Bolton School Girls’ Division was founded in 1877 as the High School for Girls and quickly gained a reputation for excellence. In 1913, the first Viscount Leverhulme gave a generous endowment to the High School for Girls and the Bolton Grammar School for Boys on condition that the two schools should be equal partners known as Bolton School (Girls’ and Boys’ Divisions).
Bolton School today is a family of schools, where children can enjoy an all-through education, joining our co-educational Nursery or Infant School before moving up to our single-sex Junior and Senior Schools with Sixth Forms. We are strong believers that girls and boys from 7+ perform best in a single-sex environment, but one where there are co-educational activities – the best of both worlds.
The School occupies a stunning 32-acre site and the Girls’ Division Senior School contains over 841 day pupils. The co-educational infants’ school, Beech House, offers an education for 175 pupils aged 4–7 and up to a further 200 girls are educated in the Junior Girls' School (age 7–11). In the Senior School, 186 girls typically attend the Sixth Form.
Bolton School Girls’ Division seeks to realise the potential of each pupil. We provide challenge, encourage initiative, promote teamwork and develop leadership capabilities. It is our aim that students leave the School as self-confident young people equipped with the knowledge, skills and attributes that will allow them to lead happy and fulfilled lives and to make a difference for good in the wider community.
We do this through offering a rich and stimulating educational experience which encompasses academic, extracurricular and social activities. We provide a supportive and industrious learning environment for pupils selected on academic potential, irrespective of means and background.
Facilities. The Boys’ and Girls’ Divisions of Bolton School are housed in separate buildings on the same site and, although the organisation of the two Divisions provides single-sex schools, there are many opportunities for boys and girls to meet and to collaborate. This is particularly so in the Riley Sixth Form Centre, where boys and girls share a Common Room, café and learning areas equipped with the very latest technology. Single-sex teaching remains the norm in the Sixth Form, although in a very few subjects co-educational arrangements are in operation.
Besides its own fully equipped gym, the Girls’ Division shares the new £1 million all-weather sports surface, an award-winning Careers Department, the Arts Complex and Sports Hall, a 25-metre swimming pool, extensive playing fields, the Leverhulme Sports Pavilion and an outdoor pursuits facility at Patterdale Hall in the Lake District. Pupils also have the option of spending a week undertaking sailing lessons on Tenacity of Bolton, a ketch built by pupils in the Boys’ Division.
Beech House Infants’ School. The curriculum, though based on the National Curriculum, extends far beyond it. Specialist teaching is provided for older pupils in Physical Education and Music and all children are taught French. The school occupies a purpose-built state-of-the-art premises and in addition to its own resources, Beech House benefits from the use of Senior School facilities such as the swimming pool, playing fields and Arts Centre.
The Girls’ Junior School. There are two classes in each of Years 3–5, and three in Year 6. The Girls’ Juniors occupy a £5 million purpose-built school, Hesketh House, which has its own hall, laboratory, art and design facility, IT suite and library, as well as large classrooms. Besides following the National Curriculum with Senior School specialists teaching PE, Music and French, pupils have additional opportunities. The many clubs and wide range of extracurricular activities ensure a full and well-balanced programme.
The Senior School. The Lower School curriculum encompasses a broad range of disciplines allowing pupils to find their passion! At age 11, all girls follow a similar weekly timetable which includes a fortnightly PSHEE lesson. The range of subjects studied in Year 7 covers: Art, Computing, Drama, English, Food Technology, French, Geography, German, History, Latin, Mathematics, Music, PE, Religious Studies, Science and Technology. In Year 8, pupils select two modern languages to study from a choice of three (French, German and Spanish). In Year 9, pupils begin to study GCSE Sciences and look to select their GCSE options from a broad range of subjects.
GCSE. There is extensive choice at GCSE. All follow a common curriculum of English, English Literature, Mathematics, Biology, Chemistry and Physics (leading to either Triple Science or Combined Science qualifications) together with non-examined courses in PE and PSHEE. Personal aptitude and inclination are fostered by allowing a maximum of 10 GCSEs: the core subjects plus four options chosen from Art, Business, Computing, Design & Technology (either Timbers & Polymers or Fashion & Textiles), Drama, Food and Nutrition, French, Geography, German, Greek, History, Latin, Music, Religious Studies and Spanish. The choice of optional subjects is completely free and option blocks are built around pupil choices.
The Sixth Form. Flexibility is a key feature of the Sixth Form. Teaching in the Sixth Form is in smaller groups and single-sex teaching remains the norm, although in some subject’s co-educational arrangements are in operation. Students choose from a list of approximately 30 AS courses. Breadth is promoted further by our complementary Curriculum Enrichment Programme. All students have the opportunity to follow a range of non-examined courses as well as Physical Education (sports include golf, football, life-saving, rugby, self-defence, tennis and yoga). Links beyond school include the Community Action Programme and Young Enterprise scheme, as well as opportunities with Business Awareness and Work Experience.
Students in the Sixth Form have greater freedom which includes wearing their own smart clothes, exeat periods and having their own Sixth Form Centre away from the Senior School. Joint social and extracurricular events are regularly organised with the Boys’ Division. There are opportunities for students to assume a variety of responsibilities both within the school and in the wider community. Increasing personal freedom within a highly supportive environment helps students to make the transition to the independence of the adult world. Some students stretch themselves by taking the AQA Extended Project Qualification.
Almost all students (98%) go on to Higher Education or Degree Apprenticeships (5% typically to Oxford and Cambridge).
