Canford or Sherborne

[tachetastic]

We are looking at boarding schools in Somerset/Dorset for our DS who is super-sporty but is not very academic, and so I would prefer a school that does not rely on common entrance for admissions. I know they all use it for setting.

I think we're a bit too traditional for Bryanston and I was all set for Sherborne. However, our current headmaster said we should also look at Canford and was surprised that I considered it harder to get into academically than Sherborne.

Does anyone have experience of admissions at Sherborne and Canford, how easy it would be for a non-academic but very sporty boy to get in, and how life compares for full-boarders? We will visit the school in the autumn but would be grateful for any views.

Re other schools, we are also looking at Millfield but I find the size of that school and the sheer level of sportiness a bit daunting; King's Bruton is a bit small for our taste; and I thought all the Taunton schools a bit unexceptional (no offence).

Both lovely schools. The only child I know who went to Camborne was not very academic. For sport you might also look at the Devon schools, especially King’s Taunton. I am guessing you have ruled out Millfield already.

Millfield is definitely super sporty and not very academic ...

Ah - missed your final paragraph. King’s Bruton is very small, but very nurturing and great for child into CCF or riding. You don’t say which sports, but I’d look again and King’s Taunton for team sports. They do a huge amount for cricket in the South West. Blundell’s probably feels a bit more like Sherborne without the level of academic pressure.

Thanks for the comments. To be honest, DS is into most sports and excels in rugby, hockey, cricket and athletics, and his swimming and tennis are coming on.

Perhaps we should also take a look at King's Taunton. To be honest, when we were looking at prep's we were massively put off by our visit to King's Hall.

That said, I would be really interested in anyone who could help with the Canford / Sherborne decision (@Genevieva - I assume you meant Canford, not Cambourne in your previous message???)

Blundell's is also on our radar. Again @Genevieva, what makes you say that there is more academic pressure at Sherborne than Blundell's? I had not regarded either as particularly academic but I would be interested in your experience.

Yes - sorry. He went to Canford. I am a bit tired and busy today. Actually, a friend's younger half siblings went there too and, given the age gap, the youngest might even still be there, but it has been a couple of years since I heard much. They were boarders and all quite different from each other, but all got on well there .

I have friends with kids at Sherborne at the moment and it sounds like a lovely school. One is very academic and quite quirky, but is definitely stretched. The other is more middle of the pack, but will do well in public exams. Sherborne has quite a wide catchment compared with Blundell's as it recruits from further east as well as from the South West. It also, along with the girls' school nearby, offers real full boarding for international families who are concerned that so-called boarding schools empty out too much at weekends.

Blundell's pride themselves on a family-friendly approach to admissions - on not being likely those ghastly cut-throat schools in the South East that ruthlessly cull children for not doing well enough in exams. I am sure they have a range of abilities and it varies from year to year, so probably not a huge difference.

King's Taunton also recruit from much further West and have proper full boarders who can't get home at weekends. This is in part because kids from both private and state schools come to their sports camps and fixtures, get to know the place and end up applying to go there.

I would say based on recent a-level results Canford increasingly up there - 75% A*A and 50% of sixth formers take maths so it’s not as though they’re doing the easy subjects, which while obviously not Eton or St Paul’s puts it well above many other local peers- Sherborne is around 60%. I sense the bar at Canford is slightly lower for the boarding places. That said, my dc go to a feeder prep and it definitely wasn’t an academic shoo in - some kids didn’t get in. They are assessed based on ISEB in either year 7 or 6 and they filter based off that for the assessment day.

My advice would be let him try- why not? It’s a lovely school with fantastic facilities and just a nice vibe- the pupils were the nicest I’ve met on any open day- great balance between being self assured, polite and friendly. I was surprised just how much I liked it as I was sold on Marlborough but then had a total about face. I actually think it benefits from not being a “name” school. Otherwise what about Claysmore?

Re. The boarders, Canford is a somewhat localish school and they’re not super tight about weekends. However, plenty do seem to be about at weekends- a boy I spoke to said his parents often come and see him for Saturday dinner or Sunday lunch but he stays in on most Saturday nights. It’s also 30% day so does have that dynamic to it which Sherborne doesn’t.

