A key feature of The Bolitho School is its Bilingual Section in English and French. At the ages of eight or eleven pupils can opt into the Bilingual Section. The pupils receive two thirds of their lessons (English, maths and the sciences, together with IT) in English with the rest of the children in their year group in the normal way. However, during the remaining third of their lessons, the children form small, separate sets to study History, Geography, Religious Education and French itself through the medium of the French language. Conversely, of course, French speaking children can quickly become fluent at English while continuing to progress and study in French. Once fluency is assured, the pupils also begin to learn Spanish or German as a third language.
When the pupils reach the age of fourteen, all lessons (apart from French itself) are again in English, since the students embark on their GCSE courses at this stage. However, the pupils from the Bilingual Section usually take French GCSE a year early, which helps to boost their confidence and frees up some time to begin following the International Baccalaureate French Programme.
The Bilingual Teachers at the School all have French as their first language and they are assisted by Dr. Carol Morgan from the University of Bath who monitors and advises the department.