Dauntsey's

In conversation with…a Gentleman!

We were delighted to welcome back Old Dauntseian, Daniel Ings to share his journey from Dauntsey’s to the stage, and subsequently the screen - an incredible opportunity for budding actors to be able to hear his story first-hand.

A huge thank you to Daniel for his time and wisdom!

This week ‘The Gallery at Dauntsey’s’ opened its doors, giving parents, friends and the wider community an opportunity to come and see the work produced by our GCSE and A Level pupils.

The quality of work is exceptional and the exhibition is well worth a visit. If you have not yet visited, The Gallery will be open on Wednesday and Thursday from 1600-1730 and on Saturday from 1000-1300.

There was a fantastic atmosphere at the Parent and Pupil Touch Tennis Tournament on Friday evening. Over 40 pairs entered, all getting into the spirit of the event with plenty of fancy dress on display!

Thank you to all those who came along and supported the event. We are looking forward to next year already!

Last weekend, 135 Fifth Form pupils celebrated the end of their GCSEs and life in the Middle School at the Fifth Form Midsummer Ball at

Many thanks to the parents who gave their time and energy to organise such a wonderful evening for the pupils!

This past weekend 12 Lower Sixth pupils took part in the Dauntsey’s Brecons Challenge.

This adventure involves pupils running over Pen y Fan, Cribyn and Fan y Big, followed by an 18km bike ride through the forest, and finally an 8km paddle along the Monmouth canal to finish - not an easy challenge!

It was a great weekend, with positive, adventurous and determined pupils - well done all who took part!

We were delighted to welcome Milton Jones to Dauntsey’s on Saturday to open our Summer Festival!

All in aid of this year’s school charity, , the comedy evening kicked off with fantastic performances from our Big Band, followed by a brilliant set from Milton. A big thank you to for such an entertaining evening and to all those@families who supported the event.

A wonderful evening to mark the end of Lower School for our Third Form pupils. We wish them all the best as they move into their Upper School houses in September and embark on their next journey.

This week the resilience, teamwork, self confidence and leadership skills of the Third Form have been put to the test at Moonrakers Camp in Aberdovey, North Wales.

Not only does Moonrakers Camp bring together much of what pupils have been learning throughout the year in their Friday afternoon sessions, but it is also a fun-filled week for the Third Form before they move into the Upper School in September.

Moonrakers is now in its 52nd year and we have been working with for over 25 years! Thank you for another fantastic week!

This week our Second Form pupils have been participating in their Challenge Week - this has involved:

⛵️ A maritime adventure, rowing skiffs and sailing on the Jolie Brise
🛶 A paddle adventure, kayaking and canoeing down the Kennet and Avon Canal
🌳 A forest adventure, with climbing and ropework activities
🔥 A survival adventure, learning how to survive and live off the land
🏕️ An expedition and camping overnight at Manor

It has been a week of challenge and personal development for all the pupils - but importantly it has given them memories for life! And, still one day to go!

Huge congratulations to the Dauntsey’s Equestrian Team for their success at the NSEA National Championships over half term!

A record 8 teams qualified for the prestigious event at Hickstead, with 13 talented riders competing in Arena Eventing, Show Jumping, and Dressage. Highlights include:

🥇 1st place in 90cm Show Jumping Intro Class
🥈 2nd place in Mochara Inter County Dressage
🥈 2nd place in Oliver Bonas 80-85cm Show Jumping
🥉 3rd individual place in Oliver Bonas 80-85cm Show Jumping

We’re incredibly proud of our team’s hard work, perseverance, and the amazing support from their families!

A great end to the first half of term! Well done to the 1st VI who are through to the next round of the National Schools T20 Cup.

It was wonderful to welcome ODs back to Dauntsey's this weekend for their 30 year reunion - a super evening full of reminiscing and catching up.

What a way to round off a Thursday, watching a great 1st XI cricket match!

A fantastic afternoon of rounders, with a fixture against !

What a super first week back! We wish all of our pupils a happy and successful Summer Term.

Our Equestrian team enjoyed a fantastic training session at Hickstead last week. Great preparation for the NSEA National Championships in May where we have a record nine teams qualified this year in dressage, show jumping and arena eventing!

A super start to the Upper Sixth trip to Berlin, with a trip to the 1936 Olympic Stadium, the Reichstag, the theatre and much more!

Last weekend our DW crews took on the extraordinary challenge of paddling over 100 miles on the canal over a three day period.

This was not the planned DW Race that they signed up to earlier in the year - the unprecedented amounts of rainfall this year led to it being deemed unsafe for the race to run its full course - but in preparing for the race the crews had learnt to expect the unexpected, and they chose to create their own course for this year. An incredible effort from all involved! Well done!

Read more about their adventure here:
https://www.dauntseys.org/about/our-news

Our Senior Football Tour arrives back later today after five days away in the Netherlands. They have had numerous training sessions at the PSV Eindhoven Academy, had super fixtures against DOSL and Juventud and had a guided tour of the Philips Stadion. A great tour and many memories made.

Last week members of the Sixth Form and staff ran a combined 2,177km as part of the annual Dauntsey’s 24 hour Runathon, with one pupil running an impressive 72km! The effort and spirit from all involved was fantastic and importantly the event raised nearly £1500 for ! Well done all!

All smiles from Pra Loup! Blue skies, good snow, lunch on the mountain and even birthday celebrations!

A great start for our Classics trip to Hadrian’s Wall with visits to Hexham Abbey, the Temple of Mithras (near Carrawburgh Fort) and Cawfield Quarry. Plenty more to come!

Our Spring Concert ‘Elements’ was a wonderful way to bring this term to a close - fantastic musicians, fire displays and even a dance performance! Well done to all involved!

A great day out for pupils to Warhammer World in Nottingham for a Schools Alliance Tournament. Well done all!

Rock Fest 2024! 🎸 🎸

Energy levels were high as pupils from First Form through Sixth Form and a much-loved staff band performed to a packed Mem Hall yesterday. Thank you to all of the performers for such a fantastic event in the final week of term!

Today our Lower Sixth History of Art pupils were fortunate to be able to spend time with Lady Madeleine Bessborough, founder of the New Art Centre at Roche Court. Contemporary artist, Abigail Reynolds, also gave an impromptu talk about her work, particularly the process of making beach specific glass from sand and seaweed. All in all, a very special afternoon!

The 2023/24 Mercers’ Lecture Programme was brought to a close last week with a fascinating talk on cyber-heists and money laundering from Geoff White.

Prior to delivering his lecture in the Memorial Hall, Geoff held an engaging and informative Q&A session with members of the Sixth Form. Thank you for your time and sharing your experiences, and thank you to all who have supported the lectures this season.

Stay tuned for the 2024/25 line up which we will share in the summer.

It was wonderful to welcome back a number of Old Dauntseians on Saturday for the annual OD v 1st XI Football match.

We have a number of Old Dauntseian events coming up, so if you are an OD please keep an eye on the website and the OD page!

On we reflect back on 1971 when the first girls joined Dauntsey’s Sixth Form.

Over 50 years later we are proud to be a fully co-educational school, that celebrates and recognises all pupils, each and every day.

A number of years ago we compiled our Dauntsey’s Dozen - a list of twelve books that we think all pupils will enjoy reading during their time at Dauntsey’s. They are roughly in the order that we would recommend reading them, with the final four or five aimed at Fifth Form and Sixth Form pupils.

Whether you choose to read something off of this list, or one of the countless other options, does not matter. What is important is to enjoy the process!