Sport

at Sherborne

Sport at Sherborne

There are a huge number of sporting options for boys joining the Sixth Form whether they arrive to be part of our performance pathways or they just wish to take part in the plethora of sports that the School has to offer While we are well equipped to bring out the very best in elite sportsmen, we are just as committed to the participation of every single boy at School

For us, sport is a success if a boy finds an activity that he enjoys and will stick with once he leaves School We want to form habits of healthy living; shaping a commitment to regular exercise because we recognise its importance to both physical and mental wellbeing

New Facilities

In September 2023 we move into our new state of the art Sports Centre We took ownership of phase one of the build a year ago which included a refurbishment of the swimming pool, the creation of a climbing centre, new sports hall plus associated changing rooms and office space The second phase includes the refurbishment of the second sports hall, plus the creation of four new squash courts, two multi-purpose studios, a golf analysis suite, a physio centre, a fully equipped fitness suite and a dedicated performance gym The new facilities will enhance the sporting experience not only for boys who choose indoor games options such as badminton, basketball and squash, but will have significant benefits for boys looking to improve performance through indoor hockey, cricket and athletic development

Performance pathways

At Sherborne School, we foster strong partnerships with external providers, allowing our high-performance pupils the opportunity to train and compete at a level beyond the School environment We have built strong relationships with numerous partners including Bath and Exeter Rugby, Dorset and Somerset Cricket, Dorset Football, and Dorset Athletics

Our High-Performance Programme is specifically designed to empower our athletes to reach their maximum potential. Through a carefully crafted and monitored combination of enrichment activities and physical development, we provide a structured platform that enables them to work efficiently and effectively towards their goals Our aim is to cultivate an elite environment within the School, fostering a strong educational foundation necessary for success at the highest levels of sports performance

Under the careful oversight of our team, the HighPerformance Programme ensures that pupils receive personalised strength and conditioning programmes It will also deliver seminars, lectures and group sessions many crucial topics such as nutrition, sleep, psychology, culture and values, leadership, teamwork, performance lifestyle, time management, and video analysis This comprehensive approach provides our athletes with the knowledge and skills necessary to thrive both on and off the field.

While the High-Performance Programme is compulsory for boys who have received a sport scholarship or award, it is also open to those who demonstrate exceptional talent, dedication, and aspiration to achieve the highest standards in their respective sports

Several sports awards are available for boys demonstrating exceptional talent and potential in their chosen sport or sports. One of the Sixth Form awards is the Walford Award, named after Micky Walford, a Schoolmaster at Sherborne who represented GB in hockey at the 1948 Olympics, played cricket for Somerset and trialled for England at rugby

MusicMusic runs right through the heart of Sherborne The Music School is fantastically equipped with state-ofthe-art technology, spacious practice rooms with pianos which are on a continuously rolling programme of replacement, performance studios that have tielines to the Recording Studio, and two music classrooms that contain thirty composing workstations between them A levels are offered in both Music and Music Technology, with numbers opting for both subjects being unusually high, and reflecting the high status of Music in the School

Sixth Formers have instrumental and vocal music lessons scheduled for them at fixed times during the day that are identified as being free Those learning more than one instrument may on occasion be asked to have their lessons taught quite late in the evening The Music School is open from 7 30am to 10 00pm Monday to Friday, and pupils may practise at any time they wish On the rare occasion when there is a shortage of practice rooms, gap-year Music Assistants (Choral Scholars) enable a system of room rotation

From the 109-strong Choir that sings in the Abbey during whole-school services twice a week singing is “cool” at Sherborne to the smallest instrumental duo, there is quite literally something for everyone The W ind Band is enormous and has to be capped at 65, so subsidiary groups flourish There are also smaller groups that cater for all standards The auditioned Swing Band is one of the finest big bands in the South of England and tours the Caribbean every other year

The two orchestras are joint with Sherborne Girls and The Gryphon (the local secondary school) and achieve a high standard of music-making through auditioned entry Chamber Music proliferates with several ensembles entering national competitions each year, with particular success in the Mid Somerset Festival in 2023 Rock and Pop groups are pupil-led and focus upon the annual CourtsFest (a large screen open-air performance each summer) whilst there is also a further performance opportunity each term and at least two “Unpluggeds” per year For advanced instrumentalists there are performance opportunities every Friday lunchtime in public concerts held in a nearby church, and informal concerts and masterclasses, competitions, and internal workshops are open to all Many pupils learn more than one instrument As the School in which Chris Martin of Coldplay attended, Sherborne provides musical opportunities of which a Sixth Former would be remiss not to take advantage

Music Scholarships are available at Sixth Form entry for those of Grade 7 standard on two instruments The opportunities for Music Scholars are limitless and include auditioned places in the School’s many advanced instrumental ensembles, the Chamber Choir and the Close Harmony group A member of the Music staff acts as mentor and Music Tutor to guide scholars through an individual programme involving Grade 8, ATCL and LTCL Performance Diplomas, including prestigious and unrivalled performance opportunities

Activities

We offer boys the chance to participate in all sorts of activities, including debating, archive club, campanology, radio broadcasting, philosophical discussion, charity work and volunteering.

A full list of the programme can be seen below:

° Allotment Club

° Barbell Club

° Basics of Jewellery Making

° Beginners’ Arabic

° Bellringing

° Board Games

° Chess

° Classics Society

° Coding Club

° Cooking Club

° Creative Writing

° Debating Society

° DJ Practice Club

° Environmental Action Group

° Geography Society

° Grade 5 Music Theory

° HIIT

° Medicine in the News

° Model United Nations Club

° Philosophy Club

° Poker Club

° Psychology Club

° Radio Sherborne

° Snooker Club

° The Thinking Society

° Theory and Practice of Meditation

° Turing Virtual Reality Club

° Water Polo