Ages 
A busy busy busy place, totally fulfilling but stopping just the right side of frantic. Stand-out academics come as standard alongside exceptional facilities in a glorious setting and the top-notch staff who make it all happen. No room for apathy nor indeed designer labels, however, in this school which is giving bigger names a run for their money.
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Overview & data
- Pupil numbers
- 643 ·
- Sixth form numbers
- 280 ·
- Offers boarding
- Yes ·
- Religion
- Anglican/Church of England
- Fees
- Day £40,902; Boarding £54,495 pa
- Local authority
- Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole
- Area guides
Headteacher
Headmaster
Mr Christopher Wheeler MBA, PGCE, BA, FRSA, FTIOB
Since September 2025, Chris Wheeler, previously principal at Monkton Combe School. He has also been principal and CEO of Hillcrest International Schools and head of St Christopher’s (Brighton College Prep School). Before becoming a head, he worked at
Entrance
Newcomers arrive from over 50 prep or junior schools, Castle Court and Dumpton being the most common for day students. Process generally starts in year 6 or 7 at prep school, where hopefuls sit the ISEB pre-test for the 125 places at 13+; success
- Open days
- October and April
Exit
Very few leave after GCSE. Upper sixth leavers generally head off to higher education courses up and down the land, with over 80 per cent to Russell Group universities. Exeter, Durham, Bristol, Cardiff, Nottingham, Manchester and Bath all popular.
Latest results
In 2025, 71 per cent 9-7 at GCSE 55 per cent A*/A at A level (84 per cent A*-B).
A level - Average points score (2024)
What is this?
These figures tell you the average grade and average points that pupils achieved in their academic qualifications. A maximum of 60 points are available for a grade A* at A level.
Teaching & learning
‘Just teaching to the test is such a narrowed, blinkered thing to do,’ declares the academic deputy head, and the academic offer is much richer and wider as a result. Year 9s (shells) are taught subjects they are unlikely to have met before; ‘A year
- Qualifications taken in 2024
- A level
- EPQ
- GCSE
Learning support & SEN
Called ‘success for learning’ – or SFL. A few students arrive with a diagnosis and some without, but everyone is screened on entry which may throw up some additional learning needs. The department, headed by a very experienced SENCo and qualified
Arts & extracurricular
So much of what the school is famed and loved for: the head talked animatedly of a ‘rich co-curriculum and its influence on a child’s wider life’, and the school provides it in abundance. Two productions were in rehearsal at the time of our visit in
Sport
Everything you might expect in a school of this calibre and scope – and then some. Alongside the usual rugby, hockey, cricket, netball and tennis, comes rowing on a tranquil stretch of the River Stour which conveniently runs through the grounds, a
Boarders
No weekly, no flexi – those who board at Canford (65 per cent) board in full, but what one parent described as a three-week cadence (one weekend in, one where students are free to go home after Saturday commitments, one exeat) seems to suit everyone.
Ethos & heritage
For a school a mere 100 years old, Canford has done well to establish itself on the national stage in recent years. Tucked away down a leafy drive in a small village near Wimborne, the magnificent buildings can trace their origins back to the time of
Pastoral care, inclusivity & discipline
Very very hot on the first two and generally only a light touch needed for the third. We felt EDI (equality, diversity and inclusion), as it is generally becoming known, is more mainstream than at some other schools: a school charter drawn up by
Mobile phone policy
A clear mobile phone policy is a really important part of modern schooling. This school has provided us with their policy.
Mobile phone policy
Provided by the school and not part of our review Pupils are permitted to bring a mobile phone to school but their use is restricted during the school day to allow for interaction with their fellow pupils and complete focus during academic lessons. No mobiles are allowed during lessons or in the dining hall during lunch. In the Shells, mobile phones are not allowed until the end of the formal school day and are taken away at bedtime in boarding houses. Parents of day pupils are encouraged to follow the same policy.
Pupils & parents
Surprisingly mixed for a school of this type – down, we think, to the importance the school places on its values rather than its name, its generous bursarial programme and its distance from London – at least two hours down country roads. Parent body
Money matters
The sale of the Assyrian frieze in 1994 kick-started a programme of generous financial assistance covering nearly 40 scholarships into year 9, and 15 or so into sixth form across usual areas of excellence, plus two for the children of serving members
- Fee information
- Day £40,902; Boarding £54,495 pa
The last word
A busy busy busy place, totally fulfilling but stopping just the right side of frantic. Stand-out academics come as standard alongside exceptional facilities in a glorious setting and the top-notch staff who make it all happen. No room for apathy nor