The other angle of course is Co-ed vs boys only. I should add I didn’t look at Sherborne for that reason.

HTH

@illiterato - Thanks a lot for those comments.

I may be being naive but for schools that are not overly selective academically, I was hoping that real strength on the sports field would be seen as an acceptable alternative. I know you wouldn't get away with that at a Marlborough or Winchester, but thought Sherborne or Canford may ignore a weak Pre-Test result by a boy who could potentially be the strongest athlete in his year.

I did look briefly at Claysmore but my sense is that really is a local school, with the majority coming from the local prep and not too many boarders. DS will be a full boarder, which is why Sherborne stood out, but so long as a school has a good number of boarders I don't think you need hundreds around of a weekend.

if those are the sports he excels at, you would be mad to not seriously consider Millfield.
They have the strongest coaching in all those sports plus strong links with all the professional academies in a way that most schools are trying to replicate but are a decade behind in

You’ll inevitably get people telling you it’s not very academic but it’s really 2 intakes… one academic and one with mild to moderate dyslexia and ASD
If you look at the results as published, they include the nearly-50% with SEN

If you look at the NT intake results, they compare with any other co-ed for exams and university destinations

Their university prep and alumni network is excellent also

Hi again. They may compromise and I definitely think he should try. My impression is that Canford values sport but isn’t obsessed by it but I can’t really comment on how much they balance these things from an admissions perspective. I would maybe get an honest answer from his prep about where his ISEB scores might fall. Obviously the schools never tell you what they need but DS usually scores between 115-120 on standardised tests and got in.

I think another thing to consider is how he might feel about being noticeably towards the weaker end academically if that were the case. I did try to avoid this for my dc but I know for some it can actually be motivational or they just don’t care as they get their self esteem from sport or drama or something else. But just worth considering.

PP comments re Millfield are valid too. There are some academic kids there and if sport is his passion he’d undoubtedly be v happy there and get excellent coaching. My dc play against Millfield prep and they are noticeably advanced in terms of ability but also in terms of their set pieces and on court discipline and focus which come from coaching

Thanks @illiterato. DS is going into Year 5 in September and I had a meeting with his current headmaster, and he is way below your DS in terms of standardised testing. I had already written off Canford as too academic, but it was the head that encouraged me to take a look.

Canford is very keen on good exam results and I think is harder to get into than Sherborne. This is based on admissions from my kids prep school over the past five or so years. I think your Head is a little out of date.

For a sporty boy you need a big school with lots of sports, lots of matches and lots of teams. Sherborne has more boys than Canford (co-ed). Canford is better for rowing having the river Stour running through its grounds but otherwise I think Sherborne would suit you.

At our headmaster’s meeting, he ranked the following schools in the following order in terms of their academic credentials:

Eton
Canford
Marlborough
Sherborne

I understand that it is less stringent to get into Canford as a boarder, as opposed to a day pupil.

@tachetastic my son (just finished y6) just sat and was accepted at Canford this year. He did ISEB and then assessment day.

he could have been the best athlete in his year but they didn’t ask. There wasn’t really a time to give that info (much less prove it anyway). The ISEB was sat first before they asked anything. Only after he passed that did they get a reference from his school. Only after that did he attend assessment day where the sports part was limited to some games of stuck in the mud in the hall. I think to just check for “joiner inners” and no sore losers.

he was then offered a place based off ISEB, school ref and interview day, and we now have the chance in 2 years time to apply for a sports scholarship if we want. So the academics very much have to be passed before they get a chance to show off on the sports pitch. Saying that it’s worth a shot as they said they have a lot of moment on the waiting lists. They wait list a lot of children and then most of them end up getting a place further down the line when other applicants firm up on grammar places etc instead.

I work at a prep school and know the schools you have mentioned well.

Canford harder to get into than Sherborne, but definitely still broad. There are plenty of less academic, mainly boarding, boys, but they tend to have something else to offer - county sport, sailing, serious drama, or be the younger siblings. A few boys I know have taken places at Canford when they’ve been offered both. Don’t know of any the other way around. It also seems to have those that have eschewed Winchester / Marlborough/ Wellington, for various reasons. Very good pastoral care. Nice, sensible bright girls in the mix.

