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.

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

Careers

The Careers Department and Careers Library are situated at a focal point within the New School Library. The Senior Careers Adviser has his office adjacent and he is on hand throughout the school day to help and guide pupils, and answer their questions as they arise. The careers library is comprehensively stocked with all the latest University prospectuses, with details of grants and sponsorship schemes, careers books, brochures and literature on over 800 career options, as well as information on GAP year programmes. In addition pupils have easy access to computer software, CD-ROMS and videos.

Formal careers guidance is given in the 4th Form (year 10) as part of the PSE curriculum where pupils explore the world of work using the resources available and they discuss the decisions and options which will present themselves in the future regarding Further and Higher Education. In the Lower VIth (year 12) all pupils receive formal guidance within their General Studies programme on entry to University, interviews, a possible GAP year, sponsorship, grants and student life.
All pupils in the 5th Form (year 11) undertake a careers questionnaire "Preview" administered by Cambridge Occupational Analysts and all pupils receive a one-to-one interview with COA staff and, following discussions together with Parents, Tutors and House Staff, decisions evolve over possible career paths, the choice of subjects to study in the VIth Form and suitable Higher Education courses.

All 5th Form pupils undertake a minimum period of one week of Work Experience following their GCSE exams. This is co-ordinated by the Senior Careers Adviser and administered by the Trident Trust.

Throughout the year the Careers Department invites speakers to come and make presentations on Gap year options, and undertake Seminars on a wide range of careers. The School hosts an extensive Careers Convention each spring.

Music and Drama

The school places great value and importance upon a good musical education. Our resources and accommodation for music have steadily grown over many years and we are justifiably proud of a distinguished reputation for musical activities and achievements

The majority of Dauntsey's School pupils learn to play instruments. Tuition is available on the full range of orchestral instruments, including pecussion and harp, as well as piano, organ, classical guitar, electric guitar and singing.

Supervised practice is arranged for pupils in The Manor.

An average of two concerts per week are scheduled and the style of these ranges from informal evenings of Chamber Music to Rock Band Extravaganzas as well as the more formal Choral and Orchestral concerts.

All Junior and Senior pupils have the opportunity to take part in major theatrical productions each year. Recent examples include Les Miserables (performed in the West End), Blood Brothers, Sweeney Todd, A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum, and Just sO. Further details of these can be found in the Drama section of this website.

Sport and leisure

Dauntsey's provides a wide variety of sporting and leisure pursuits and regularly produces first class sides in all sports. For boys, rugby, cricket and hockey are the main team sports, with hockey and netball for the girls. All pupils have the opportunities to participate in athletics, swimming, cross-country running, golf, tennis and many other sports.

Our rural surroundings provide an ideal setting for outdoor activities. Participation in the Outward Bound Moonrakers programme is compulsory during Year 9, when courses such as campcraft and mapreading are taken as well as a choice of activities, that varies from rock climbing to cooking. The year-long course culminates in a week's residential camp in Mid Wales late in the summer term.

The School maintains and sails the Jolie Brise, a 56' gaff cutter that has won the Fastnet Race three times, and any girl or boy can join the Sailing Club. In the 30th Anniversary Tall Ships race in 2006 we also celebrated victory. Canoeing is also taken seriously with a number of teams entering the annual Devizes to Westminster race.

The wide range of other activities fostered includes bee-keeping, badminton, basketball cycling, fencing, gymnastics, squash and volleyball. There is a thriving Debating Society, an English Society, Creative Writing Society, a History Society and a Junior Science Society.

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