54 Tatler Schools Guide 2020 tatler.comPHOTOGRAPHS: JO HANSFORD PHOTOGRAPHY, JOHANSFORDPHOTOGRAPHY.COMSOUTH WEST & WALESPUBLICSHERBORNE
SCHOOL
Abbey Road, Sherborne, Dorset
DT9 3LF
Website sherborne.org
Head Dr Dominic Luckett, DPhil,
since 2016; previously Head of Mill
Hill School, London Pupils 600
boys: 50 day, 550 boarding Faith
C of E Ages 13–18 Term Fees Day:
£10,475; boarding: £12,925
Oxbridge 5% Registration At
least one year before entry ; £200 fee
Admission School’s own exam,
online tests, interview and group task
Alumni Chris Martin, Hugh
Bonneville, Alan Turing, Jeremy Irons
Head Dr Dominic Luckett is keen
to stress that this is a 24-hour, seven
days a week, ‘full-fat’ type of board-
ing school. Boys don’t disappear
home at the weekend, he says, and
this wouldn’t suit everyone. It does,
however, suit a lot of people it seems:
house number nine is now in
the pipeline, which will accommo-
date 65 more boarders. Despite
this expansion, the school is
committed to keeping an absolute
maximum of 650 pupils. Pre-
assessments are carried out in Year 7,
and the group task is just as
important as the academic tests.
‘Sherborne is keen to look at the
whole person.’ As a result it is in the
top five per cent for valued added in
the county which, Luckett adds, isSHERBORNE GIRLS
Bradford Road, Sherborne,
Dorset DT9 3QN
Website sherborne.com
Head Dr Ruth Sullivan, PhD, since
2018; previously Deputy Master at
Haileybury College Pupils 485
girls: 35 day, 450 boarding
Faith C of E Ages 11–18
Term Fees Day: £7,325; boarding:
£12,350 Oxbridge Occasional
Registration At least two years
before entry; £200 fee Admission
School’s own exam
Alumnae Dame Emma Kirkby,
Tara Palmer-Tomkinson, author
Sophie Kinsella
Don’t be fooled by Sherborne Girls’
idyllic setting in rural Dorset – this
school is a force to be reckoned with.
Head Dr Ruth Sullivan is intent on
producing ‘dynamic, creative and
ambitious’ young women ready to
face the challenges, and seize the
opportunities, of 21st-century life.
Central to this is a thriving alumnae
network providing an endless source
of female role models: the school
recently launched its ‘Women in
Leadership’ event, welcoming Old
Girls and industry experts to give
TED-style talks. Another recent
highlight was the inaugural TEDx
Sherborne held in the brand-new
Arts Centre, at which one sixth for-
mer spoke about conservation in
local communities across the globe.
Fellow environmental enthusiast Dr
Sullivan was instrumental in ensur-
ing that Sherborne Girls was the first
school in the country to sign up for
Operation Future Hope’s conserva-
tion teaching scheme. In post since
September 2018, Dr Sullivan has
achieved that sought-after balance
of change and continuity. ‘Her
changes appear to be measured, fo-
cused and ensure consistency,’ says
one parent. Balance is the watch-
word here: the girls’ timetables are
colour-coded green for body, yel-
low for mind and blue for spirit to
promote a healthy work-life bal-
ance. Is this a recipe for success?
The results speak for themselves:
73 per cent were awarded A*–B at
A-level in 2018 and, last year, two
girls achieved an outstanding score
of 43 in the IB.WESTONBIRTWESTONBIRT
Tetbury, Gloucestershire
GL8 8QG
Website westonbirt.org
Head Natasha Dangerfield, BA,
since 2013; previously Deputy Head
of Harrogate Ladies’ College
Pupils 220. Day: 125 girls, 20 boys;
boarding: 75 girls Faith C of E
Ages 11–18 Term Fees Day: £5,195;
boarding: £10,150
Oxbridge Occasional Registration
Early registration advised; £100 fee
Admission CE or school’s own
exam, interview and previous
school’s report Alumni Actress
Maxine Audley, author Georgia
Byng, pianist Patsy Toh
PREP Head Sean Price
Pupils 160 day: 85 boys, 75 girls
Ages 2–11 Term Fees £4,015
This year Westonbirt goes co-ed,
welcoming its first intake of day
boys into Year 7 (boys’ boarding is
expected to start in 2020). This is
a popular move and marks a big
shift for the school, but its core
ethos remains the same. ‘Every
child has a talent within them and
they all have areas that will grow
into potential of some description,’
says Head Natasha Dangerfield.
Admission is non-selective, mean-
ing that pupils of all capabilities are
championed (the majority are ac-
cepted by their first-choice
university). ‘It’s amazing what you
can do with an 11-year-old by the
time they’re taking their GCSEs,’
Dangerfield adds. Fundamental to
this encouraging approach are small
class sizes and first-rate pastoral
care. Alongside normal lessons,
students take a Skills for Life
programme and engage in a broad
range of extracurriculars. If anyone
desires a club or activity beyond
photography, chess, current affairs,
performing Shakespeare in the on-
site amphitheatre or playing a
round on the school’s golf course,
they are welcome to suggest it. The
idyllic atmosphere is matched by
the building itself: a Grade I listed
mansion set in 210 acres. ‘There
is an inexplicable heart and soul
within the grounds,’ says one par-
ent. ‘Westonbirt has catered for our
daughter as an individual.’ (impressive when you look at ‘how
much they do and how nice they
are’. Music and drama are thriving,
and there’s the chance to participate
in debating, radio broadcasting,
maths challenges, creative writing
workshops, volunteering and charity
work and outdoor pursuits. Sixth
formers are offered enrichment
lessons, which include meditation.
This spiritual interest is not without
precedent: the school has strong
links with Sherborne Abbey just
next door. They’re firm believers in
the idea that nothing rivals first-
hand experience, so boys also have
the chance to perform swing and
jazz in the Caribbean, play rugby in
Australia and behold rare oil paint-
ings in Italian art galleries (among
many other trips). Of more interest
to some boys, there are ever closer
links with Sherborne Girls, and
it’s not unusual to see cohorts
from both schools catching up
over a coffee around town. Beyond
academics, extracurriculars and
girls, a great takeaway is the empha-
sis on kindness that underpins the
boys’ attitude to one another. A
group of lower sixth boys explained
that, if ever a friend is struggling
for any reason, they pick him
up and carry on together. Old
Shirburnians can stay in touch
anywhere via Sherborne Connect,
a private social media platform.10-19-Schools-Guide-PublicSouthWestNEW.indd 54 14/08/2019 13:39