Headmaster

Given all the disruption and frustration, it was remarkable that the boys accomplished so much last year. Not least among their achievements were outstanding public examination results. More than a third of our A levels were graded A* and three-quarters A* and A, with half of the year group achieving three or more A*s and As. Well over 90% of our leavers were accepted onto their first-choice courses with two-thirds of the cohort taking up places at Russell Group universities. Meanwhile, over a quarter of our GCSE entries were awarded the top grade of 9 and more than half were at grades 9 and 8. All the boys who took public examinations this year deserve tremendous praise for their hard work, resilience and flexibility in the face of extremely trying conditions. I am also most grateful to the teaching and support staff who so brilliantly inspired and supported them.

If this were not enough, there is much else to celebrate. The School is full, numbers edging above 600 for the first time in many years. The financial confidence that this inspires has allowed us to invest in many areas of the estate and undertake a range of projects designed to improve the look, feel and functionality of various boarding houses, classrooms, the dining hall and outside areas. Work has also started on the long-awaited redevelopment of the Sports Centre. The sailing huts and Medway building have been demolished and, foundations dug, the enormous new Sports Hall is rising from the ground as I write. The project has another 18 months to run at the end of which the School will have a facility worthy of our great athletic heritage and sporting ambitions. In making it possible, I am extremely grateful to the many Old Shirburnians who have supported our fundraising efforts which will contribute £4 million to the overall project cost of £13 million.

Another major project high on our agenda is the refurbishment and reopening of Westcott as the School’ s ninth boarding House. Originally due for completion in summer 2021, it was sadly derailed by the pandemic but, so buoyant is our pupil recruitment, that we have now returned to it and hope to have more news soon.

That so many parents wish to send their boys to us is testament to the growing strength of Sherborne ’ s reputation as a school that offers the very best in boys ’ boarding education, combining academic achievement with co-curricular success and the highest levels of pastoral care. Above all, it is the enduring values of the School that mark us out and recommend us: a place of warmth and intimacy where kindness and generosity of spirit are esteemed above all else.

Having come through the darkest days of the pandemic, we can now look forward with renewed optimism. Our School is thriving and is now even stronger thanks to our union with Sherborne Prep, with whom we formally merged in April 2021. Just as important are our ever-closer links with Sherborne Girls whose Headmistress, Dr Ruth Sullivan, shares with me a commitment to the very best of single-sex education within the unique context of our ‘ separate yet together ’ partnership. And, with a keen eye on the future, the New Year will see us frame our next five year development plan with an emphasis upon equipping the boys with the skills, competencies and flexibility of outlook that will allow them to excel in a dynamic, postindustrial economy.

True to form, our great School has emerged in good shape from the trials that the world has recently endured. For all who have contributed to that achievement –boys, parents, staff, Governors and our many Old Shirburnian supporters, I am deeply grateful. Thank you all.

Vivat Shirburnia!

DR DOmINIc LuckETT headmaster