Sherborne School

Sherborne school – a boarding school for boys with a thousand-year history, one of the oldest and most prestigious educational institutions in England. It was founded in 1550. Many buildings from those times have still been preserved on the territory, including a library, a church, and a director's block, making up a wonderful architectural ensemble in one of the most picturesque corners of the south of England.

Sherborne — a city with its own character: a place filled with energy, where music, art and literature flourish. This is a very beautiful and safe place with excellent transport links, making it easy to travel to London, Bristol, Birmingham. Sherborne — it is a community in which boys play a full and visible role. They are valued members of the town, socializing with their peers in Sherborne Girls and playing an active role in the daily lives of their neighbors.

Director (for 2024)

Dominic Luckett, education – Oxford University (PhD); University of Leicester (BA). Best director of 2019 according to Tatler magazine.

Famous school graduates

• Alan Turing, mathematician, cryptanalyst and father of artificial intelligence and the first modern computer
• Jeremy Irons, actor in the films “Die Hard”, “Lolita”, TV series “Elizabeth I”
• Chris Martin, lead singer of the rock band Coldplay
• Philip Harvey, creative director and manager of the rock band Coldplay
• Stanley Johnson, writer and father of British Prime Minister Boris Johnson
• Michael McCrum, Principal of Eton College, Vice-Chancellor of the University of Cambridge
• Sir Colin Lucas, Chancellor of Oxford University
• Alfred North Whitehead, mathematician and philosopher
• Sherwood Taylor, chemist, curator of the Oxford Museum of the History of Science
• John Newsome-Davies, neurologist
• Hugh Carless diplomat, philanthropist and explorer
• Sir Richard Eyre, film, theater, television and opera director
• Gerald Grove, film director
• Sir Christopher Curwen and Sir David Spedding, two former heads of the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6),
• Anthony Edwards-Stewart, Supreme Court Judge
• Tom Bradby, television journalist and political editor of ITV News
• Alistair Buncall, television journalist and Sky News correspondent
• Simon McCoy, television journalist and BBC News presenter
• Nick Thorpe, BBC producer, TV creator
• Roger Norman, writer
• Brian Monahan, journalist, historian and biographer

Key factors

• Pupils achieve great success in a wide range of sports, from rugby to shooting, from golf and polo to athletics.
• Sherborne school is considered one of the best music schools in the country. The Week newspaper described it as “The number one music school.”
• The exam results are excellent! Two thirds of graduates enter Russel Group universities (the most prestigious British universities).
• The school actively uses the Outdoor Education Program. It includes classes in the United Cadet Corps and training camps, competing for the Duke of Edinburgh Prize, mountaineering, rock climbing, surfing.
• The school has a very strong department of art and design and technology. With an emphasis on practice and creating projects that really work! These subjects can be chosen to be studied in the GCSE and A-level programs.

Equipment

Sherborne school is renowned for its well-equipped, state-of-the-art Music School. It was built in 2010 and includes a recording studio. Sherborne has an outstanding reputation for developing young talent. The school has fantastic concert venues, excellent workshops and sports facilities: football and hockey fields, a rugby field, a sports center with a luxuriously equipped gym, a 25-meter heated indoor swimming pool, tennis and squash courts.

Program

GCSE

Two-year program to obtain a certificate of general secondary education. 6 subjects are required to study, 4 subjects are studied electively.

A-level

Two-year program to prepare for entering the university. Students choose 4 or 5 subjects for in-depth study.

Accommodation and accommodation

Accommodation in a residence on the school grounds. Each of the eight houses houses about 70 boys of all age groups. Here the guys truly feel at home, this is a place for communication and support. The school has its own medical center, staffed by qualified nurses 24/7.

Sport

The school strives to promote healthy lifestyle habits and a commitment to regular exercise because it recognizes its importance for both physical and mental well-being.

