Opportunity and support for military families at Canford School

Canford School has a special bond with the military community, through the education, boarding ethos and strong pastoral care offered to families in the Armed Forces. A number of our teaching and house staff have military backgrounds, which provides additional reassurance for families that the school has an understanding and awareness of the unique situation that children of HM Forces parents are in.

“It feels as though we are valued as military families and it also feels that the school values its military children.” – A current parent

From the Fourth Form, pupils can join the Army, Navy or Royal Marines detachment of the CCF as their Monday afternoon activity, and around 90 per cent do so each year. They have the option to continue in the Sixth Form, where they have the opportunity to become non-commissioned officers (NCOs). We were proud to be named the best independent school for CCF by The Week in 2020 and our cadets are former winners of the Rifles Cup and Pringle Trophy and regular competitors in Ten Tors. Alongside this are numerous expeditions, including The Duke of Edinburgh’s Gold Award, cross country skiing in Norway and winter mountaineering in the Cairngorms.

“The ethos of service to others the school has is very important to me, and I think things like the CCF dinner night and the various parades are tremendous. As indeed is having a CCF run with such a significant amount of Regular experience.” – A current parent

Canford also has a strong record of success for pupils winning military scholarships to pursue a career as an army officer. Many of these students are from military families; recent leavers Phoebe, Charlie, Abi and Henry are all heading to Sandhurst after completing their respective degrees. In terms of financial support, Canford offers a 10% discount on fees specifically for boarding children from current serving military families. There are regular school scholarships and bursaries available in addition to this at both 13+ entry and for Sixth Form joiners.

“He was very encouraged in pursuing the Army Scholarship and I was moved by how genuinely happy people were for him on success. It was understood to be a real achievement even by those with no Army experience, which I took as a lovely sign of how the school is run and how it treats its pupils.” – A former parent reflecting on their child’s experience at Canford School

If you would like to find out more about our CCF, click here.