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Our view of Canford School
Despite its magnificent setting and illustrious history, there is no sense of privilege or entitlement at this 100-year-old school in the beautiful Dorset countryside. Pupils are friendly, down-to-earth and outward-looking, happy in their own skin and modest about their achievements – even though there would be much to brag about, from ace exam results to stellar performances on the playing field and stage. It’s no wonder waiting lists are growing – this is a
senior boarding school with serious game, turning out wonderfully grounded young men and women with a real awareness of the world around them.
Where is Canford School?
With its Sir Charles Barry-designed castle presiding over 250 acres of Capability Brown parkland, Canford School certainly has the wow factor. Located just outside the picturesque Dorset village of Canford Magna, the River Stour winds through its grounds shaded by weeping willows, while an 18th-century arboretum and pretty Norman church complete the bucolic setting.
History echoes through the place: in the former library, poet Rupert Brooke drafted The Soldier (‘If I should die, think only this of me..’); and in the 1990s, the discovery of an Assyrian frieze on the tuck-shop wall resulted in £7m for the school’s development coffers. It’s not all the stuff of legend though; while the castle is the heart of the school, modern buildings are more functional – attractive and comfortable, but not lavish. And overall, the school feels grounded, not luxurious, with an overwhelming first impression of friendliness.
It's easy to get to as well, with Poole station a short taxi ride away, and London, Oxford and Exeter less than two hours’ drive. Some 70 per cent of pupils board and for day pupils there is a well-used bus service that runs from the New Forest and Dorchester, among other destinations within a one-hour radius. School buses also run on exeat weekends and half terms to London, Southampton and Bournemouth airports, Chichester and Petersfield.
School headmaster
Head
Ben Vessey is only the seventh in the school’s history. He was originally destined for the army until a torn ligament led him into teaching, with stints at Dauntsey’s, Millfield and Christ’s Hospital under his belt. He’s energetic, engaging, modest, utterly devoted to Canford and impressively omnipresent, often spotted racing between CCF inspections and poetry recitals on his trusty bicycle. All three of his sons have passed through the school, and his delightful wife Harriet is very much part of school life.
Mr Vessey’s humble manner belies how much of an influence he’s been at Canford, instilling a real culture of warmth, dynamism and engagement. It’s made places at the school a hot ticket and numbers will be able to edge up a little (but never above 700, he tells us) once the dedicated sixth form centre is completed in January 2025 and upper sixth residential wings in September 2026.
In September 2025, new head Chris Wheeler will pick up the reins from Mr Vessey. Currently principal at Monkton Coombe School, Mr Wheeler has previously held posts at Hillcrest International Schools, St Christopher's (Brighton College's Prep School), Brighton College and Peponi School in Kenya – and we very much look forward to hear what plans he has in store for Canford.
Admissions process
Canford School is thriving, and the pupil roll is currently at its highest in the school’s history. Entrance at 13+ draws pupils from some 50 preps across Dorset, Wiltshire, Hampshire and Sussex; top feeders include
Twyford,
Walhampton and
Port Regis. There’s growing interest from London families, with a bus service at exeats and half-term ferrying pupils back and forth. Early registration is vital; prospective pupils sit the
ISEB pre-test in Year 6 or 7 (you are strongly encouraged to go for the earlier option), followed by the ‘Headmaster’s List’ day of activities, tests and interviews. Attitude is critical; strictly no ‘swaggery’, says Mr Vessey. ‘A child with a bit of intellectual fizz does well here’.
There are another 30 places up for grabs at 16+ – pupils with their eye on a sixth form place must achieve a minimum of 42 points in their best seven GCSEs (including English and maths).
Academics and destinations
Academic staff at Canford are at the top of their game, but this is no pressure cooker. Lessons are geared firmly towards the individual, and cross-curricular learning is just as important as league tables. Everyone is encouraged to think laterally: special enrichment programmes foster curiosity before the GCSE programme kicks in; visiting speakers inspire lively debate (we poked our head in on the Heretics Society debating the notion ‘Do schools kill creativity?’); and ‘Yellow Hour’ is a regular chance for pupils to perform anything they like in front of a supportive audience. On Friday afternoons, sixth formers take lessons in practical life skills, honing in on interviews and job applications.
The wonderful bright and modern library boasts over 300 linear metres of bookshelves, a state-of-the-art multimedia space and a cool seminar room decked out with video conferencing for pupils to link up with connections all across the globe. Full marks for the shiny science department too (we loved the International Space System live stream projected onto the wall), complete with glass cubicles for private sixth form study.
Lessons are very interactive, with state-of-the-art white boards and screens, and pupils are fully engaged in their learning journey. The deputy head academic’s recent trip across the Atlantic with Mr Vessey to Hun School in Princeton has inspired even more new teaching practices to bridge the gap between staff and pupils.
Value-added shines through at A-level and most pupils go on to ( and are the most popular choices), some to medical school or art college and a handful set their sights on the Ivy League. The year before last, 13 pupils took up Oxbridge offers and the school recently bagged a top flight ranking in the Sunday Times Parent Power report - second in the South West for A-level results.
SEND provision
For us, Canford stands out for the nature and structure of its additional-needs provision, which is far more comprehensive than at many schools. Literacy and other skills such as free writing are assessed at entry – something that is so important for identifying strengths as well as weaker academic areas that might need attention. New head of learning support Andrew Farbridge offers individual learning skills lessons which have made a huge difference to many. Drop-in clinics and ad-hoc support for learning across the curriculum encourage pupils to take responsibility for their own learning, and those with
SEND (there are about 100 pupils with challenges such as dyslexia and dyspraxia) and EAL are well supported at all levels.
