BCS Highlights

Adding Value 

Academic jargon can be very unconvincing, but one phrase that thoroughly earns its keep and sits at the top of our list of priorities is value added – the focus on taking every pupil for what they are, and then taking them further. Our UCST group mission is to find the Best in Every One. Our own mission is to excel, to go further. All of these ideas converge on two attitudes that we like to think are indeed highlights of the BCS experience – the celebration of personal success and an endless, restless determination to do more and do better. We start out by building this approach into every pupil’s personal targets, and aim to end up seeing it emerge as part of their life plan. For some, this may mean coming top of an examination list or first in competition. For others, the success may appear more modest – but if they have climbed further up their personal Everest than they or we expected, then value has been added. And we will celebrate!

Water Sports 

The sea is part of our life at BCS. It helps us to define many of the things that we regard as special about our school. The blend of competition and cooperation that prepares you for a successful and satisfying life is the very basis of making your way through the challenge of sailing, kayaking or swimming. Achievement is won through new skills, hard work and (at times) the ability to work around tiredness and discomfort and focus on the target. And then on a glorious day, the fact that our schools lie close to two of the largest natural harbours in the world can bring the idyllic experience of “messing about in boats” to many children who have never seen themselves in that light before. We offer water sports throughout our curriculum, and also provide a base for schools and academies across the UCST Group and beyond. You’ll meet new people as well as new challenges.

Outdoor Education 

Finding the best in everyone in the classroom setting is part of the pride of BCS, and we’ll support you with the highest quality teaching and learning approaches – but we’ll also challenge you to be equally innovative outside the classroom. Some subjects demand a familiarity with the real world, and at BCS we are situated close to some nationally-important field training areas for geographers, biologists or historians, including the New Forest, the Jurassic Coast and Lulworth Cove. But we’ll take you further afield – to Nepal, the Swiss Alps and many other destinations, including the World War battlefields – to experience your subject against the backdrop of some stunning landscapes and some sobering reminders of the human frailty. But the outdoors goes beyond this: whether through the familiar Duke of Edinburgh Award or an outward bound experience, we will give you the chance to excel. BCS takes this kind of experience very seriously, and offers opportunities to children from other schools and academies to come and stay in our boarding accommodation to share these experiences with us. 

After-School Activities 

Formal teaching and learning lie at the heart of education, but if we want to educate the whole person rather than just prepare for academic examinations, then we need to ensure that the school experience is enriched by the widest possible range of activities through which informal learning is achieved and our pupils grow up as balanced, creative and confident people. We are proud of our after-school activities, and regard them as an integral part of life at BCS. And the fact that they are looked forward to with enjoyment makes them a very welcome end to the school day.