Top independent schools in Dorset: Where to live nearby
The wonderful range of independent schools in Dorset caters to a diverse array of needs, which is one of the many reasons it’s such a popular location for families.
Dorset is a mostly rural county famed for its beautiful, rolling countryside and Jurassic coastline. Over half the county is designated an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) and it is one of a few counties that doesn’t have a motorway. It is therefore not surprising that the county has an excellent selection of impressive rural schools.
Dorset isn’t just bucolic rolling hills and Thomas Hardy, in the south east of the county, is the significant coastal conurbation of Bournemouth-Poole-Christchurch, with a selection of schools to suit.
Here we explore some top independent schools in Dorset and where to live nearby:
Canford School
Canford is a stunning school in all respects, from its grand 19th-century main school building and its beautiful 250-acre parkland site to its stellar academic results and a broad range of opportunities for every pupil.
Situated just outside Wimborne, Canford is a school with good balance. Pupils are encouraged to aim high and achieve very impressive academic outcomes alongside enjoying a thriving co-curricular programme where the school punches above its weight on the sports field, offers dynamic creative arts, and over 30 different clubs and activities.
The school is co-ed with approximately 65% full boarding and 35% day pupils.
Canford is frequently on the national honours boards and was named Public School of the Year by Tatler in 2019, ranked Top Co-educational Secondary School in the South West in The Sunday Times Parent Power 2024 for A-level performance, and was the winner in the HIEDA (Health In Education Association) awards for Health and Wellbeing, to name a few.
Prep Schools nearby include Dumpton School, Castle Court School, Bournemouth Collegiate School
Where to live near Canford School
The nearby town of Wimborne, or Wimborne Minster to give it its full name, is a historic riverside market town, with plenty of charm. The minster sits in the heart of the town and is 1300 years old.
Its pretty streets, sometimes cobbled, and squares are filled with independent shops and eateries. With gorgeous countryside on one side and the urban attraction of Poole-Bournemouth on the other, Wimborne is an attractively located town.
The Cranborne Chase to the north of the school is a beautiful, unspoiled AONB with numerous charming, characterful, friendly villages. Good walking and good pubs abound. Villages such as Gussage All Saints, Cranborne, and Wimborne St Giles remain ever-popular.
Sherborne School and Sherborne Girls School
Sherborne School and Sherborne Girls are two independent schools based in the heart of the small, bustling, market town.
They provide a unique educational opportunity: separate boys’ and girls’ schools, with a busy social and co-curricular offering in which both school communities come together.
Girls and boys benefit from the focus of single-sex classrooms, with teaching that is tailored to their needs and stage of development.
The two schools are located right next door to each other and overlap in many places, which provides opportunities for many joint activities from music to sport, from drama to the debating society, from joint socials to coffee in town.
This combination of circumstances is rare, and for many provides the best of both worlds. Both schools are predominantly full boarding (90% plus).
Prep Schools nearby Sherborne Prep School, Perrott Hill School, Hazlegrove Prep School, Port Regis School
Where to live near Sherborne’s schools
Sherborne, in the north west corner of the county, is gorgeous. It is a quintessential English town, steeped in history with many medieval, Tudor, and Georgian buildings.
The vernacular architecture is honey coloured stone which oozes warmth and charm. The beautiful old high street bustles with independent shops, cafes, and restaurants.
Yetminster and its smaller neighbour, Ryme Intrinseca, are a pair of lovely mellow stone villages a few miles south of Sherborne. Yetminster is a good sized village which has a lot to offer, including a primary school, a nursery, a gallery and café, a health centre and a train station, importantly it also has a thriving community spirit.
Bryanston School
Beautiful Bryanston School is located on 400 acres of idyllic Dorset countryside, on the outskirts of the market town of Blandford Forum.