Sports at school:

• Athletics
• Badminton
• Basketball
• Cricket
• Running
• Horse riding
• Fencing
• Football
• Golf
• Hockey
• Rugby
• Sailing
• Shooting
• Ski racing
• Swimming
• Tennis
• Water polo
• Yoga

School teams achieve success in competitions among students – some of the best athletes in the country. The school provides boys with the opportunity to maximize their talent while celebrating each individual's sporting achievements.

Additional activities

The school offers boys the opportunity to participate in all types of activities, including debates, radio broadcasts, philosophical discussions, art workshops, creative workshops, outdoor activities, as well as charity work and volunteering. The school offers the Duke of Edinburgh Award program and the Combined Cadet Corps.

The school hosts a literary festival and economics competitions. There are frequent trips to Scotland, Snowdonia Park, the Lake District and European countries. Many events are held jointly with the students of Sherborne School for Girls: film nights, discos and even gala dinners with dancing.

Among the many extracurricular activities is the orienteering competition “10 Rock Challenge” stands out for its physical and mental stress. The intensive training program gives boys the opportunity to develop advanced navigation skills, leadership skills and teamwork.  «The 10 Rock Challenge» stands out for its scale and ambition. The event starts and ends at Okehampton Camp and is supported by the Royal Navy and Royal Air Force. 

Teams of 6 must navigate the rugged terrain of Dartmoor independently, carrying all necessary equipment for 36 hours. The program includes an overnight stay in a tent in a remote location. Guys must cover a required distance of 21 kilometers (27 km for older students) in the allotted time and must be able to navigate and survive without adult help. This is a very cool program for guys who want to challenge themselves to become the best and find out what each of them is capable of.

Music at school – this is a tradition. Since the mid-1990s, the school has held its own rock festival, with proceeds going to charity. The music school is busy from morning to evening, with students rehearsing, composing, practicing and recording music. Music can be studied as a subject at GCSE and A-level programs, students receive high marks. Three or more boys each year go to university to study music and then to the conservatory. The school schedule is structured so that boys do not have to choose between music and sports, they can easily do both and excel in everyone is the same.

The school has two choirs, a symphony orchestra, a chamber orchestra, concert and radio orchestras, a brass band, strings, brass, brass and jazz ensembles and various other small instrumental ensembles. Every year a number of graduates enter the conservatory. Half of the boys play a musical instrument, many play more than one instrument, and at a very high level. Music is woven into the daily life of the school. The choir sings twice a week at school-wide services, held both at school and in prestigious venues such as Salisbury Cathedral, Winchester Cathedral, Sheldonian Theatre. 

The school encourages participation in theater productions, and many boys enjoy acting on stage or working behind the scenes. In addition to school-wide productions where the boys work with Sherborne School for Girls, each school house puts on a play every two years. They vary in size, style and genre, but all the boys in the house get the opportunity to participate, whether on stage or as part of the technical crew. The boys have also participated in the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in recent years, both with school productions and with their own own performances, receiving forfeitastic success.

For those interested, the school provides training at LAMDA (London Academy of Music  and Theater). The school works with professional directors, actors and producers to create a real environment in which boys hone their craft. Theater is also an important part of the curriculum and a subject in which boys achieve very high academic results at GCSE and A-level. Graduates go on to study theater at top universities and drama schools.

The school has strong departments of art and design and technology. The classes encourage boys to use their creativity to produce original results or solve practical problems. These departments work closely together so that the boys have access to well-equipped studios and workshops. Many teachers – As enthusiastic practitioners of their fields, boys become part of a vibrant creative community where ideas are explored, developed and given space for creativity and imagination. The school celebrates students' artistic and design achievements by displaying their work at school and in special exhibitions. Pupils' work is also published in the school's annual magazine, The Shirburnian.

Cost, 2023-2024

£15,200 per semester.
There are 3 semesters in the academic year.

Included in price

• Training
• Accommodation and meals

Additional charge

• Registration fee - £250
• Deposit - cost of 1 semester
• Air travel
• Transfers to/from/airport
• Visa
• Educational company services
• Selection of a guardian, which is a mandatory requirement of a British school

Paradise Education London services and fees 

How to choose a school