Why Canford? - Our Vision

The Christian faith has been at the heart of Canford’s spiritual identity since the school was founded in 1923. In 21st century multi-cultural Britain we seek to remain true to those Christian foundations, whilst welcoming those from a variety of faith backgrounds (or none). Pupils are encouraged to be open-minded and think for themselves as they encounter the Christian faith in chapel and on other informal occasions. The spiritual aim of the school is to nurture faith where it exists while arousing curiosity in all pupils towards their spiritual dimension.

BOARDING SCHOOL OF THE YEAR 2018
Independent Schools of the Year awards

Canford has a 21st century boarding model, which commits to genuine 24/7 full boarding rather than weekly or flexi boarding options, but also allows pupils to spend a proportion of Saturday nights at home each year if they want to. Yet with a packed programme including Sunday trips to the beach and water parks, weekly Saturday night Sixth Form socials, film nights in the Layard Theatre and fun Sunday activities such as juggling lessons, pizza making and boarding ‘Bake offs’, alongside full use of the school’s facilities such as the boat club, indoor 25m pool, gym, dance studio and 9 hole golf course, it is perhaps not surprising that at least 70% of boarders choose to stay in on any given weekend!

Canford has a deserved fine reputation for high academic achievement in external examinations, previously ranked among the top 5 co-educational boarding schools in the country at A Level by The Daily Telegraph. Our success derives, we believe, from a culture of learning, intellectual stimulation and a coherent education where pupils make connections between and across their learning experiences, both inside and outside the classroom.

examination results

find out more about our academic curriculum

Exam results are tickets to the next stage of education and are very important in this respect.  However we believe education is about fostering a love of learning which lasts a lifetime, with results achieved within a culturally enriching intellectual environment. Canford offers a unique programme of cross-curricular festivals and events aims to develop enquiring minds, to encourage debate and to provoke creative thought, such as:

- Post GCSE programmes to challenge and excite after the rigours of exams

- Visiting lecturers to stimulate minds beyond the syllabus

- Departmental and cross-curricular societies for all year groups

- Extended Project Qualifications to encourage independent thinking at AS level

- Cultural theme weeks - A Festival of Ideas - focus on aspects of society and our place within it; each year all year groups step outside the curriculum and broaden their intellectual thinking and general knowledge through the experiences of a diverse range of external speakers

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Whether your passion is for greasepaint or beekeeping, Real Tennis or creative writing, Canford provides the opportunity to explore, challenge and develop interests.  With over 30 different sports and activities, and numerous clubs and societies, there is something for all. Personal fulfilment and the development of self-worth in the broadest sense are key educational aims, and lead to both individual and team achievement. 

READ MORE ABOUT CO-CURRICULAR OPTIONS

Canford is delighted to have been shortlisted for two national awards relating to its community action work at home and abroad.   The TES Independent School Awards are among the most popular and prestigious and include independent schools from across the UK.

Canford is well recognised for its extensive work in the community, with over 50 projects currently running and every Sixth Former taking part in some form of community action work every Monday afternoon in the local area.  

READ MORE ABOUT COMMUNITY ACTION AT CANFORD

Canford is a school with a global outlook.  A global connections programme of pupil-led talks and visiting speakers from across the world is complemented with links to communities in India, Argentina, Ghana and Cambodia, and partnerships with the Hun School of Princeton, USA and the Sagar School in Rajasthan. Canford is also an official SAT testing centre for international university applications.

To find out more about our community links at home and abroad, please visit our Community Action pages.

Canford was recently ranked among the top 10 most beautiful schools in the country by The Daily Telegraph. The beauty of the campus combines with a range of first class modern sporting, cultural and teaching facilities.  Within the grounds are a boathouse, 12 grass sports pitches, 2 full sized All Weather pitches, 30 tennis courts, a 9 hole golf course and one of the few original Real Tennis courts in the country.  The Layard Theatre seats nearly 300, the Music School nearly 200 and there is a dedicated Coldstream Gallery space regularly exhibiting the latest staff and pupil art. 
 

see our school

Canford has a reputation for academic excellence and our external results at A Level, Pre-U and GCSE are consistently impressive. On average in the past five years, over 25% of all A Level grades have been at A* and 60% at A*/A, while at GCSE 75% of all examinations have been graded 9/7 (A*/B).  Such results have enabled our Upper Sixth leavers to move on to top universities on a wide variety of courses, with 82% taking up places at Russell Group/Sunday Times Top 12 institutions in 2021, and 94 places at Oxbridge and 89 places to Medical Schools achieved in the past decade.  The graphic below illustrates how our examination results have enabled our pupils to move on to the next stage of their education.

OXBRIDGE
93 pupils have been offered places at Oxbridge in the past decade.

MEDICAL SCHOOLS
Canford has an excellent record gaining offers of places at medical schools. In the past 15 years, 176 pupils have applied and 83% have received offers.

CAREERS SUPPORT

Our careers support spans not only university options advice but also gap year guidance, apprenticeships, straight into employment and international opportunities.  Canford has strong contacts with corporates such as JP Morgan and Accenture and our careers office keeps abreast of potential work placements, publishing a monthly careers update for parents and pupils with links to all kinds of useful opportunities in a wide range of fields.  Our goal is to ensure we offer the right guidance for every individual pupil to have the best chance to fulfil their aspirations, whatever field that may be in.

In addition, all Canfordians can join the school's networking platform Canford Global Connect which links to LinkedIn and offers a ready made networking service for Sixth Formers, alumni and parents.

Everyone who has been through Canford is a member of our community. We also welcome those yet to join Canford. Whether you are a parent, Old Canfordian, staff or friend of Canford, we would like to hope that all in our Canford community share a common bond in the continued success of our school, which aims to provide a dynamic learning environment within a vibrant and inclusive community.

We have a packed schedule of events including tours of the historic buildings and grounds, lectures and lunches, sporting and activity days, reunions and evening social events.

READ MORE ABOUT THE CANFORD COMMUNITY

The children are very natural and grounded.  Nice teenagers with few affectations.  I think my children shall become friendly, kind, genuine adults.

He came to the school with little self-confidence and has grown into a self-assured and confident young man.

Developing friendships has been really important to me. Canford has allowed me a wide and varied circle of friends, many of whom I am sure will be lifelong.

I can’t fault my Canford experience. It has been the best place to help me grow and develop.

Canford doesn’t pigeonhole you - you are offered so many opportunities. It is up to you to grasp them.