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The Bolitho School
About The School
The school was founded in 1889 and moved to its present site, which had been the Bolitho family home, in 1918. It was originally called the Church of England High School, and then became The School of St. Clare shortly before the war. On becoming co-educational, it was renamed The Bolitho School. The author Rosamunde Pilcher is an old girl of the school, and her recently 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 – which has been such a feature of the school throughout its history – is touchingly portrayed in her book.
The photograph on the welcome page shows the front of the school – an airy, roomy building set in 10 acres of tranquil grounds. From the upper floor where the boarders live, there is a view of the sea – 10 minutes’ walk away.
The school is well equipped, both for work and games. Notable features include a modern music school, a separate art and CDT centre, a new pottery, science laboratories and an impressive ICT department with wireless Internet access throughout the school. Appropriately, the chapel is at the heart of the main building.
The school is co-educational and caters for children of all ages, with a healthy mix of day pupils, weekly boarders and full boarders. The infant and junior sections (5-9), middle section (10-13) and senior section (14-18) are treated as parts of an integrated whole, to the benefit of all. The school is proud of its involvement with the local community.
To read other details about the school, click on the logo below to visit the Independent Schools Council website:
Location
Cornwall is one of the most beautiful and climatically friendly parts of Britain, and the school is lucky indeed in its environment. Penzance is on a peninsula, so that sailing, surfing and sea sports of all kinds are in easy reach. For walkers and campers there are acres of moorland and miles of coastal paths; for rock climbers there are cliffs – and expert tutors. Penzance itself is a small, safe and attractive town (population about 20,000) with a strong community spirit.
This part of Cornwall is culturally rich, staging exhibitions, plays and concerts of international calibre. There are two local public art galleries, as well as the Tate at St. Ives. The Minack open air theatre is known everywhere and the spring and autumn chamber music festivals are a showcase of international talent. It is here too that Cornwall’s own distinctive Celtic culture is most vigorously alive.
The school is readily accessible by road, rail or air (nearby Newquay is the closest airport). The school minibuses are available, by arrangement, to collect and deliver full boarders to and from the airport, weekly boarders all or part of the way home and day pupils to some of the outlying areas around Penzance.
Click here to link to MultiMap.com for a map of the area
Click here for the official town website
Values
Values are impossible to quantify. In consequence, there is a danger that they can be left out of the educational equation. And yet they are so crucial to it. What parents would countenance an education – however good in other ways – that caused their child to be intolerant, selfish, deceitful, aggressive or untruthful? Values matter, however difficult it is to define them. In the case of children, the environment in which they grow up is immensely important in this context, because peer group pressure has such a pervasive influence. The Bolitho pupils are going to be amongst society’s leaders in the future. Their actions will affect others, and their values are therefore of importance to society at large. In addition, the children need to learn how to work within a team framework if they are to be equipped for the modern workplace.
The school is a Christian foundation with a Church of England chaplain. It is affiliated to – though independent of – the Woodard Foundation, which is the largest group of Church of England private schools in the country. The pupils form a community that is denominationally diverse, but unified in its search for moral goodness. Father Keith, who is both the local Anglican vicar and also a governor, conducts Wednesday chapels while Father Cormac, who is the local Catholic priest, conducts chapel once a term. Chapel is symbolic of the importance of the value system, which is at the root of the school and underpins its ethos.
The school believes that “discipline” has both a positive and a negative dimension. Children need to know where the boundaries are and where they stand. They need to know what is wrong and to be disciplined if they overstep the mark. But they also need to know what is right and to be rewarded when they try to be principled. Retribution is a necessary tool of the trade, but acknowledgment of achievement forms the basis of the schoolÕs disciplinary structure. The size of the school makes it easier to anticipate a problem – and to solve it even before it becomes a problem.
There is one, basic school rule, from which all other rules emanate: pupils should be considerate to others. Those pupils who obey this basic rule are unlikely to contravene any of the other school rules. The vast majority of pupils do obey this rule for the vast majority of the time, and the school is perhaps more proud of its pupils for this reason than any other. Bullying is defined by the school as “persistent teasing or worse”. The Headmaster believes that bullying is contrary to human rights, and investigates any allegations personally. The incidence of bullying at the school is extremely low, and all teachers are constantly on the alert for any hint of it.
The school works hard to foster pupil respect for each other, irrespective of colour, creed, gender, age or difference. The harmony within the school is a tribute to the pupil body, in this respect.