Music and Drama are popular and students achieve the highest standards in informal and public performances. The wide variety of concerts and productions may take place in the Arts Centre, the Great Hall or the fully equipped Theatre, all of which make excellent venues for joint and Girls’ Division performances. The School regularly performs at Manchester’s Bridgewater Hall. The School has Platinum Artsmark status.
Personal, Social and Health Education, and Citizenship. PSHE, RSE and Citizenship are targeted in a variety of ways and coordinated centrally. Some issues may be covered within departmental schemes of work while others will be discussed in the informal atmosphere of form groups led by the form tutor. Those areas which require specialist input are fitted into longer sessions run by experts from outside school.
Careers Education Programme. In Lower School, the Careers Education Programme is primarily delivered through SPACE and pastoral periods. Pupils are introduced to the Unifrog HE and Careers platform in Year 7 (which they use through to Sixth Form), where they can explore their own skillsets and personality traits that link to possible future careers. Using the Activities and Skills elements of Unifrog, pupils can start to build a year-by-year record of all their achievements and as they progress through the school, they are encouraged to utilise the Unifrog Careers Library which contains a vast array of careers information and guidance. In Upper School, students complete the Unifrog Psychometric Testing modules which serve to form part of an informal Careers interview with a senior member of staff, prior to them making their A level choices. This profiling generates a personalised report for each student and offers suggestions about a range of careers, based on the answers that they gave. In Sixth Form, through Unifrog, girls learn about careers that link to their educational choices; they receive CV and interview skills training and also experience a mock interview with an interviewer whose professional specialism is relevant to the student’s intended future career path or area of study. There are also regular virtual and in-person careers talks, often from inspirational former pupils. Former pupils are invited to sign up for the Find Your Path mentoring scheme, where recent leavers benefit from support and guidance by Old Girl mentors.
Higher Education applications are supported by a specialist team of advisors in the Sixth Form which is led by the Director of HE Applications. Advice is provided to help students make informed decisions about their choice of degree course at university, degree apprenticeship or study overseas. Highly competitive areas (for example, dentistry, medicine or veterinary science, or Oxford or Cambridge colleges) are a key feature of the programme. All aspects of the applications process are explained, and the students’ form tutors play a part in closely monitoring their progress.
Extracurricular activities. Patterdale Hall, our outdoor pursuits centre in the Lake District, offers many activities including abseiling, gorge walking, orienteering and sailing on Lake Ullswater. Awards are regularly made to enable individuals to undertake a variety of challenging activities both at home and abroad while every year, the whole of Year 9 as well as many older girls embark on The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award scheme. In 2017, the School won the Queen’s Award for Voluntary Service, the MBE for organisations. We also offer a wide range of educational and recreational trips both at home and abroad. All have the opportunity to follow a wide range of non-examined courses of their choice, including Physical Education.
Admission. Entrance to the school is by Headteacher’s report, written examination and interview in the Spring term for girls aged 7 and 11. New girls are also welcomed into the Sixth Form. Applications to other year groups are welcomed and spaces may be available depending upon migration.
One in five Senior School pupils receives assistance with their fees through the School’s own bursary scheme. Non-means-tested scholarships are also awarded to those pupils who achieve highly in the Entrance Examination.
Fees per term (2024-2025). Senior School and Sixth Form: £4,772; Infant and Junior Schools: £3,816. Fees include lunches.
Charitable status. Bolton School is a Registered Charity, number 1110703.
Governors & Staff:
Chairman of Governors: Mr I Riley, MEng, MBA
Head of Foundation: Mr P J Britton MBE, MEd
Head Of Girls’ Division: Mrs Kyle, BSc
Deputy Heads: Mrs Green, BA (Pastoral) and Mrs Winder, MA (Academic)
Senior School Assistant Heads: Mrs Entwistle, BA; Mr Hitchin, MA; Ms Marcia Teichman, BSc (also Head of Upper School)
Head Of Sixth Form: Miss Gunshon, BSc
Foundation Head Of Compliance: Mr J D Williams, BSc
Foundation Head Of Educational Research And Innovation: Ms H E Bradford-Keegan, BA Hons, MA
Heads of Departments:
Art: Ms Culican, MA
Biology: Mrs Furey, BSc
Business: Mrs Foster, BA
Chemistry: Mrs Rich, BSc
Classics: Mr Lamb, BA
Design Technology (Product Design): Miss Langley, BA
Design Technology (Textiles): Miss Stafford, BEd
Economics: Miss Jones, BA
English: Mrs A Martin, MA
Food & Nutrition: Mrs James, BA
Geography: Miss Gillibrand, BA
History & Politics: Mr Owen, MA
ICT: Mrs Brace, BSc
Mathematics: Mr Heppleston, BSc
Modern Languages: Mr O'Neill, BA
Spanish: Ms Xerri, BA
Music: Mr Lovatt, BMus, LRSM (Director)
Academic Music: Mrs Wade, BA
Physical Education: Mrs Heatherington, BA
Physics: Mr Ickringill, BSc, MInstP
Psychology: Mrs Sanders, BSc
Religion & Philosophy: Mrs Porter, BA
Theatre Studies, Speech & Drama: Miss Talbot, BA, MRes (Director)
Careers & Higher Education: Miss Jones, BA (Director)
EPQ Coordinator: Mrs Pritchard, MA
Learning Support: Mrs Wright, BA
Outdoor Pursuits: Ms Lindle, BSc
Junior School (Age 7–11):
Head: Mrs S Faulkner, BA, MAEd (Acting)
Registrar: Mrs K Gore