Leweston School

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St Antony’s school was founded in Sherborne in 1891 by the Religious of Christian Instruction. The first sisters traveled from their motherhouse in Belgium to promote an academic and spiritual education and St Antony’s was the order’s first establishment in the UK.

Leweston is a Catholic boarding and day school that focuses on preparing pupils for life beyond the school. The independence, resilience, and willingness to try instilled at Leweston provide pupils with the confidence to meet the challenges of the wider world. High standards are set both inside and outside the classroom, and our values of community, opportunity, and respect are the bedrock of our school. We welcome pupils of all faiths and none, building a strong sense of community, courtesy, respect, and affection that has at its heart prayer and service to others.

Aim of the School

To give pupils an experience of life in a Christian community:

• By affirming each individual as a sacred and unique part of God’s creation, and nurturing in each person a sense of dignity and self-worth
• By valuing diversity and appreciating the contribution that every pupil makes to the life of the school

To provide the highest quality of teaching and learning, which is responsive to and supportive of the needs and aspirations of the individual:

• By fostering intellectual curiosity, a desire to seek truth, and a life-long love of learning
• By enabling pupils to discover their strengths and weaknesses, to learn from ‘failures, and to develop the determination to persevere, to pursue their goals
• By supporting all pupils in their pursuit of academic and personal excellence and ensuring every pupil can take part in the school curriculum

To provide a program of sport and outdoor learning accessible to all which supports and enhances pupils’ personal development and academic achievements.

To forge relationships of trust and mutual respect between staff and students which contribute to the success of pupils in all aspects of school life.

To inspire pupils to develop their God-given gifts and be happy with who they are.

Leweston is set in 46 acres of beautiful Dorset parkland providing a wealth of outdoor learning opportunities and supporting health and well-being. As through-school pupils of all ages can access a range of facilities often unavailable to individual year groups.

The Nursery is housed in a bespoke free-flow modern building with continual access to a spacious garden. The beautiful hand-painted Mongolian Yurt provides both the Nursery and Prep with a year-round outdoor classroom.

The Prep School is located in the former Coach House with its tennis and netball courts and Victorian walled garden play area. The Prep and Nursery both use the nearby ‘Enchanted Wood’ for Forest School which has a full outdoor classroom with an all-weather awning and sufficient seating for a whole class. The new Prep School Hall opened in September 2019 providing space for the whole school as well as four classrooms. The Prep also expanded into the former Senior Music School adding a library space, additional classroom, and rooms for small group work.

The Art and Design Centre is available to pupils from Nursery upwards and houses two fine art studios, two Sixth Form studios, a pottery workshop, creative computer suite, darkroom, sewing room, and design studio. Whilst the purpose-built Senior Science Centre houses three laboratories, a project room and preparation room.

The main Senior School site is centered around the Grade I listed Manor House. The impressive Pensabene Library doubles as both a lending library and ICT suite as well as a quiet place to study, with views over the beautiful grounds. It is the venue for evening prep as well visiting lectures. With easy access to the Library, the Sixth Form Centre provides a modern space for Sixth Formers to study and relax.

The new Music School opened in the Manor House in September 2019. The purpose-built renovation provides an ensemble room, two music classrooms, instrumental teaching rooms, GCSE and A-Level Music workspace, and a recording studio.

Leweston's excellent sports facilities are aided by the acres of grounds in which the school sits. There is an all-weather hockey pitch which also provides nine tennis courts in the summer, a sports hall which acts as both an indoor netball and hockey court provides four badminton courts as well as a conditioning suite and a range of Technogym cardiovascular equipment. Other facilities include six netball courts, six hard surface tennis courts an indoor heated swimming pool, a 300m grass track, and synthetic long jump.

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