We are considering a move to the Sherborne area and are currently looking seriously at both Sherborne (Prep initially, then potentially Sherborne Boys/Girls) and Leweston. We have visited both and liked them for quite different reasons, so I would really appreciate views from current/recent parents, particularly anyone who has experience of both schools.
Our DC ( age 9/10) are very different. DS is bright but neurodivergent with a very uneven learning profile and needs good learning support, particularly around written work, organisation and accessing tasks in the classroom. He is very kind and very sociable, not especially sporty. Dd is also neurodivergent, not academic, but works hard, is sporty, outdoorsy and very interested in animals.
We were very impressed by Sherborne's small classes, pastoral feel and the breadth of opportunities. We also liked the possibility of the children eventually going into the separate Boys' and Girls' schools while remaining part of the same wider school community. We came away feeling it was a genuinely kind place.
Leweston setting and outdoor life are fantastic, the equestrian and art provision in particular really impressed us, and we liked its apparent willingness to find an academic/vocational route that suits the individual child. Recent GCSE results also seem strong. We could see Dd here especially.
The obvious difference later is cost. If both children eventually went through Sherborne, boarding from around Year 9 appears to make it vastly more expensive than keeping them as day pupils at Leweston. We can afford either, but don't particularly want to spend the additional money simply for the name if the children's actual experience and outcomes aren't materially better. Also we would be living locally and there would be no need unless the children really wanted to board.
I'd particularly love to hear about:
Learning support/SEND in practice rather than what is written in the prospectus – especially in-class support and assistive technology.
Pastoral care and friendship groups. How kind are the children actually?
Academic expectations for children who aren't necessarily going to be straight 8/9 pupils. Is either school better at getting the best from the middle of the cohort? Are schools flexible around GCSE numbers and subject choices?
Whether Leweston genuinely provides the breadth of sport/outdoor/art/equestrian opportunities it appears to.
And, perhaps most importantly, if you had your time again, would you choose the same school?
I'm not really looking for league-table comparisons as I've gone fairly cross-eyed looking at the results already! I'm much more interested in what the schools are actually like to live with as a family and what happens when a child doesn't fit neatly into the standard academic or sporty mould.
Thank you if you have read this far🙏