The School was founded in 1889 and moved to its present site, a former Bolitho family home, in 1918. It was initially called the Church of England High School for Girls before joining the Woodard Corporation and becoming the School of St. Clare in 1928. On becoming co-educational in 1995 it was renamed The Bolitho School. The author Rosamunde Pilcher is an old girl of the School and her televised novel ‘Coming Home’ depicts life at the school in the inter war era. Much has changed since those days but the caring family ethos – that has been such a feature of the School throughout its history and so touchingly portrayed in her book - continues to be a dominant feature of the School today.
The School is well equipped with many notable features including a modern music school, a new art and DT centre, science laboratories, impressive IT facilities and excellent playing fields. Appropriately, the chapel is at the heart of the main building. The School is a Charitable Christian Foundation with a Church of England chaplain. It is still affiliated to – though independent of – the Woodard Corporation, the largest group of Church of England private schools in the country. The pupils form a community that is denominationally diverse but unified in a common search for moral goodness. The local Anglican Vicar, who is a Governor of the School, conducts Wednesday chapels. The School works hard to foster mutual pupil respect, irrespective of colour, creed, gender or age.
The harmony within the School is a tribute to the pupil body. The calm and disciplined atmosphere encourages every pupil to identify and develop their individual talents and skills and acquire confidence and self esteem. The Infant and Junior sections (4 - 9), Middle section (10 – 13), Senior section (14 – 16) and Sixth Form (16 plus) are all treated as part of an integrated whole School.