A HUGE gala concert was held to celebrate a landmark Bolton School anniversary.

A capacity audience of parents, staff, former pupils, governors and friends took part in the concert at the Bridgewater Hall to mark the school's centenary and the 500th anniversary of education in Bolton.

Andrea Price, head of music in the girls’ division, opened the evening conducting the choirs of the infant, junior schools and senior schools as well as the Joint Chamber Choir and the newly formed Friends of Bolton School Community Choir.

They offered up a rousing version of Let Your Light Shine and were supported by the Senior Concert Band.

The evening continued with Fiona Berry directing the Concert Band in lively renditions of Phil Collins’ Two Worlds and Bugler’s Holiday which featured Paul Greenhalgh, Ian Winstanley and Isobel Faulkner.

Students’ percussion skills were showcased through A Bridgewater Bash!

Ian Forgrieve wrote the piece specifically for the event and conducted the Joint Tuned Percussion Ensemble in their faultless rendition of it.

A spokesman for the school said: "The Bridgewater Hall had never seen anything quite like this and it was an evening that is likely to live long in the memories of participants and audience alike. There was a retiring collection for Help the Heroes.

"The concert was the first of several Bolton School events that will run over the next two years to celebrate the school’s centenary of the current Foundation and 500 years of education in Bolton.

"There was a retiring collection for Help the Heroes."

Jeremy Bleasdale, Head of Music in the Boys’ Division, directed the Senior Guitar Group in their catchy and upbeat versions of Ain’t Nobody and Bamboleo.

Another highlight of the night, included a group of year two pupils from the infant school singing This Little Light of Mine.

The Senior Orchestra were joined by the voices of the two Senior School Choirs, the Joint Chamber Choir and the Friends of the School Choir in singing a Hymn to the Fallen, a precursor to the Grand Finale World War I Medley.

The final piece was introduced by the Shree Swaminarayan Gadi Pipe Band, featuring several boys’ division pupils, who made a dramatic entrance down the aisles, playing the Skye Boat Song.

The audience, Junior School Choirs and Massed Year seven voices joined the Senior Choirs, Chamber Choir, Friends’ Choir and the Massed Orchestra to offer a musical tribute commemorating the role which the school played and to the 81 Old Boys who had lost their lives in the Great War.