Co-curricular
Creative souls thrive at Canford School: the busy drama department puts on 15 productions a year, including the annual panto (written and produced by pupils) and an end-of-year musical – it’s Bugsy Malone this year. There are also ad-hoc drama performances in the theatre foyer every Friday and strong links with the ; budding set designers can cut their teeth in the swanky 300-seat Layard Theatre.
The art department has a dedicated courtyard gallery space. Everyone is encouraged to get involved – last year’s house art competition saw each house design a dress, which was then modelled by the houseparent at an awards ceremony. A huge D&T workshop area houses every gadget under the sun.
Many pupils at this Dorset School learn two or even three instruments and they are a talented bunch, with 12 pupils gaining music diplomas last year alone. There are 20 different music groups, including bands, choirs and ensembles aplenty, with regular performances at The Lighthouse, Poole - the nearby home of the prestigious Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra. The school has its own purpose-built concert hall too.
The school really punches above its weight when it comes to sport and there’s a real sport-for-all ethos here, with countless teams fielded at every fixture so that everyone gets the chance to represent Canford School. Hockey has always been strong and rugby is on the up (several players are playing for Premiership teams), while all the traditional sports – including lacrosse, football and cricket – are taken seriously. Girls’ cricket is thriving, with both teams making a splash nationally last year. There are girls in the first XI football team (the school has good links with Bournemouth AFC whose new training ground is a stone’s throw away) and next year the girls’ rugby team is going to Roslyn Park.
Other options are rowing on the Stour, enjoying a knock-around on the nine-hole golf course or playing real tennis – Canford is one of only two schools in the country with an original Victorian court. The slick sports centre has a gym, Pilates and dance studios and a superb indoor pool, which is regularly open to the local community.
Days at Canford are pacey from dawn to dusk, and once lessons finish there’s a full-on timetable of extras such as photography, drone flying, roman mosaics, juggling, archery, lacrosse, climbing, bridge and more. More than 90 per cent of Year 10 opt into CCF and such is its popularity that most stick with it the whole way up the school. A dedicated space in the grounds sees them all taking part in CCF activities, including testing their mettle on a gruelling assault course. is also on offer and many pupils choose to do both.
There’s a real culture of community action: some lend a hand in local care homes, while others lead trips to the beach for pupils at nearby primary schools, help fundraise for orphanages in Argentina, Ghana and India or work on inner city youth projects in Southampton. Canford School is rightly proud of its community projects, which play a big part in keeping pupils grounded.
Boarding at Canford School
Boarding is the real deal: full boarding only, with compulsory weekends at school for at least half of the term. That said, most opt to stay in every weekend; ‘much more fun,’ one pupil tells us, and this is confirmed by the day pupils who often pop in for Saturday japes to avoid FOMO. Roughly 70 per cent board; day pupils have their own houses for dumping muddy kit and catching up on homework between lessons.
The seven boarding houses (four for boys, three for girls) are modern and bright, with that homely, lived-in look – the luckiest pupils have views over lovely woodland. Once the all-singing, all-dancing sixth form hub is completed, two new boarding houses – one for girls, one for boys – will be added on one side for the upper sixth with a grown-up layout, including a teaching kitchen to help prepare them for independent living.
Our tour guides spoke of the great camaraderie amongst all pupils from Year 9 to Upper Sixth – there are plenty of fun interhouse bake-off competitions, house film and singing nights. On weekends, there’s often a trip to Bournemouth for shopping or ice-skating, but some pupils prefer to stay in school and take advantage of all the fabulous facilities. Upper Sixth pupils can pop into Wimborne by taxi, and there’s a great ‘pub vibe’ at the sixth form centre – beer is available via a token system. ‘It’s a great place to hang out with your pals’, confirms our insider.
School community
A rock-solid tutor system underpins the pastoral care at Canford, with regular group catch-ups for the younger years and timetabled one-on-one sessions in sixth form. Some pupils are trained by the charity MIND as mental-health first-aiders, and there’s a very active school council. New heads of wellbeing and equality, diversity and inclusion are driving the school’s pastoral programme, which includes peer mentoring, special food menus on ‘Wellbeing Wednesdays’, and a wellbeing journal focused on healthy lifestyle, sleep, relaxation and goal setting. House matrons also play a key part in pastoral support and the new health centre has a counselling room as well as nine permanent beds and two treatment rooms.
Homesick boarders can join one of the ‘Snacks at the Jacks’ calendared events to enjoy one of the Chaplain’s wife’s legendary brownies and a cuddle with their gorgeous dog.
The campus may be vast, but the 650-strong community feels cosy. ‘My overwhelming impression was one of friendliness,’ reports our spy. The school has a resolutely British feel, but a small international cohort (around 10 per cent) helps maintain a global outlook. Several times a day, the whole school comes together to eat meals in the magnificent Great Hall, and the prefect system has been scrapped and replaced with Pupil Leaders, who have real influence on life in the school.
Parents are a mix – some are wealthy, others have made real sacrifices to send their children here. But the majority of pupils are splendidly down to earth and soak up the academic and co-curricular opportunities.
The pupils we met were unselfconscious and articulate; the girls, we’re told, have a ‘hugely civilising effect’ on the boys. (Special praise for our lower-sixth guides who sploshed round the site with us in a howling gale and horizontal rain, hair plastered to their faces, completely unfazed by the elements and unfailingly cheerful.)
And finally....
This is a great school with a wonderful atmosphere and happy, friendly pupils. Staff are super dedicated, always devoting time and energy to improve and share best practice, led from the front by the very excellent head Ben Vessey.