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Canford School 坎福德学校, Wimborne,
Dorset BH21 3AD Tel: 01202 841254
Website: www.canford.com
• CO-ED, 13–18, Day & Boarding
• Pupils 600, Upper sixth 132
• Termly fees £5315 (Day), £7085 (Boarding)
• HMC, SHA, BSA
• Enquiries/application to the Registrar

What it’s like
Founded in 1923, it stands in a magnificent 300-acre park, on the edge of Canford Heath, a short distance from both Wimborne Minster and Bournemouth. The river Stour forms a boundary and there are splendid formal gardens and playing fields. The oldest part of the buildings is a fine medieval hall (known as John of Gaunt’s Kitchen); part of the present building is Georgian, the rest was designed by Sir Charles Barry in 1847. There have been many modern additions to provide excellent facilities, including an art & design centre, music school, sports centre and theatre. The school became fully co-educational in 1995, having taken girls in the sixth form since the sixties. A very favourable staff:pupil ratio of about 1:8 and examination results are very good. Religious education is an important part of the curriculum. Many services (C of E) are held in the Norman church of Canford Magna in the school grounds. Music and art are particularly strong; drama is flourishing and benefiting from a new purpose-built theatre. Games and sports are very strong (many representatives at county and regional level and some at national level); facilities include a 9-hole golf course in the grounds and one of the few real tennis (or royal tennis) courts in the country. An unusually wide variety of extra-curricular activities include a flourishing CCF contingent, and pupils are encouraged to take part in local and international community services. Considerable enterprise has been shown in overseas expeditions to many parts of the globe.

School profile

Pupils & entrance
Pupils: Age range 13–18; 600 pupils, 216 day (137 boys, 79 girls), 384 boarding (240 boys, 144 girls).
Entrance: Main entry at 13 and 16. Common Entrance and own entrance/scholarship exam used. For sixth-form entry, school exam, good school report and 40 points on best 7 GCSEs. No special skills or religious requirements; school is C of E but pupils accepted from other denominations and faiths. State school entry approx 10 in main intake (plus few to sixth form).

Scholarships, bursaries & extras 38 pa scholarships, 30 at 13, 8 at 16: academic, music, art; also Assyrian (for non-academic excellence) and Royal Naval. Also Canford assisted places. Parents expected to buy sixth-form textbooks; extras £175 average.

Parents Up to 40% live within 30 miles.

Head & staff
Headmaster: John D Lever, in post since 1992. Educated at Westminster and the universities of Cambridge (geography) and Oxford (education). Previously Housemaster at Winchester.
Teaching staff: 57 full time, 10 part time. Annual turnover 5%.

Exam results
GCSE: In 2003, 116 pupils in the fifth: 98% gained at least grade C in 9+ subjects, 2% in 7–8 subjects. Average GCSE score 63 (69 over 5 years).
A-levels: 112 in upper sixth. 7% passed in 4 subjects; 91% in 3 subjects. Average final point score achieved by upper sixth formers 351.

University & college entrance 97% of 2003 sixth-form leavers went on to higher education (37% after a gap year), 7% to Oxbridge. 12% took courses in medicine, dentistry & veterinary science, 29% in science & engineering, 53% in humanities & social sciences, 3% in art & design, 2% in music and drama.

Curriculum GCSE, AS and A-levels offered. 20 AS/A-level subjects.
Sixth form: Most sixth formers take 4 subjects at AS-level, 3 at A-level; in addition, general studies is taught but not examined. 30% take science A-levels; 35% arts/humanities; 35% both.
Special provision: Support for Learning unit.
Languages: French (compulsory to GCSE) and German and Spanish offered to GCSE and A-level. Regular exchanges (France, Germany and Spain).
ICT: Taught both as a discrete subject (1 lesson/week) and across the curriculum. 40 wireless laptops and 120 networked PCs for pupil use (14 hours a day), all with email and internet access. Many pupils have their own computer.

The arts
Music: 50% of pupils learn a musical instrument; instrumental exams can be taken. 15 musical groups – orchestras, bands, choirs, string quartets, jazz bands, rock groups. Evensong in cathedrals.
Drama: Drama offered. Many pupils involved in house/other productions.
Art & design: On average, 50 take GCSE, 18 A-level. Design, pottery, photography, sculpture, textiles and mixed media work also offered. Some 8 pa go on to art colleges.

Sport & activities
Sport: Rugby, hockey, rowing, cricket, lawn tennis, netball are major sports. Minor sports: squash, cross-country, real tennis, athletics, swimming, golf, sailing, aerobics. Some pupils members of national teams in rugby, hockey, sailing, real tennis, golf; several in regional/divisional sides; regular members of county/area teams in rugby, hockey, cricket, cross-country, squash.
Activities: Pupils take bronze and silver Duke of Edinburgh’s Award. CCF optional at age 14, community service at 16. Links with several local schools including Langside School (Dorset SCOPE); regular participation in Kielder Challenge (for mixed teams of able/disabled young people) and links with specific orphanages in India and Argentina and primary schools in Kenya. Up to 30 clubs including debating, orchestra, table tennis, juggling, literary, fishing, chess, canoeing, bridge, bell ringing, art, choral.

School life
Uniform: School uniform worn throughout.
Houses & prefects: Head boy/girl prefects, house prefects and house captains appointed by the Head. School Prefects Committee.
Religion: Attendance at religious worship compulsory.
Social: Joint orchestral concert with local school annually. Trips abroad: trekking (eg Borneo, Nepal); rugby (Australia, Hong Kong); cricket (Kenya, Barbados); biology (Costa Rica, Red Sea); cultural (Russia, Jordan, Eastern Europe); skiing (France); geography (France); history (France). Pupils may bring own bike to school; day pupils may bring own car. Meals self-service. School shop. No tobacco allowed; alcohol available in Junior Club Bar for over 17s.

Discipline Pupils failing to produce homework once might expect to do it again in detention; any pupil caught smoking cannabis could expect expulsion.

Boarding 20% have own study bedrooms; 60% share with 2–4; 20% in dormitories of 6+. Single-sex boarding houses of 60–65, mixed age groups. Qualified nurse on duty 24 hours/day. Regular exeats (1_ days). Visits to Wimborne allowed by all pupils; sixth form allowed to Bournemouth.

Alumni association is run by Eleonore Byde, c/o the school.

Former pupils Simon Preston (ex-organist, Westminster Abbey); Sir Ronnie Hampel (Chairman ICI); Henry Cecil (race horse trainer); General Sir Brian Kenny; Air Chief-Marshal Sir Roger Palin; Sir Hector Monro (MP); John Drummond; Sir Anthony Bramall (former MP and ILEA Chairman); Sir Derek Bradbeer; Sir Derek Hornby; Lord Maclean.