1 week Ago
A decades-old message in a bottle seemingly sent by staff or pupils at a now shut Bolton school has just washed up on a beach in Norway. Fourteen-year-old Hedda Traa Haukom was on the beach in Ny-Hellesund in the south of Norway with her cousins, Eirik, Thea, Anna, Mats, Jenny and Silja, when they discovered the message in a bottle which appeared to have been sent from Bolton County Grammar School. It seems that it was dropped from a ferry as they young people were making their way to France on a school trip.
The bottle was found on the island of is Ny-Hellesund in the south of Norway. (Image: Hedda Traa Haukom) The message reads: “To the finder. “Please return this bottle to Bolton County Grammar School, Bolton, Lancashire, England.
“And they will receive one pound or the equivalent in Francs. “Written on the Channel Boat. Thank you!” Although it is unclear when exactly the note was written, Bolton County Grammar School changed its name in 1982, making the note at least 42 years and three months old.
The message appears to be from Bolton County Grammar School. (Image: Hedda Traa Haukom) Speaking to The Bolton News Hedda said: “We stumbled upon a bottle with a piece of paper inside. It was located ten meters from shore, under a rock.
The bottle looked pretty old, so we decided to open it and read the note. READ MORE: Longsight Park digging causes resident concern for wildlife Bolton prices for pest control services detailed in new budget The number of Bolton trees with preservation orders felled “There was no name, year or address on the note or bottle itself and we became curious, so we decided to contact the newspaper. “It would be really fun to find whoever wrote the message and let them know we got it and how far it travelled over so many years.
” Bolton County Grammar School opened in 1881 as Bolton Higher Grade School in Albert Place, School Hill, with 50 scholarship pupils. The school moved to a single site in Great Moor Street in 1897. The message in a bottle was found by Hedda Traa Haukom and her cousins.
(Image: Hedda Traa Haukom) In 1947 the building, which is located on Great Moor Street, became Bolton County Grammar School and in 1966 the school was moved to Breightmet , maintaining its status as a grammar school. Bolton County Grammar School. (Image: Martini Archive) For the first time in history parents were afforded the opportunity to improve things for their children.
It became a comprehensive school in 1982 and changed its name once again becoming Withins School. Withins closed in 2009 and new school Bolton St Catherine’s Academy opened on the same site its place..
