trophy was awarded to Year 11 pupil Oscar, whose achievements on the football pitch this year have been exceptional.
Oscar has shown outstanding talent and leadership in his role as goalkeeper at Stoke City, while captaining the national ISFA Under 16 side throughout the season, and during his repeated selections for the national Wales team.
One standout moment came when he saved a penalty during an ISFA game at the prestigious St George’s Park. He has also been proud to wear the number 1 shirt for Wales on several occasions, including during an international tournament in Cyprus in February where he played in a number of international matches. His conduct on and off the pitch has been widely praised, with his leadership and positivity lifting his teams and even earning him the well-deserved title of Scholar of the Tournament in Cyprus.
Back in November, Oscar secured a scholarship with Stoke City, meaning that for the next two years he will play football full time for this Category 1 academy. Coaches at Stoke have commended his determination, dedication, remarkable shot-stopping, dual footed ability and his incredible distribution, which has even led to a season-high number of goal assists. A true highlight of his season saw Oscar recreate the famous long-range goal scored by Asmir Begović in 2013: Oscar struck the ball from the edge of his box, launching it the full length of the pitch to score an incredible goal against Manchester City, helping to earn a memorable victory for his team. His superb talent meant he was awarded Stoke City Broxap Outstanding Academy Achievement.
Speaking at the Cups and Colours assembly, Mr Chilton said: “To represent a nation in a major sport such as football is a tremendous achievement. Alongside playing international games, he has captained the National ISFA team and played regular international schoolboy football. Oscar has recently been offered a two-year Scholarship at Stoke City FC and will leave us at the end of Year 11 to pursue his football career. We wish him all the best in his future career.”
Hindley Trophy Winner Oscar with his ISFA Cap:
Awards Presented at the Cups and Colours Assembly:
Alongside Oliver, there were a large number of outstanding nominations for the Hindley Trophy for the committee to consider.
Individual nominees for the Hindley Trophy this year were:
- Year 10 pupils Daniel and Harry and Year 9 pupils Benjo and Rhys for there selection to national ISFA programmes for their age group;
- Year 8 pupils Harlan and George for representing the ISFA North West Under 13 side;
- Sascha (Year 9) for winning the Year 8/9 Bolton Town Cross Country race;
- Teddy (Year 8) for his selection to Lancashire Under 13 Hockey;
- Year 8 pupils Raees and Rohan for their selection to Greater Manchester Under 13 Hockey;
- Jasper (Year 7) for his multiple national cup victories and international competition in skiing;
- Year 13 students Matty and Jonny for their involvement with the Under 12 Professional Academies at Liverpool FC and Bolton Wanderers FC
- Easa (Year 7) for winning the title of Under 13 English Wrestling Champion and also competing internationally in Jiu Jitsu at World Championship level;
- Jack (Year 10) for representing Regional Schools in Athletics, competing in the Hurdles;
- Year 11 pupils James and Matthew for the medals they won at County level in swimming, and for Regional and National qualifying times;
- Tom (Year 13) for his Lancashire Under 18 Rugby selection and involvement with North of England Lambs;
- Jude (Year 9) and Brody (Year 10) for their selection to Wigan Warriors Rugby League and Michael (Year 9) for his selection to Warrington Wolves;
- Bylan (Year 11) for representing Lancashire Cricket Under 18s;
- Year 10 pupils Oliver, David, Daniel and Remi and Year 11 pupils James and Abas for their involvement with the Sale Sharks DPP programme;
- Toby (Year 11) for his involvement with British Gymnastics, through which he has helped his team to Silver in 2025, and Gold at the recent Under 18 European Futures Cup, and for his aspirations to be selected for Junior European Championships later this year;
- Gabe (Year 13) for competing national and internationally in BMS, recently finishing first in the Elite Male category in regional rounds;
- Lucas (Year 11) for his selection to the Great Britain Under 18 Water Polo programme;
- Charlie (Year 13) for competing on the international motor sport circuit and regularly racing across Europe;
Team nominations this year included:
- Under 16 Badminton Squad for an unbeaten season;
- First XI Football Team for making it to the National ISFA Trophy Final;
- Under 13 Hockey Team for competing in Tier 1 of the England Finals, finishing third in the North West;
- Under 15 Water Polo team for finishing third overall in the ESA National Finals;
- Under 16 Rugby Team for making it to the Lancashire Cup semi-finals and winning two Rugby 7s trophies;
- Under 15 Football team for winning the Town Cup;
- 2025 First XI Cricket team for winning the North West T20.
