BOLTON School has shown its dominance in water polo on the national level with the U18s retaining their national title and the U16s winning their age group’s competition.

Andy McGinty, who is one of the School’s water polo coaches, said about the teams’ successes: “This is an outstanding achievement for Bolton School and a testament to how hard the boys have worked. "They have been incredible to work with since I joined four years ago, with unparalleled dedication and commitment to training. I am extremely proud of this set of boys and what they have achieved. I will miss the boys who leave this year tremendously.”

This year’s U18 team is of a particularly high calibre: four of the boys have joined national sporting programmes for their performance in water polo, and six are members of GB Water Polo squads.

Bolton School Goalkeeper James Barker is one of them, and travelled out to Malta in the days following the national competition to compete with the U17s in the European Championship qualifying tournament.

The U16 team began the day with a tough match against Trinity School, which they lost narrowly with final score of 3-4.

However, the boys were not disheartened and went on to win their second match against Dulwich College. This put them through into the semi-finals, where they played off against the team from King Edward’s School Birmingham and won a place in the final.

For the second time, the U16 team faced Trinity School. There were some understandable nerves after the earlier defeat, but this time the boys managed to turn it around. Once again it was a difficult match, but the Bolton School boys eventually emerged victorious with a score of 5 goals to 4, and received the title of National Champions!

In the afternoon, it was the U18 team’s chance to defend their title. After dominating the regional championships, the boys entered the national competition with a great deal of confidence, and on the day made a formidable team – scoring 10 or more goals in every one of their matches and conceding less than 10 throughout the whole day.

They once again came out on top in the group stage of the competition against King Edward’s School Birmingham and Dulwich College. The semi-final match was against local rivals Manchester Grammar School, but the Bolton School team were on form and won the match with a score of 13-1.

King Edward’s School Birmingham also qualified for the final, which made for an exciting repeat of both teams’ first game of the day. Despite the opposing team’s best efforts, the Bolton School boys’ winning streak could not be broken. In the final seconds, with a score of 11-1 and nothing to lose, Year 13 student Aaron Winstanley decided to take a shot from the centre line – and managed to score! As this will be his last match with the School, his final Bolton School goal will certainly be a memorable one.