Dumpton or Castle Court???

[IslandintheStreamIng]

DS due to start reception in Sept. We've taken tours of Castle Court and Dumpton and thought they were both lovely. So really need some help choosing between them. We're moving to Wimborne shortly so the choice is between these two schools.

From talking to other parents the sense I get is that Dumpton is more academic and that Castle Court is more caring. But these views might be a bit out of date.

Please can you let me know if you have any thoughts - good or bad?

Sorry no advice. But also interested so place marking.

Anyone? Please.

They are both very academic schools and send children of to good senior schools however my experience is that they have different ways of getting the best out of the children. 1 school may just not suit your child and the other will Dumpton did not suit mine children or us as a family but Castle Court has been perfect ....lots of differences in there approach.

Thanks very much for replying Need, that's helpful. Are you able to say what it was about Dumpton that didn't suit your DCs?

...and what it is about Castle Court that does suit your DCs and family. Thanks!

The ethos of the two schools seem completely different. At least from the playing fields where I have seen it.
Dumptons sports is rather cut-throat with a lot of not just shouting, but screaming and yelling from the sidelines by the coaches. I know of one child who let a Dumpton child score on them as they felt so sorry for them with all the yelling going on. I have also witnessed very unsportsmanlike behaviour by Dumpton children, which was if not encouraged, then certainly not diciplined...
Castle Court seem the more nurturing of the two, without me having any further or more detailed knowledge of the school.

Hi sorry to resurrect this thread but we recently visited both schools and are very confused and liked different things about both schools. Island, did you decide in the end? I am moving towards CC as I think my drama/music obsessed boy will do well there. Other DS would start in reception and I was very impressed by the informality there. Any other thoughts on the schools welcome.

Just resurrecting this post again.. does anyone have any up to date views on these two schools? Have visited both Dumpton and Castle Court and they both seemed great. Castle Court maybe more nurturing?

We had a very bad and disappointing experience at Castle Court. I’m not comfortable giving details on a public forum, but do feel free to PM me if you’d like.

Needless to say, we also thought CC would be nurturing (they are very skilled at flattering you and telling you everything is lovely). We found the reality quite different- we feel we were sucked in by their excellent PR!!

Thank you for your post I’ve sent you a PM.

Hello I am also finding it hard to choose between CC & Dumpton. We are moving from overseas so hard to get local feedback. I have visited both schools. Thought new head of Dumpton great. CCourt feels very homely. I hoped my son could do taster days to help decision making but with covid seems unlikely. I would love reviews of either school please!!! My son is very sporty and loves reading and science.

Which one did you choose @ARE20 ? We are deliberating the same decision!