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18 January 2018
Eric Fairweather, Archivist at Bolton School, has written a new book which charts the chronological history of Bolton School Girls’ Division. ‘Pride in the Past; Confidence in the Future’ traces the genealogy of women’s education and the formation of Bolton Day School for Girls in 1877, one of the first girls’ schools in the country. The 140 year history of the School, including its merger with the Bolton Grammar School for Boys to become Bolton School (Girls’ Division and Boys’ Division) is told through a series of chapters focussing on the life and times of the School during the tenure of each Headmistress from Miss Kean (1877-1880) to present day Head Sue Hincks.
Reflecting on the writing of the book, Mr Fairweather, who is also a governor at the School, said: ‘The book was produced at the request of the Headmistress, Sue Hincks, to mark the centenary of the Girls’ Division at Chorley New Road in 2015. It was fascinating to track the School’s evolution from its humble beginnings in a single room in the Bolton Mechanics’ Institution to the outstanding School of the present day. My research into the history of girls education was particularly interesting in that I had not previously been aware that the Bolton Day School for Girls, as it was first known, was perhaps the second oldest girls’ school in the North West. Nor did I realise how many links there were between the School and Newnham College, Cambridge, with Miss Vokins, Miss Dymond and Miss Meade all being Newnham graduates. On a lighter note it was amusing to think of Miss Richards receiving a standing ovation after her last assembly, when she roller skated out of the Great Hall to “A new dawn, a new day, a new life for me”, courtesy of Nina Simone!’
The illustrated book can be purchased from the Bolton School Merchandise web site for £15.00.