Whilst Bryanston has all the trappings of a traditional independent school – impressive entrance gates and a long drive, incredible facilities, vast grounds, and historic main buildings – it has a progressive approach to education, with a distinct focus on the individual, one-to-one tutor system, and an excellent creative offering.
Bryanston School is a co-educational school for children aged 3 – 18 with the majority of pupils (85%) boarding whilst also offering flexi boarding and day places too.
Prep Schools nearby include Sandroyd School, Port Regis, Sunninghill Prep School
Where to live near Bryanston School
Blandford Forum is a classic Georgian riverside market town. The heart of the town was comprehensively rebuilt in the mid-eighteenth century following a devastating fire in 1731.
This is proper rural Dorset and far from the madding crowd. It is home to the wonderful Hall and Woodhouse Brewery, which brews under the Badger Brewery name.
The wonderfully named Piddle Valley has a selection of attractive villages – Alton Pancras, Piddletrenthide, White Lackington, and Piddlehinton. These small villages follow the river in a linear fashion and are dotted with cosy country pubs. The valley evokes an enchanting, pastoral idyll.
Clayesmore School
Another of the top independent schools in Dorset is Clayesmore. It is a relatively small school (c.535 across the prep and senior schools), which gives it a friendly, family feel, and a place where everyone is known and noticed.
This supportive, nurturing ethos leads to a happy environment, and it is therefore not surprising that the most recent inspection found that “Pupils are fully engaged and willing learners who work together very effectively in support of their learning”. And that “the pupils’ excellent interpersonal skills provide for a harmonious and safe school environment which supports fully the pupils’ personal development.”
In 2021 the school launched its innovative LEX programme, which seeks to broaden pupils’ education across key pillars such as the great outdoors, arts, creativity and culture, service and leadership, enterprise and employability, and wellbeing.
The programme is designed to build skills, knowledge, and passions that will serve pupils well in the world after school. Clayesmore is a co-educational, all-through day and boarding school, with approximately a 50:50 split between day and boarders.
Prep Schools nearby include Clayesmore Prep, Sandroyd School, Port Regis School.
Where to live near Clayesmore School
Clayesmore School is set in Iwerne Minster, a good-sized village mid-way between Blandford Forum and Shaftesbury. To the east is the Cranborne Chase and to the west is the Blackmore Vale.
Shaftesbury is a pretty, historic town, with cobbled streets, farmers’ markets, and independent shops. Its hilltop setting provides glorious views over the Blackmore Vale – Thomas Hardy’s Vale of Little Dairies.
It’s famous for its much-photographed Gold Hill, the location for the “Boy on the Bike’ Hovis advert, and seen on the lid of many a box of fudge.
Off the beaten track, Shaftesbury has a laid-back charm.
The Cranborne Chase provides a rich seam of charming villages, such as Ashmore, the highest village in Dorset; Farnham, with its wonderful Museum Inn; and Tollard Royal with its beautiful Larmer Tree Gardens.
Talbot Heath School and Bournemouth Collegiate School
Bournemouth is well served by two independent schools. Talbot Heath – an all-girls school, which is majority day, but also offers a range of boarding, and Bournemouth Collegiate School – a co-ed school with 75% day pupils and 25% boarders. Both schools run from 3-18 years old.
Prep Schools nearby include Yarrells School, Talbot House Prep School, St Martin’s School, Park School,
Where to live nearby Talbot Heath School and Bournemouth Collegiate School
Popular locations for the Bournemouth Independent Schools include Canford Cliffs with its wide variety of houses, its eclectic high street and its beautiful beach, Branksome Park with its tree-lined streets, generous plot sizes, and sylvan character, and Christchurch with its river, harbour, beaches and historic buildings.
These areas are highly sought-after by families looking to live near top independent schools in Dorset.
Top independent schools in Dorset
The independent schools in Dorset provide an excellent standard of education amongst beautiful surroundings.
For more information on where to live near the top independent schools in Dorset, contact Garrington for an initial no-obligation discussion about your requirements.
