Earlier in the Summer Term, Bolton School was honoured to receive a significant donation from the Council and Congregation of the historic Bank Street Unitarian Chapel, which sadly closed its doors in May 2022 after more than 300 years of fellowship in Bolton.
Following the Chapel's closure, its Dissolution Committee - formed from members of its council and congregation - made a series of generous donations to institutions within the town, with Bolton School being honoured to receive a donation of £100,000 from the Chapel as part of this philanthropy.
The Chapel's donation to the School will fund three two-year Sixth Form bursary places in the Girls' Division, including funding for travel and uniform costs for the recipients; as well as establishing in perpetuity The Bank Street Unitarian Chapel Prize for Religious Studies, which will be awarded annually to a Sixth Form student in the Girls' Division, in recognition of outstanding effort and progress in the Religious Studies A Level course.
Philip Britton, MBE, the School's Head of Foundation, accepted the donation from Alec Bowman and Janet Poole on behalf of the Chapel's Dissolution Committee. He said:
“Bolton School, and particularly the Girls' Division, has enjoyed numerous links with Bank Street Unitarian Chapel throughout the past 150 years. Members of the Chapel's congregation inspired the creation of the original Bolton High School for Girls in 1877 - which became the Girls' Division as we know it today – driven by a desire to ensure that their daughters could be educated to the same standard as their sons. Those links have continued throughout the past century, during which Alumni and Former Staff across the generations have worshipped as members of the Chapel's congregation.
“We are honoured and delighted that the Chapel's Dissolution committee has chosen to support the School so significantly, in order that those links with the School will endure in perpetuity and the Chapel's name will continue to be remembered by future generations of pupils. This donation will ensure that the Girls' Division continues to be open to all those who would thrive here, regardless of family income, and that girls' academic success in the Religious Studies A Level course will be recognised fully each year.”
