Leweston School
Leweston School
Org 1: The Society of Heads
Org 2: ISA
Sherborne, Dorset DT9 6EN
Telephone: 01963 210691
Key dates: https://www.leweston.co.uk/useful-information/term-dates
Age Range: Pre-Nursery, Nursery, Pre-Prep/Infants, Prep/Junior to 11, Senior to 18
Day or Boarding: Day, Weekly Boarding, Full Boarding, Flexi/Occasional Boarding
Gender: Co-ed
Exams offered: A Level, BTEC, GCSE
Scholarships Tick: Academic, Art, Drama, DT, Music, Sport
Bursaries and discounts: New entrant bursary, Existing pupil bursary/hardship award, HM forces discount, Sibling discount
Scholarships and bursaries – further details
Leweston School
www.leweston.co.uk
Leweston School is a co-educational boarding (full, weekly and flexi) and day school situated in 46 acres of beautiful Dorset parkland, three miles south of Sherborne. The school offers all the advantages of both the traditional and modern in education with excellent facilities, particularly in the Sciences, Art, Design & Technology and Sport. The school is also a Pentathlon GB Modern Pentathlon Training Hub, one of only nine in the country, thanks to its impressive record in the field of multisport disciplines. The school runs dedicated training programmes for these disciplines and hosts a number of popular training camps and competitions throughout the year. There is also a popular and successful Equestrian team who are NSEA Regional Points League winners for the sixth year running. Leweston pupils achieve outstanding results in many sports as representatives of the school, the county and Team GB.
Founded by the Religious of Christian Instruction in 1891, the school is a Catholic foundation but has a large percentage of pupils from other denominations. There are approximately 600 pupils in the whole school, (250 Prep and 350 Senior) of whom around 100 are boarders. The ethos of the school is based on a wide social mix with a spread of talents, firm but friendly discipline and a keen sense of Christian and moral values. The Headmaster is forward-looking with a strong sense of leadership and vision.
The academic standard of the school is high. At both GCSE and A level, pass rates are consistently over 95% and the school’s reputation for excellence in Music and Drama runs parallel with academic achievement in Sciences and the Arts. Each year pupils gain places at leading universities and go on to read a wide range of degrees. The real success of the school, however, is achieved by realising the full potential of each individual pupil; much emphasis is placed upon the rich extracurricular offering, which helps to discover and nurture a wide range of talents.
Teachers are dedicated and imaginative, including specialist teachers for Dyslexia and EAL. The school’s special quality is its ability to encourage in each pupil a sense of their own worth and ability. Pupils are outgoing and well mannered. While Leweston has a high proportion of day pupils, the school is fully committed to boarding, offering a wide programme of activities in the evenings and at the weekends which are open to day and boarding pupils.
Sherborne is an attractive historic abbey town with few of the distractions of a large city but at the same time, it is served by regular Network Express trains to and from London and good road links to Salisbury, Exeter and Bath.
Leweston Prep (IAPS) for girls and boys aged 3 months to 11 years, with boarding provision from age 8, is situated on the same campus, thus offering continuity of education to age 18. The early years provision includes French, Spanish and weekly swimming lessons from Nursery and was recently award outstanding in all areas by Ofsted for the second time. The school hosts a weekly Forest School Playgroup and Toddler Swimming Group. (For further details, see entry in IAPS section.) Scholarships are awarded at 11+, 13+ and Sixth Form entry. Academic scholarships are available as well as Music, Art/Design, Drama, Sport, Equestrian and Pentathlon. Dates of examinations: Late November for Sixth Form scholarships, late January for others. Further details and entry forms can be obtained from the Registrar or found on the school website.
Fees per term (2024-2025). Day: £7,371–£7,722. Weekly: £10,328–£11,435. Full: £11,971–£13,290.
To see the full list of fees, including flexi packages, please visit our website. Charitable status. Leweston School Trust is a Registered Charity, number 295175. It is a charitable foundation set up for educational purposes.
Governors & Staff:
Governing Body:
Mr G Best
Deacon Mark Brown
Mr M Brunel-Cohen
Mrs V de Fontanals Simmonds
Lt-Gen Sir James Dutton
Mr S Greenwood
Mrs L Hawkes
Mr I Lucas
Mr D McKechnie
Mrs J Mead
Prof T Meehan
Mrs R Peacock
Mrs J Schofield
Head: Mr John Paget-Tomlinson, BA Hons Reading, MA King’s College London, MRes London, PGCE
Deputy Head (Academic): Mr S Whittle, BSc Hons Birmingham
Deputy Head (Pastoral): Mr O McManus, BA Hons Nottingham Trent, PGCE Bath
Director of Strategy and Operations/Clerk to the Governors: Miss C Worsley, MA Oxon, PG Dip