Downside School, Bath | The Good Schools Guide

Downside School
Stratton-on-the-Fosse
Bath
Somerset
BA3 4RJ
Head: Dr James Whitehead
T 01761 235103
F 01761 235105
E admissions@downside.co.uk
W www.downside.co.uk
An independent school for boys and girls aged from 11 to 18.
Boarding: Yes
Local authority: Somerset
Pupils: 370; 285 boarders; sixth formers: 153
Religion: Roman Catholic
Fees: Boarding £23,562 - £31,608 pa. Day £14,940 - £17,712 pa
Open days: September, October, November and March
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..

With 500 acres of grounds to run around in, fresh air and exercise are an integral part of Downside life. House staff are adept at helping children to settle in. ‘No one gets lost here,’ we were told. A housemother reckons that Ovaltine, warm wheat bags (the modern answer to hot water bottles) and talking helps to stave off homesickness. Pupils are kept occupied at weekends with lots of trips and inter-house competitions. A strong sense of spirituality pervades the school. Around 80 per cent of pupils are Catholic but…

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What the school says...

Founded in 1606 Downside is one of Englands oldest and most distinguished Catholic schools. Outstanding examination results are the priority. Everyone is encouraged to aspire beyond their academic expectations and the School has a thriving academic life with all pupils going on to the top universities in the UK, the USA and Europe.

85% of Downside pupils are 7-day-a-week boarders and 15% of its pupils are from overseas. Weekends for boarders are busy with a full programme of activities. The School provides outstanding pastoral support for all pupils and has long been known for its strong sense of community. Downside offers an exceptionally wide choice of co-curricular activities to its pupils. All boys and girls are expected to participate; there are extended time slots for activities, clubs and societies, drama, music and sport on every weekday afternoon and a huge range of activities also take place outside the formal co-curricular times. The School is particularly renowned for the quality of its drama, and music and facilities are excellent. ...Read more

What the parents say...

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2015 Good Schools Guide Awards

Best performance by Girls taking French at an English Independent School (Level1/2 certificates)

2016 Good Schools Guide Awards

Best performance by Boys taking Art & Design (Photography) at an English Independent School (GCSE Full Course)

Sports

Polo

Fencing

What The Good Schools Guide says

Head master

Since 2014, Dr James Whitehead MA MPhil PhD (40s). Previously second master at Worth. Educated at Stonyhurst and Oxford. After an MA in English at Oxford and MPhil in modern poetry at University of Stirling, he worked in the civil service and as a bookseller in his early 20s, then did his PhD (on Thomas Hardy’s poetry) at the University of Manchester. Studying for his doctorate ‘ignited my love of teaching’ and when he spotted an ad for a post at Radley he decided to apply. He spent four years there, as an English teacher, sub-tutor (assistant housemaster) and rugby coach, before moving to Downside as head of English (and later director of studies). ‘It was a time of rapid change and development at Downside,’ he says. ‘We were the most improved school...

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Special Education Needs

Downside has long experience of supporting pupils with mild Special Needs, especially dyselxia and dyspraxia. Pupils must be able to cope with with a mainstream academic curriculum, within which they can receive additional one-to-one support.

Condition	Provision for in school
ASD - Autistic Spectrum Disorder
Aspergers
Aspergers Syndrome [archived]
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorders	Y
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorders [archived]
CReSTeD registered for Dyslexia
Delicate Medical Problems [archived]
Dyscalculia
Dysgraphia
Dyslexia
Dyspraxia
English as an additional language (EAL)
Epilepsy [archived]
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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