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Filming

The Sherborne Schools Group comprises five unique filming sites, offering filmmakers a range of interior and exterior locations. Four sites are located in Sherborne and Hanford is located 30 minutes away. Please email lettings@sherborneschools.group with any enquiries.

Hanford Prep School

Hanford School is a Grade II* listed Jacobean Manor House, built in 1604 and set in 45 acres of Dorset countryside. Historic features that are still in evidence include oak panelled stables and equine tack room; old fashioned classrooms; a drawing room; an oak room; a Great Hall; an outdoor pool and walled working kitchen gardens. The site also has a chapel, completed in 1650. This rural location, nestled to the side of Hambledon Hill and Hod Hill, has uninterrupted views over the River Stour, weaving its way through the fields just beyond the boundary. There is private parking and access for large vehicles.

Sherborne Boys

The buildings of Sherborne Boys date from the 12th to the 21st century. The site is already an established filming location, having been used in notable films and TV series including The Imitation Game, Wolf Hall and Goodbye Mr Chips. The site offers picturesque buildings and extensive facilities including eight historic boarding houses accommodating up to 500 guests, grand halls, libraries, classrooms, science laboratories, a music school and recital hall, a recording studio, an onsite café, a dining hall, a drama school, sports fields, courtyards and indoor spaces, and the Powell Theatre. More unique features include a 17th century schoolroom, an 18th century Shell House, Victorian cloisters, cellars, a rifle range, Fives Courts and a School Chapel (the only one in the country with two organs). There is ample private parking and the site is also within easy walking distance of Sherborne town centre and the train station which operates a direct mainline service to London.

Sherborne Girls

Sherborne Girls was founded in 1899, initially occupying Ransome House at the top of Greenhill. The main school and first boarding house were erected in 1903 at the current 40-acre campus. The prominent clock tower and extension to the main school building followed in 1926. To either side of the main school are seven boarding houses (50-80 beds in each); teaching buildings; a drama centre; an art centre; a lecture theatre; fields and tennis courts. The most recent addition to the site is the Merritt Centre, opened in 2019. This is a stunning purpose-built performing arts centre housing the music department. The Gransden Hall within the Merritt Centre, has a capacity of 350 and has hosted music recitals, literary festival events and conferences. The school also has a public sports facility, the Oxley Sports Centre. The site boasts beautiful views of Sherborne town and its surrounding hills. There is ample parking and the site is within easy walking distance of Sherborne town centre and the train station which operates a direct mainline service to London.

Millfield Prep

The buildings at Sherborne Prep date from the 19th – 21st century. The site houses a purpose-built music and drama building with several practice rooms and a dance studio, as well as a dining hall, sports fields, tennis/netball courts, an Astro, science laboratory, indoor sports hall, design & technology studio, art room and separate buildings for Nursery & Pre-Prep. Private parking is available and the site is a short, picturesque walk from the train station with a direct mainline service to London.