Canford School

Canford School is a co-educational independent school for day and boarding pupils. Situated in 300 acres of parkland near to the market town of Wimborne Minster in Dorset, south west England, it is one of the largest schools by area.

The school is a member of the Headmasters’ and Headmistresses’ Conference. Called a public school, Canford’s fees are currently £12,686 per term for boarders. The school is rated outstanding by Ofsted and is consistently ranked among the best co-educational independent schools nationally. In 2014, and again in 2016, Canford was among four runners-up for “Public School of the Year” in the Tatler School Awards and received the top award in 2019.

The school has an enrolment of 660 students, the highest in its history, aged between 13 and 18 spread across seven boarding and three day houses. Canford School counts among its alumni high-ranking military officers, pioneers in industry, computing, and economics, as well as senior figures in the Arts and Sciences.

The Layard Theatre is situated inside Canford School and is open to the public.

Since September 2010 Canford School is the sponsor of The Bourne Academy, a state-funded school in Bournemouth.

The school has an active rowing club called the Canford School Boat Club which is based on the River Stour. The club is affiliated to British Rowing (boat code CAN) and has produced three British champion crews at the 2002 British Rowing Championships, 2008 British Rowing Championships and 2010 British Rowing Championships.

Address : Canford Magna, Wimborne BH21 3AD, United Kingdom