Home / Schools Guide / South West /
Dorset / Independent preparatory and junior

Printable version

Hanford School, Blandford

Review this schoolLatest reviews for Hanford School, Blandford

Hanford School details

Address:

Hanford School
Childe Okeford, Blandford, Dorset DT11 8HN

Telephone:

01258 860219

Fax:

01258 861255

Email:

info@hanfordschool.com

Website:

www.hanford.dorset.sch.uk

Authority:

Dorset

Gender of entry:

Girls

Age range:

7-13

Number of students:

97

Affiliation:

IAPS

Last inspection:

June 2004. Read the full inspection report.

General information

Headteacher: Nigel Mackay, appointed in September 2003.

Staff: 18 (men 2, women 16).

Background: Founded in 1947, the privately-owned school is accommodated in an Elizabethan manor house in rural surroundings. It offers mature grounds which allow activities such as tree climbing, and pupils enjoy horse riding over adjacent farmland. Iron Age forts are a feature of the area. The school is 'very traditional and is modern only where it matters'. In recent years all children have passed Common Entrance and many have won academic, art, games and music scholarships. Latin, art, music, history of art, IT and handwork are taught as part of the curriculum. The school is 'particularly strong on music, art, riding, games as well as academically'. Most pupils receive individual instrumental tuition and all enjoy sports such as riding, gymnastics, swimming, athletics, tennis, hockey, netball and cross-country. 'The children who come to Hanford School are allowed to mature in their own time and as individuals in their own right. The opportunity to excel in any sphere, be it work, music, art, games or riding, is always available to them, but they are never pressured into a fixed mould.' .

Approach to discipline: 'Trust, benign supervision. No written rules. Common sense. Tolerance.'

Uniform: No uniform.

Special needs: Full-time SEN teacher.

Inspection: June 2004: 'Hanford School provides a good quality of education for its pupils in a beautiful and tranquil environment that contributes much to their freedom, contentment and spiritual awareness. Pupils achieve good academic standards and develop independence and individuality untrammelled by the pressures of urban living. However, the school?s management systems and aspects of assessment, the curriculum and the library need attention.'

Secondary schools: Sherborne for Girls; Marlborough College.

Girls' age range: 7 to 13.

Browse through all the Dorset schools. Or view different types of school in Dorset

• Dorset boys' schools
• Dorset girls' schools
• Dorset mixed schools
• Dorset state schools
• Dorset independent private schools
• Dorset secondary schools
• Dorset special schools
• Dorset state primary schools
• Dorset independent private preparatory & junior schools
• Dorset state secondary schools
• Dorset independent private secondary schools
• Dorset state special schools
• Dorset independent private special schools
• Dorset state sixth form & FE colleges schools