A HURST school held a celebration to mark its 50th anniversary.
There were just 25 children when Dolphin School opened its doors on Saturday, December 5, 1970.
Aged two, three and four, they learnt from the Gardener’s Cottage in the grounds of Hinton House.
Over the next 10 years, the school grew numerically and in the age ranges, become a full preparatory school – teaching children until the age of 13 – in 1980.
The school says it has always specialised in subject teaching, even for the youngest children, and based its curriculum around both a number of day trips and a uniquely organised programme of residential field trips and mountain walking trips from Year Three.
Since 1981, it has been led since 1981 by one of its founders, Dr Ophelia Follett, who devised many of the residential field and walking trips and is an avid proponent of teaching by the Socratic method, which encourages discussion and debate, as well as making all learning cross-curricular.
And Dr Follett says that she believes in maintaining the ‘steely edge of academic excellence’ and in teaching the classics, both ancient and modern, as well as subjects such as Architecture and Art History.
Today, Dolphin School says that it holds true to its founding ideals.
Children do not wear a uniform and call the majority of teachers by their first name; far from creating any behavioural issues, the school feels this informal style enables a cohesive, friendly and warm environment, where behaviour and academic engagement is excellent.
The majority of subject leaders are secondary trained, imparting their in-depth knowledge of their subjects to children as young as three.
And the children continue to venture out on a large number of teacher-led day trips throughout the year, which are aimed at developing resilience and independence through these wonderful experiences.
The school’s headteacher, Adam Hurst, said: “As we look ahead to what we all hope will be a brighter year in 2021, Dolphin is proud to have reached its 50th birthday.
“We are currently booking tours and taster days for early in the New Year, from Nursery to Year 8, so please do take this opportunity to contact us to book a visit.”
For more details, log on to dolphinschool.com
