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).

If you don’t mind paying for advice … the good schools guide people have less bias than parents and have experience with admissions as “3rd party”. They know the schools and who gets in & who doesn’t, which might Meet your needs. Parents hear rumors that might not reflect reality. The book is very positive in reviewing schools, but if you work with one of their advisors regarding specifics and targeted questions about schools you will get more than what’s in their book.
Also, private education psychologists also have very good insights in terms of what schools are really like because they visit and do evaluations at the schools. They engage with staff regarding students, I’m sure they get insights from the inside. They know which have good learning support (many students benefit from support in terms of just learning how to revise or supervised study, not only those with specific needs). They get to see a school and staff operate and as non parents, probably get to see what parents don’t. There is one that works a lot in Southwest, very long wait list for evaluations but might be available for discussion. She’s been to all the schools, all the schools know her.

My son sat the Canford ISEB recently . Of the children from who sat exam from the school , only one did not get through to the next stage. The bar was lower than we had been lead to believe it would be.