Welcome
to our Web site in which we will endeavour to keep you informed of all
our activities and update you on the progress of the Bolitho School as
it is now known
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Double click on the above links for other news from Alumni, School, Old
Girls and Reunions
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The
Bolitho School closed September 2016 and is now in the hands
of the Receivers.
The Alumni will continue in a Social Capacity and will organize
lunches.
If you want to be updated please send email to w.wallis@icloud.com
LUNCHEON
AT TREVASKIS FARM RESTAURANT FEBRUARY 2024
LUNCHEON
AT TREVASKIS FARM RESTAURANT 2023
Thank
you for all those that got in touch and again we had a good
luncheon at Trevaskis.
Barbara
Nicholls dec'd
It is with great sadness that I have to report news of the
death of Barbara Nicholls, whom many will have known as
their PE teacher and, latterly, also deputy head, from 1962
to 1987.
Barbara had borne the heavy burden of Alzheimer's for some
10 years, and passed away peacefully on 16th November 2022,
aged 95, with her daughter, Susan, at her side.
We would love to welcome all who wish to join us in celebrating
Barbara's long and eventful life, at Perranuthnoe Parish
Church on Tuesday 13th December 2022 at 2pm. Further details
can be found in The Cornishman on 24th November and The
Western Morning News on 26th November.
Su and family
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ST CLARES / BOLITHO ALUMNI JUNE 2022
LUNCHEON THURSDAY 16 JUNE 12.30
Thank you for those that turned up at Trevaskis today.
It seems a long time since our last gathering and hopefully
we will arrange another one in the New Year.
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Message
from Caroline Jackson, formerly Caroline Harvey. December
2021
I was at Clare's from 1952 to 1964, save for one year when
I tried Penzance Grammar school but didn't like it and returned
to St.Clare's. I was fortunate that my time at the school
coincided with the arrival of two gifted teachers, Miss Crankshaw
(Latin) and Mrs Goriely (English). Some of those reading this
may have found them a bit hard to take, but I am eternally
grateful to them for helping me get to Oxford.
Their ghosts were very much in my mind when I had a chance
to visit the old school in October of 2021. St. Clare's became
the Bolitho school and tried to stagger on. But for a variety
of reasons the enterprise fell apart. Nothing much has happened
at the school since it closed. It seems to me unlikely that
any developer would get planning permission to knock down
the whole building even though the height of the ceilings
at least in the ground floor rooms will cause problems for
any conversion. The most likely end game will probably be
flats, made out of the existing building, and further building
in the extensive grounds. The pictures I took show the old
front door,
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With
me striding westwards along the terrace . and the present
sign outside which suggests that "Cornwall Care"
has taken over at least part of the building.
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are bigger changes up towards the old sports field. The art
block that was built on the former netball court has been
demolished, and they have started building houses on the sports
field itself. Things are closing in. I hope that just occasionally
those who come to live here give a thought to the many children
who enjoyed their time at St Clare's and remember it all their
lives. |
I
had many emails from members of the Bolitho Alumni all
saying how pleased they were to receive some news and
communication from the Alumni. Thank you all for getting
back and I do appreciate some feedback. I had this email
from David Dobson who was Headmaster at Bolitho and I
have his permission to publish this and I am sure many
of you will remember him. Wendy
Thank
you for continuing to send me Bolitho Alumni news.
It
is hard to believe that over 12 years have passed since
I left my post as Headmaster in August 2009 when we moved
back to Cambridge. Like all of you, I was so sorry to
see the school close 7 years later; Joyce and I have very
happy memories of the years we spent at Bolitho and I
am still in contact with several members of staff who
were there with us and several former sixth form students
- now in their 30s!! We have also been to two weddings
of former sixth form students - one in Cornwall and the
other in Oberstdorf, located in a fantastic region of
the Bavarian Alps.
