05 June 2026

Headmaster's Newsletter, Friday 5th June 2026

Dear Parents

It has been wonderful to watch our woodland project take shape over the past few weeks. The Basecamp and The Lookout are going to be truly remarkable additions to our campus - spaces that will make outdoor learning at Dumpton more magical, more meaningful, and more purposeful than ever. There is something special about learning outside: a connection with nature, a sense of freedom, and a boost to wellbeing that no classroom can quite replicate - and in today's world, that feels more important than ever.

Identifying investment opportunities like these has been a priority since our merger with Canford. We want to ensure our facilities and site still provide the very best for our children and families – and it was so useful to get your input on this earlier this year. Other projects planned for this summer include improving our car park provision (and some of you will have seen that work at the top car park has already begun here), improved security around the school site, a brand new Learning Support space for our EdX team, and a complete refurbishment of all the classrooms and corridors of the Prep School teaching block.

It is here that we need your help! As part of our classroom refurbishment project, we have decided to name each classroom after a famous person who role models one of the seven Dumpton Virtues, and can act as an inspiration to our pupils. Mrs Shaw is already collecting ideas from staff and pupils, so do discuss this around the dinner table this weekend and see if you can come up with any fantastic ideas. David Attenborough (Global Citizenship) and Rosa Parks (Courage) are two of the fantastic suggestions we have already had!

Neurodiversity Week
A huge thank you to Mrs Shaw for a wonderful assembly this week. Her message was both simple and powerful: all of us are different, and our remarkable brains work in remarkable ways. Mrs Shaw spoke about dyslexia, ADHD, and autism — three examples of how our brains might be wired differently. While these differences can sometimes make certain things more challenging, they should never define what any of us is capable of achieving. The children heard some inspiring examples of just how much is possible. Mrs Shaw also left us all with an important reminder: when those around us find things difficult, the most important thing we can offer is genuine compassion and empathy. It was a message that clearly resonated with children and staff alike.

Readathon Results
Dozens of certificates were handed out in the Prep School and Pre-Prep assemblies this week to congratulate all the children who took part in the Readathon last term. An enormous thank you to the Dumpton Friends for such a super initiative. £1,833.50 was raised for the RSPCA, and an incredible 63,9546 pages were read. In miles, this is enough to take us 2 and a half times round the world! Congrats to Hants who won the House competition.

Head of Art – Emily Stoodley
I am delighted to announce our new Head of Art for September 2026 will be Mrs Emily Stoodley. Emily is currently Head of Art at Glenmoor and Winton Academy, and is a hugely experienced secondary trained art specialist, so this is a really exciting appointment for Dumpton. She’s so excited to lead our Art provision, and to drive forwards the creative aspirations of the school Mrs Stoodley will be visiting next week, and this will include a special session she is running for our talented artists in Y7, some of whom will be aiming for scholarships next year.

Dumpton Certificate Exams
Well done to our Y8 pupils who have successfully navigated the first two days of their Dumpton Certificate exams. They are certainly ‘aiming high’, and we hope that each and everyone of them has success in the exams which mark the culmination of all their academic learning at Dumpton. Well done to Y7 too who have done equally well in their first set of exams in the ‘exam hall’.

LAMDA Exams – from Ms Oakes
We have, this week, been sharing the exceptional news of the outstanding LAMDA exam results from earlier this term. Huge congratulations to all pupils for their hard work and enthusiasm. We are delighted to say that every pupil achieved a merit or distinction for their exams. An outstanding effort from all! Huge thanks to the brilliant LAMDA teachers who have been putting them through their paces, Mrs Warde, Mrs Gormley Bowdler and Ms Cox. More exciting news to follow, on how our LAMDA provision will be enhanced in September...!

Year 5 Visit to Corfe – from Mr Tridgell
Year 5 enjoyed a super trip to Corfe on Thursday afternoon to support their learning in Geography, History and TPR. Managing to avoid all inclement weather, the children spent the morning studying the local landscape of Corfe and learning about the historic castle. In the afternoon, the pupils then carried out some tourism and settlement investigation in the village and had the opportunity to spend some time inside the church. The day was finished off with ice-cream before returning to school. The pupils were fantastic all day, with multiple comments from the public about the high standards of behaviour. Well done Year 5 - thank you for being wonderful ambassadors of the school.

Reception Trip to Shell Bay
Our amazing Reception children dodged the showers to enjoy a brilliant day at the beach this week. From sketching the beach, to collecting shells, and even spotting some deer, they had the most fabulous time, and have all produced some beautiful writing about it in their lessons this week.

From Dumpton Friends
There is a PTA Meeting next Thursday (11 June) after drop off in the Meeting Room here at Dumpton. As you will have seen on Classlist, we have the Fathers’ Day gift making coming up too – please purchase your tickets on Classlist.

With best wishes for the weekend.