Dauntsey's is one of the most popular fully co-educational schools in the country, with the number of boarders continuing to grow year by year. Some 740 boys and girls, between the ages of 11 and 18, attend the school. Pupils usually join at 11+, 13+ or 16+
Modern living
Over recent years we have enlarged and modernised our accommodation and upgraded all of the boarding houses. Senior day-pupils have their own newly furnished accommodation for study and recreation in the main building.
For younger boarders, aged 11 to 14, home is The Manor, an attractive and spacious country house, set amid 65 acres of beautiful woodland with its own nine hole golf course, trout stream and floodlit tennis courts. The younger day-pupils have their own accommodation on the main school site.
Set in the heart of Wiltshire
With an estate of over a hundred acres, in the picturesque Vale of Pewsey, Dauntsey's School is located in the pleasant village of West Lavington, on the A360, five miles south of the historic market town of Devizes. There is easy access by road, with Bath, Salisbury, Swindon and junction 17 of the M4 within about 40 minutes; Stonehenge lies a few miles south on the A303. The centre of London is less than a hundred miles away.
Nearby stations at Westbury, Pewsey and Chippenham are served by InterCity express trains from Paddington, and the Rail-Air link at Reading (only 30 minutes from Pewsey) provides direct connections with Heathrow and Gatwick Airports.
A wealth of facilities
With a main school site of over 40 acres, Dauntsey's has been able to grow and develop with the times, providing the pupils with the best possible facilities.
On this site is the School Chapel, incorporated in the 1200 seat capacity Memorial Hall. Recent additions include a new Art School, a £1.2m Library and Study Centre, new IT Suites, an enlarged and refurbished Music School, a heated 25 metre swimming pool, floodlit astroturf hockey pitch, 12 all-weather tennis courts, a new science department and most recently Evans House, a modern, purpose-built 60-bed girls' boarding house with en-suite facilities in all rooms.
A caring environment
At Dauntsey's every boy and girl joins a boarding or day house, which is led by the Housemaster or Housemistress and a team of tutors. A sensitively structured programme of personal, religious and social education helps each pupil to cope with the demands of adolescent life and to develop a responsible awareness of others.
Boarding is thriving at Dauntsey's, one of the first schools to encourage the closest of partnerships between home and school. We value our relationship with parents, who are always most welcome, and we operate a very flexible exeat system. With a wide variety of weekend activities on offer, however, many boarders choose to stay at school for Saturday night and Sunday.
The equal balance of boarding and day pupils, and the wide range of facilities, ensures that everyone feels part of the community. Pupils are actively involved in Community Service locally and more widely, and the School's Charity Committee actively raises sizeable sums of money each year for national and international appeals. |
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Spiritual values
The School is a Christian foundation, with “Honor Deo” as its motto and a 2 Chaplains on the staff; pupils from faiths other than Christianity are also warmly welcomed. Through our various Chaplaincy activities we aim to foster in all pupils an awareness of, and a respect for, the spiritual side of human nature, within the broadly Christian framework of the School.
During the week a range of services and assemblies is held, including a service of Holy Communion (at which attendance is voluntary). The Dauntsey’s Christian Union, run by senior pupils, meets weekly, and other Chaplaincy groups, for younger pupils and for Confirmation candidates, are run as required. On Sundays a short service is held for all boarders, at which day pupils, parents and friends are most welcome. Occasional Chaplaincy meetings are held for parents, for discussion and for prayer for the School.
The “Upper Room”, in the heart of the main school building, allows pupils to enjoy a time for quiet reflection during the busy school day.
The Chaplain and Assistant Chaplain stand outside the normal disciplinary structures of the School, and seek to offer friendship and support to all members of the School community, irrespective of their particular beliefs.
A wide and stimulating curriculum
The curriculum throughout the school is broad and balanced, offering all pupils the opportunity to study an extensive range of subjects.
In the Lower School, Years 7 to 9, pupils are challenged by a busy programme covering all the core and foundation subjects contained within the National Curriculum and many other stimulating areas of study. Much emphasis is placed on making lessons interesting and enjoyable, with a variety of teaching styles in the classroom, and pupils are well-prepared for the more demanding work that lies ahead.
For GCSE, most pupils take nine or ten subjects with Mathematics, English and Science forming a common core. A wide range of option choices is available enabling pupils to achieve breadth and contrast in their individual programmes. Class sizes average about 18 pupils and examination results in recent years have been impressive.
The Sixth Form is a very vibrant, flourishing part of the school with over one hundred pupils in each year group. Twenty four subjects are offered for AS-level and A-level; school policy is to encourage diversity of choice and the General Studies scheme adds enrichment to the examination courses. Class sizes are small, mostly 10-12 pupils, and we are justifiably proud of our considerable academic reputation and examination success.
Full curriculum details are set out in the academic section of the school’s website.
A complete education
At Dauntsey's the new Art Centre provides excellent facilities for fine art, ceramics, textiles and photography.
Our technology centre enables pupils to discover the practical nature of Design and Technology. The science laboratories have been brought up to date with extensive refurbishment. New IT suites have recently been opened and the school now boasts some 250 networked computers, with forty of these set within individual work stations within the library. |