With the successful vaccine roll-out life has again become
busy for us. Joyce resumed her volunteering at the local
primary school working with children requiring additional
support with their reading skills. She has also become
a Community Governor at the school, has re-joined her
WI committee, attends the WI Book Club and Craft Group,
and she helps out our family quite a lot taking care of
the grandchildren. I am still doing part-time consultancy
work with schools in the UK and international schools
in Germany and Denmark. Work was obviously affected by
Covid as schools were closed for so long but this term,
I have resumed my travels. Last month I went to Denmark
to work again with my Danish schools and, all being well,
my German schools are expecting me in January. In addition,
my voluntary ‘Front of House’ work at the Arts
Theatre in Cambridge restarted in the autumn as did my
running mock interviews for GCSE and A-level students
in several Cambridgeshire schools. Of course, my work
as Vice-Chairman of Governors at Parkside College also
keeps me very busy!
We
haven’t been able to do a lot of travelling this
year but have taken the plunge already for 2022 and booked
a hotel in Edinburgh for the Fringe which we haven't been
to since 2019, and also booked flights to France in August
as our niece is getting married there. Hopefully we will
find a time in the not-too-distant future to re-visit
Penzance!
I hope you have an enjoyable Christmas and we send you
every good wish for 2022. Please give my best wishes to
those Bolitho Alumni who remember me.
David
David Dobson BA BPhil MA International
and UK Education Consultant
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POLWITHEN
HOUSE www.polwithenhouse.com
I went to the Penzance Expo 2018 to see the plan for our
Old School now known as Polwithen House. Basically the Nursery
will be moved to the cottages and this will be completed
by September 2019.
The new Junior block at the back of the school will become
a Health and Well being Hub including hydrotherapy pool,
small gym, exercise studio, treatment and consultation rooms,
physiotheraphy and healthcare education spaces.
Phase 2 completion 2020 - The refurbishment of the main
house offering apartments for rent and sale, public rooms
for community use, a garden kitchen restaurant, cafe and
communal landscaped gardens. I understand the cafe, restaurant,
gardens are all being open to the public so if you are ever
down in Cornwall it may be worth popping in for a coffee
after 2020! I understood from their representative yesterday
that the Chapel will remain. All the small additional buildings
will be removed and the house will be brought back to its
main structure.
Phase 3 completion 2023. Building clusters of homes and
apartments with some residential care use on the old games
area. This will service approximately 100 further residents.
Archives – Sue Jennie and I have been into the Polwithen
House and made a record of all the photos, and memorabilia
of the House and School. Hopefully some of this material
will be on display when the house is refurbished. Sue has
got the St Clare Statue restored and we will keep you updated
on any further developments. Wendy
Sue has had the St Clare Statue restored by Jill Bray and
we sent a gift to of a subscription to visit Art Exhibitions
and we have had this letter of thanks to the Alumni:-
"What a wonderful surprise and how extremely generous
of you! I have never indulged in a National Art Pass and
we will have such fun using it. It was particularly thoughtful
of you to make it a ‘Plus One’ card as John is
as interested in art as I am and will very much enjoy sharing
the expeditions. It’s also appropriate as he did rather
more of the plaster work than I did! We are planning a trip
to London later this Autumn so our card will get plenty
of use then. I do hope St. Clare eventually manages to live
back in the school chapel, a place of which I was very fond.
I loved a large, very quiet painting of St Clare which,
sadly, was sold - I did plead that she should have stayed
but I fear it was felt she was no longer ‘of the moment’!
I am rather embarrassed to accept such generous payment
as I am not a professional restorer although I will admit
to many an hour being spent on her! Thank you again and
good luck with your future plans.Jill
A link
to our reunion at the House of Commons in 2002.
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If
you would like anything added to the site, please contact
us by clicking on the email contact above. If you have
any articles that you would like included in this Web
Site or in our annual Newsletter we would be only too
pleased to hear from you. Have you met any old school
friends and where did you meet them?
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