Former pupil Barry Nightingale (Class of 1979) gave the keynote address at this year’s Prizegiving Evening at Bolton School Boys’ Division, telling pupils that they are the network generation. Barry, who has worked with many successful entrepreneurs and businesses including BetFred, EasyGroup, We Buy Any Car, Airtours and The Restaurant Group, reflected on how Bolton School had imbued him with confidence and belief. Speaking at the 109th Prizegiving event, he advised pupils in the audience to build their networks. He said it had taken him 43 years to develop his own but that they are growing up where everyone and everything is accessible. He urged boys to join LinkedIn but not to overshare on other social media platforms. You are the network generation, he told them, and recommended that they take advantage of any mentoring opportunities that come along in life. Over his illustrious career, Barry has personally mentored various founders and CEOs and, since his recent retirement, is advising a number of growth businesses, three of which are run by former Bolton School pupils.
Barry spoke about how his three sisters and brother had all passed through the school and, like him, had all benefited from the experience. Subsequently, he had sent his own 3 daughters and son to his alma mater. He went on to offer further words of wisdom, including how you react to and manage failure is more important than how you manage success and that if you fail, then fail fast and move on and go again. He said it is a case of turning your mistakes into learning and if you have any fears and threats then you need to turn these into opportunities. Telling the young audience that they are the future, Barry said he had always carried three philosophies with him in life and work and they have served him well: be prepared, be bold and be happy. After his talk, he awarded students with their prizes and he was given a Vote of Thanks by Amrit Mishra, the School Captain.
Earlier in the evening, Head of Boys’ Division Nic Ford had given an overview of a very successful year which helped give context to the awards. He told how the Independent Schools’ Inspectorate had reported on excellence in all areas of school life and how they had found the Boys’ Division to be particularly strong in developing the overall character of pupils, equipping them with the lifelong skills needed to make a positive impact on their own future lives but also on that of their communities. This good work, he said, was exemplified by the School’s outdoor learning programme and at Patterdale Hall, alongside the extra-curricular opportunities that boys enjoy in School. Mr Ford said it was an accolade that places Bolton School into a very small handful of schools that receive such recognition. He recalled how last summer’s strong A level results had bucked the national trend and picked out a number of academic highlights in the Sciences, Maths, DTE, Languages and English. He told how it had been another highly successful year in school sport, where 60% of boys in Years 7-13 had represented the School and offered thanks to Mr Robson who was retiring from overseeing school hockey after 28 years.
Referencing the pastoral side of the school, he said much good work had been done in supporting the health and wellbeing of the boys and that this was something that the ISI Inspection team had highlighted. He praised ‘Whisper’, the service which allows pupils to report concerns and incidents in private, the house system and the Lyde Cup. As a Platinum Artsmark School, he commended the outstanding work that takes place in art, drama and music – every week there are over 500 individual music lessons.
Thanks were offered to Old Boys for their generous contribution to school life - for all their career talks and involvement with entrepreneurship and mentoring schemes. Thanks were also proffered to the Governing Body who give their time and expertise to support the School, with the Head offering his gratitude to Tim Taylor, the Boys’ Division Governor, who shared the stage and, like the guest speaker, also left in 1979. He finished by thanking parents and teaching staff, reflecting that behind every successful pupil there is a team providing guidance, inspiration and support.
Mr Ford offered a Valette for those members of staff finishing in the summer, including Chris Walker who has been at the school for 37 years and also to Elisia Fielding who, after 25 years, will join the Girls’ Division and Heather Tunstall who, after 27 years, will take up a part-time Foundation role leading careers and character education.
The awards and talks were punctuated with a number of musical interludes, including the Great Hall singing the School song ‘Forty Years On’, James Bland playing an oboe solo - Legacy by Oscar Navarro and Henry Adams, a Year 13 student, delivering an accomplished violin solo, Winter by Vivaldi.
Head of Foundation, Philip Britton, closed out the evening with his thoughts and by awarding the final scholarships. He said the school is a centre of community – for pupils, parents and alumni – and also plays an important part in the community of Bolton. It is now, he said, firmly on the national stage and that it plays a significant role in the strength of independent schools and of the nation. He offered his thanks to parents and to teaching colleagues, to governors and to Mr Ford who, he said, demonstrates a strong vision and sense of purpose as well as empathy and kindness.
The evening ended with a rousing version of Jerusalem.
Watch the Prizegiving evening in its entirety.
