Sherborne Prep, Sherborne Boys and Sherborne Girls will come together under a single Sherborne brand from September, marking a significant change for one of Dorset’s best-known independent school groups.
The move will create what the schools describe as a unified educational pathway from age three to 18, while retaining a mixture of co-educational and single-sex teaching at different stages of a pupil’s education.
Under the model, pupils will continue to be taught together at Sherborne Prep before moving into single-sex classrooms during the GCSE years. Joint sporting, musical, dramatic and social activities will continue throughout this period.
The biggest change will come in the Sixth Form, where the schools plan to move towards a largely co-educational academic environment. By September 2028, the majority of lessons and enrichment activities are expected to be taught jointly, although schools leaders say there will remain flexibility to teach separately where appropriate.
The announcement forms part of a wider strategy that also includes investment in technology, artificial intelligence and entrepreneurship.
A building on the Sherborne estate is being converted into a dedicated centre for innovation, AI and enterprise. The school group says pupils will be encouraged to develop practical skills, including building and evaluating AI systems, while exploring the ethical questions surrounding emerging technologies.
Two new leadership posts have been created to support the initiative. A Director of Digital Innovation will oversee AI and digital literacy across all age groups, while a Director of Enterprise will lead an entrepreneurship programme culminating in Sixth Form pupils creating and running their own businesses, pitching ideas to external investors.
The schools have also announced plans for a new annual conference focused on innovation and artificial intelligence. The first event, scheduled for October 2026, will mark 100 years since mathematician and computing pioneer Alan Turing joined Sherborne as a pupil. Organisers hope the conference will attract speakers from industry, academia and the technology sector.
Alongside the academic changes, Sherborne says it will place renewed emphasis on character education, with qualities including resilience, integrity, empathy, curiosity and service forming part of pupils’ development throughout their time at the school.
The combined Sherborne schools community currently comprises more than 1,200 pupils, including over 900 boarders.
