EDUCATION CORNER PODCAST
EDUCATION CORNER PODCAST INTERVIEW WITH HEADMASTER
Mr. Christian Saenger FROM DUMPTON SCHOOL, DORSET Mr. Christian Saenger speaks about life at Dumpton School, their positive mindset and approach to learning. He also discusses their recent work related to emotional intelligence and the RULER initiative, character learning, the Dumpton Way and the Dumpton Diploma. Can you tell us a little about the points of entry and requirements for children and families considering applying to Dumpton School?
We are a two to thirteen school, so we’ve got this amazing range of ages that the children can join us at, right from the word ‘go’ as a two-year-old in the nursery. The majority of children who come through Dumpton do join in the nursery at some point. But equally, children join Dumpton all the time, and can join Dumpton at any point. In terms of entry requirements, we’re sort of proudly non-selective academically, despite having a fantastic academic reputation and great outcomes. We have children of all abilities at Dumpton, and it’s our job to get the best out of every single child. Our main admissions criteria really are children’s ability to meet our school core values of being kind, looking after the people around them and aiming high, being able to get stuck in, to give it their best, and to try really hard. If children are able to do that, then Dumpton is going to be a fantastic place for them to be. 26 | EDUCATION CHOICES MAGAZINE | S P R I N G 2 02 3
Which schools does Dumpton tend to send children to at 11 plus and 13 plus?
The majority of families are looking at us to keep their children there until 13 plus and to spring-board on to independent schools in our local area. We’ve got some fantastic Senior schools around us. Around 50% of children will end up going to Canford after Dumpton - that’s certainly the biggest school that we feed to. But, equally, schools like Bryanston, Clayesmore, Ballard, Embley and Milton Abbey are other destinations in our local area. We also send children off to boarding, and we’ve had children go to Wellington, Sherbourne and Millfield. We’ve got children looking at Winchester and Eton at the moment, so those schools are possible as well at 13 plus. A small number of families - between 10% and 20% - will look really hard at sitting the 11 plus. We’ve got some excellent grammar schools in this area, and, again, children are very successful if they go down that route. The school motto is: ‘You can because you think you can.’ Can you explain the significance of this to your school’s community?
I think that’s true of ‘You can because you think you can’. Of course, it all taps into that idea of having a growth mindset, and the powerful impact that having a positive mindset, a positive attitude to yourself, can have on your achievement, your
