Tatler Schools Guide

Pupils here exude a joie de vivre, as well as good old-fashioned values and a real sense of both ambition and adventure.  Results are also stellar: in 2022, 50 per cent of A-level grades were A* or A, and 51 per cent of GCSEs were 9 or 8.  Perhaps fresh air is the secret: the children sail the school's very own tall ship, the Jolie Brise, and when all hands are not on-deck, there are survival skills and beekeeping clubs to get involved with, not to mention trips to the Arctic, Bhutan and Tanzania.

Honouring ties with The Worshipful Company of Mercers, community outreach and fund­raising are high on the agenda here. (One hundred per cent bursaries are available and, in the past decade, more than £350,000 has been raised for various good causes.)

Meanwhile, head Mark Lascelles is 'approachable and friendly, but commands a good level of respect', according to one parent, while a pupil tells us that history teacher Mr Spencer is 'such a happy person and always does all he can to make others happy, too'.

Leavers, equipped with solid foundations and firm friendships, move on to Exeter, Newcastle and King's College London, while others take up coveted degree apprenticeship positions with the likes of Dyson, Vodafone and Jaguar Land Rover. 'I am so happy at Dauntsey's,' one student succinctly puts it. 'I feel I can really be myself here and that everyone accepts you.'

This place is a hidden gem.