Leweston School near Sherborne has closed for good at half term. Every pupil has been offered a place at an Inspired Learning Group school from 2 November.

Leweston School, the independent Catholic school near Sherborne, will not reopen after the October half term and is closing.

The school announced the closure on its own website. It says every pupil has been offered a place from Monday 2 November at a school in the Inspired Learning Group, which includes Clayesmore School and Sunninghill Prep.

“We are very sorry for what this means for our pupils, their families and our staff, and for how little notice we have been able to give,” the school said. It added that families and staff have been contacted directly.

Leweston took children from nursery age to the sixth form. The closure affects all of them.

How much notice families had

Dorset Council said it learned of the closure “late on Monday afternoon, at the same time as families, staff and the wider community”. That was Monday 26 October. Its statement was published on Thursday 29 October.

The places the school has offered start on Monday 2 November, a week after the announcement.

Paul Dempsey, the council’s executive director for children’s services, said: “We know this news has come as a significant shock for many children, young people, families and staff connected to Leweston School.”

He said the council’s teams were “working closely with schools, early years providers and other partners to help children continue their education and childcare arrangements with as little disruption as possible”.

The school in figures

The Department for Education’s register of schools records:
Type Independent, mixed, Catholic, day and boarding
Ages 2 to 19
Pupils 577
Capacity 725
Address Leweston, Sherborne, DT9 6EN

The pupil figure is the latest the register holds, not a count from this term. The register still lists the school as open, as registers usually do for weeks after a closure.

Who runs it

The school’s operating company, Leweston School (Sherborne) Limited, was set up in June 2025 under the name Concept Bidco No 1 Limited. It took its current name in December 2025.

Companies House lists Concept Education Limited as the company’s controlling shareholder. Its address is The Marist School in Sunninghill, Ascot. Hugh Dickinson, whom the school names as chief executive of Concept Education, is the company’s only current director.

Before 2025, Leweston was run by the Leweston School Trust, now called The Catholic Schools Trust.

Neither the school nor the council has said why Leweston is closing.

What it means for you

If your child was at Leweston:

  • Questions about the offered places at Inspired Learning Group schools go to parentsupport@inspiredlearninggroup.co.uk, the school says.
  • Anything else about Leweston goes to Hugh Dickinson at Concept Education, according to the school’s notice.
  • A place at another school, including a state school, is handled by Dorset Council’s admissions team at admissions@dorsetcouncil.gov.uk.
  • Nursery and childcare places go through the council’s Family Information Service at familyinfo@dorsetcouncil.gov.uk. The council says its early years team is already finding places with local nurseries.

The two Dorset schools the notice names are not close. Clayesmore is at Iwerne Minster, and Sunninghill Prep is in Dorchester. Each is about 14 miles from Leweston in a straight line, and further by road.

The council says it will give further updates as more information becomes available. We will add them here.