Choosing a school for our children is one of the most significant decisions we will ever make: the environment in which they are educated and the values which are promoted will influence them for the rest of their lives.
As parents, we all want our children to be safe, secure, and happy as well as challenged and stimulated in the classroom. But we want more than that. We imagine our children in the future as successful, confident, kind, and fulfilled men and women who are making a real difference to the world and the people around them.
At Clayesmore, our philosophy firmly takes into account that long game supporting parents in helping their children to find a way towards living a life of purpose and meaning, as well as ensuring that they have a strong academic platform from which to grow. We value and appreciate every single child for what they can bring to our community and we provide the atmosphere of warmth, trust, and care that is essential for them to truly flourish.
A ‘one size fits all approach is limiting and so we seek to support all individuals in developing their passions – whether academic, sporting, musical, artistic, or other – which will help them to gain the confidence, ambition, and self-esteem to achieve their future goals.
Clayesmore supports and challenges every pupil to fulfill their potential and contribute to the world with confidence, ambition, and compassion.
Clayesmore is a school for all your children. It’s a school for your academic child, your sporty child, your artistic or musical child, and your child that needs to be encouraged and given the support needed to shine. We are renowned for our warm, family feel but we are ambitious – for your child and our school community. We are confident in the steps we take to ensure every one of our pupils, from Nursery to Sixth Form, reaches their fullest potential, with the aim they leave Clayesmore with the brightest possible path ahead of them.
Our Prep and Senior Schools share the same beautiful, well-equipped site which makes it possible for children of all ages (2 to 18 years) to attend school together. Our day and boarding pupils make up our House system and share study and relaxation spaces, without segregation. We are large enough to be competitive amongst other schools and to offer a wide-ranging curriculum and a breadth of inspiring activities, yet small enough to foster a family feel, characterized by warmth, selflessness, strong relationships, and positive regard for everybody.
While strong academic foundations are core to Clayesmore’s educational philosophy, we prioritize building our pupils’ confidence to allow them to learn at their own pace. We know, that whatever their starting point, our pupils reach beyond themselves, in a balanced and natural way, to seize opportunities and to soar to heights they may not have imagined. Our ethos is all about deeper learning and active thinking skills. Teachers take time to understand every boy and every girl and are experts in supporting different learning requirements with different ways of learning.
Situated near Blandford Forum, Dorset, we are members of The Headmasters’ and Headmistresses’ Conference (HMC) and the Independent Association of Prep Schools (IAPS).
Founded by Alexander Devine in 1896 in Enfield, Middlesex, the school had homes in Pangbourne, Berkshire, and Winchester, Hampshire, before we settled in Iwerne Minster in the summer term of 1933. In 1974, it was joined by Clayesmore Preparatory School, originally Charlton Marshall School, which had been founded in 1929 by R.A.L. Everett. In the following year, the school became co-educational.
Clayesmore is a school where each child is known and noticed, and all our pupils flourish. We are a school with ambition, confidence, and compassion.
