Knighton House School A GSG School
- Knighton House School
Durweston
Blandford Forum
Dorset
DT11 0PY - Head: Robin Gainher
- T 01258 452065
- E [email protected]
- W www.knightonhouse.co.uk
- An independent school for girls aged from 3 to 13.
- Boarding: Yes
- Local authority: Dorset
- Pupils: 90
- Religion: Non-denominational
- Fees: Day £8,100 - £14,850; Boarding £17,400 - £22,800 pa
- Review: View The Good Schools Guide Review
- Ofsted report: View the Ofsted report
- ISI report: View the ISI report
What The Good Schools Guide says..
A lot at Knighton happens in fresh air. They play outside in their dens, make up games with bits of sticks, climb trees and converse with ponies, goats, hamsters etc. We watched them at it. A delight. What they (arguably) do best indoors is sing. The music-making tradition here is as old as the ponies. Overnighting and weekending joyously popular because the boarding staff are lovely and make it such fun, and the head of boarding is a force of nature...
What the school says...
Set in 30 acres of glorious Dorset countryside the children have the freedom to explore, climb trees and cartwheel across the lawns. A warm and nurturing ethos reliably delivers superb academic results; recent leavers went on to Bryanston, Canford, Clayesmore, Godolphin, Marlborough, Sherborne Girls and St Marys Calne - last year 50% of year 8s were awarded scholarships.
Knighton House is renowned for its exceptionally high standards in music, art and drama. Sporting achievement is highly valued too with an ever broadening range of options. Well known for riding – lessons alternate between lessons in the school, over the cross country course or hacks on the miles of bridle paths around the school.
“Success comes from giving the girls opportunities to lead, building confidence and developing independence, integrity and an instinct to achieve. We want our girls to embrace the world of the twenty-first century and we prepare them for the challenges; we allow them to enjoy being girls while they can whilst developing in them the qualities and ambitions to become successful young women”. Sarah Wicks – Headmistress. ...Read more
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Sports
Equestrian centre or equestrian team - school has own equestrian centre or an equestrian team.
Sailing
What The Good Schools Guide says
Head
Since 2017, Robin Gainher BSc. Educated at King’s Bruton and the LSE, he’s a historian who also teaches some maths. He’s sporty, too. A lifelong teacher, he rose to be deputy head at Cranleigh, then head for seven years of Beeston Hall. Left to found an international school in Casablanca. Returned to England when he became concerned about the project's backers. Married to Ali, three daughters. Chair of governors promises ‘a raft of new ideas and initiatives’. We grilled Mr Gainher about this. He’s not a firebrand, neither does he have a manifesto - ‘I’ll take it as it comes’, he says. So he’s a pragmatist. His values? ‘Giving children confidence is key. Schools are for children; everything we do should be to make their experience more enriching.’ He also believes in ‘working closely...
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Special Education Needs
Knighton House has high expectations for all pupils and aims to ensure the development of the whole child, helping each pupil fulfil their full potential through effective teaching and learning. The Learning Support department co-ordinates support programmes for pupils beyond whole class teaching - this includes short term small group work to embed their learning, regular 1:1 work to overcome barriers to learning, EAL lessons and gifted and talented activities.
| Condition | Provision for in school |
|---|---|
| ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder | Y |
| Aspergers | |
| Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorders | Y |
| CReSTeD registered for Dyslexia | |
| Dyscalculia | |
| Dysgraphia | |
| Dyslexia | Y |
| Dyspraxia | |
| English as an additional language (EAL) | Y |
| Genetic | |
| Has an entry in the Autism Services Directory | |
| Has SEN unit or class | Y |
| HI - Hearing Impairment | |
| Hospital School | |
| Mental health | |
| MLD - Moderate Learning Difficulty | |
| MSI - Multi-Sensory Impairment | |
| Natspec Specialist Colleges | |
| OTH - Other Difficulty/Disability | |
| Other SpLD - Specific Learning Difficulty | |
| PD - Physical Disability | |
| PMLD - Profound and Multiple Learning Difficulty | |
| SEMH - Social, Emotional and Mental Health | |
| SLCN - Speech, Language and Communication | |
| SLD - Severe Learning Difficulty | |
| Special facilities for Visually Impaired | |
| SpLD - Specific Learning Difficulty | |
| VI - Visual Impairment |
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Leavers' destinations
| School | Year | Places | Scholarships | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leweston School | 2019 | 3 | 2 | Riding Scholarships (2) |
| Sherborne Girls School | 2019 | 3 | ||
| Canford School | 2019 | 2 | 2 | Academic Scholarship; Art Scholarship |
| Bruton School for Girls | 2019 | 1 | 1 | Drama Scholarship |
| Godolphin, Salisbury | 2019 | 1 | 2 | Academic Scholarship; Drama Scholarship |
| Parkstone Grammar School | 2019 | 1 | ||
| St Mary's Calne | 2019 | 1 | ||
| St Mary's School (Shaftesbury) | 2019 | 1 |
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