Canford Summer School

Students at SBC Canford Summer School enjoy a fun and varied social programme with a range of exciting activities, show-stopping events and thrilling excursions. The social programme celebrates the very best of an SBC summer school, allowing students to learn new skills, make friends, build confidence, and make unforgettable memories.
Each week, students can choose from our Multi-Activity programme. Our Multi-Activity programme offers lots of variety, including popular sports such as volleyball, badminton and dodgeball, and creative activities such as painting and drama.

Our events at Canford are purposely designed to ensure students maximise their time together while at summer school, with a series of events planned to encourage friendships and teamwork as well as making sure Canford students are having a lot of fun!

Canford events will have something for everyone from the competitive Ultimate Varsity sports tournament to the creative, celebratory Carnival.

Over 2 weeks, students will go on three excursions to famous UK cities and popular destinations. Our dedicated team of staff accompany the students and have a series of activities planned for the students to ensure that they make the most of their trip.
Canford School’s superb South Coast location means beach day trips feature on the excursion programme, as well as adventures to famous cities such as Bath and Portsmouth, not forgetting the capital city, London. As well as visiting tourist attractions, students will also have the opportunity to shop and, with parental consent, explore in small groups.

Previous years’ excursions have included:
A trip on the London Eye, Portsmouth Historic Dockyard, Roman Baths, Marwell Zoo, Bournemouth Beach and Thorpe Park.
As if all this wasn’t enough, students will also enjoy a thrilling evening at Splashdown Waterpark! With an impressive 13 different indoor and outdoor rides to choose from, this is an experience not to be missed.

At SBC at Canford Summer School, we support experiential learning through project work and games, going above and beyond the curriculum, to ensure students have a dynamic and exciting learning experience. Instead of being sat down for long periods in a classroom and taking notes, our students are challenged to use and demonstrate new skills in a nurturing and supportive environment.

With a dynamic and interactive learning environment, SBC allows students to enjoy an inspiring change of scenery and experience new learning approaches. By creating space for important skill development like critical thinking, leadership, communication and teamwork, we bring theory into practice and allow students to grow in ways that might not always be possible in term time.

At SBC at Canford Summer School, each student in the classroom is actively encouraged to take the initiative, think critically, and cooperate with others to solve problems. This is done under the direction of our dedicated and dynamic teachers.

At SBC, we want students to gain recognition for their work in class, whilst sharing the passion and interest they have for their subjects, with the rest of the school. So each week we come together and all students takes part in a group presentation we call Time to Shine.

Serving as the high point of the week’s work, in Time to Shine students can demonstrate their growth and learning. This public speaking opportunity provides students with a fantastic chance to take the limelight, which improves their ability to work together as a team and individually. By working to a deadline and gently pushing students out of their comfort zone, we believe that Time to Shine provides invaluable experience for students that will serve them well in the future.

After successfully finishing the course, students receive a certificate of completion. This will be awarded during a special celebration ceremony, where students and teachers come together to celebrate the achievements of each individual.

Students will also receive a report from their teacher detailing their academic progress and overall effort on the course. In addition, the report will offer potential areas for further development and learning, to ensure future success.

The safety and wellbeing of students is our number one priority. We have a comprehensive Safeguarding and Child Protection Policy and procedures in place to which all employees, volunteers, visitors, and contractors are obligated to adhere to.

All staff are given the tools through their extensive training to guarantee that all students are given the ability to feel safe, secure, valued, and respected whilst studying with SBC. Students are accommodated in secure and comfortable boarding houses with each house managed by a dedicated and experienced Houseparent alongside a team of residential staff. Our staff teams are always available to provide high-quality pastoral support and remain on call 24 hours per day.

During some off-site activities, students aged 12 and over are permitted ‘free time’ where they can independently explore a designated area in groups of at least three, for a set amount of time. Students must have consent from their parents/guardians to be allowed unsupervised free time.

If a student is aged under 12, or if they do not have parental consent, they must stay supervised by a staff member at all times. Supervision of under 12s during free time will be in line with designated off-site ratios and a minimum of one staff member per group, as per the SBC Safeguarding Policy.

Student voice also features heavily in our student’s experience. We empower our students to shape their own experiences by championing that voice. SBC is committed to our response to student feedback and welcomes student-led initiatives which help us to continue to provide excellent service.