Sherborne has very good music credentials. More focus on the Abbey and tradition. Has beautiful buildings in a nice town. Sherborne has double the boys , so much stronger rugby, but if your son is cricket, rowing or tennis mad, Canford may be a better choice.

Bryanston has been popular with our pupils historically, but seems to be going through a tough patch. I do know hardworking children who’ve done well, but have struggled pastorally.

Dauntsey’s? Good all rounder, less academic than Canford, more so than Sherborne, plenty of military families which mean there’s strong boarding?

Agree Clayesmore now very SEN focussed. Pretty, quite local, not ever been known for sport.

Millfield is one I know less about as the children I know who went there were either very sporty or very dyslexic, so fewer in number.

Taunton good for cricket, but I’d ask exactly who is in at the weekends, what percentage overseas boarders usw. In fact, I’d do that anywhere. Sherborne seems to be relaxing its weekend requirements.

If you need full boarding in the SW, I think you are on the right track with Canford and Sherborne. Just go and visit both again and speak to the pupils. Decide whether you want to prioritise sport or academics. And which sport? Ask about learning support at both. Is your son someone who is determined to keep up if he’s at the bottom of a set, or someone who gives up of he’s not at the top?

@Howcoldmytoes sorry to hijak you but whilst you’re here do you mind giving an opinion on canford for a boy who is strong in academics and music. He’s the typical maths and music combo. My daughter is going to canford in 2025 so I’d rather have both children at the same school and hoping it might suit my son too. He’s definitely not a team sports player but likes solo sport

Clayesmore, it is full of children who failed the 11+ in Poole and Bournemouth. It will make him feel like a high achiever.

Take the 11+ and save your money, that is if he is actually academic enough.

@Luizaa oh I’d love to but we don’t have any grammar schools in our county or even within a few hours.

Never heard of Canford.

Luizaa, There are plenty of children in Bournemouth and Poole that don't pass or don't take the 11+ that go on to be very high achievers. I'd like to think we don't write children off as failures at 11 years old.

Of course but parents who can pay will avoid some of the schools the state offers for 11 plus 'non passers'. The smartest kids are at Poole and Parkstone Grammar the wealthiest at Canford

It's difficult isn't it? My daughter has been offered a Canford day place for 2025, certainly the impression our prep school gave is that it's not an easy process for the less academic child - if fact they would probably actively discourage a non-academic child from attempting the ISEB with Canford in mind. I agree with the poster above, having been through the process very recently, there's no way they would know (apart from if it's mentioned in references from the current school) what her non-academic skills are. I suspect, however, if you've got a child who is just about there academically, but has a lot else to offer, and you've got the support of a good prep school who are prepared to make his case, you would be ok for at least a waiting list place. Although they won't explicitly say what they are looking for, I asked one of the admissions staff whether it was the case that they were looking for 110/115+ in the pre-tests and she indicated that was about right. Based only on what I know about other kids at my daughter's school, there is much less academic expectation for Sherbourne. I can't really comment on sports though. One family I know with extremely sporty kids chose Millfield.

Another thing to consider - it is no fun being the weakest academically in a school year. It can knock the confidence of most but the most thick skinned.

A lot of children develop later and how the are performing at year 5 are not rigid indicators of future success or academic ability. But if you are looking at a selective school and only just scrapping in then the effect of being at the bottom of every class needs to be considered. Even though if they were at a non-selective school this would be in the middle.

Clayesmore is a good choice, average academic children will be top of the class here.

@Emanresu9 I’d say definitely worth considering. Small but friendly music dept. might be hard for your son to carve out time to practice, especially if he has two or three instruments, but I think that’d be the case at most boarding senior schools. They are all busy!

Suggest you ask to meet the Head of Music at an Open Day.

other options - Wells? Less academic. Winchester? More so, but quite heavy going.

If your daughter’s going, I’d have thought it was a no-brainer.