Re:locate Global is delighted to welcome Denstone College, a co-educational day and boarding school based in the UK midlands, as this year’s sponsor of the Re:locate Awards’ Destination Services Provider of the Year.
Denstone College has been educating young people since 1873. Located in the midlands in over 100 acres of pitches, courts, gardens and a golf course, the College enjoys excellent air, road and rail links.
“Excellent teaching”
Unusual in the independent sector, pupil numbers have grown year-on-year over the last two decades, and, while a small number of places remain, the school is committed to ensuring that additional pupils do not dilute what inspectors have described as “excellent teaching” and a highly effective pastoral system. The College’s increase in pupils and staff over the last decade is exceptional and is testimony to the quality and value of an all-round
Denstone College education.
Investment in facilities over recent years has been remarkable and includes a new sports complex, new music school and two new classroom blocks. This year will see extensions to Art and DT, and this all runs alongside a rolling programme of refurbishment and maintenance.
Sports champions
On the extracurricular front, the College fixture list is very strong and bears comparison with any school, not just in Derbyshire and Staffordshire, but nationally too. Teams are eager to build on last year’s success, which we saw across all the main sports and which saw College teams become Staffordshire county champions at a good number of age groups in girls’ and boys’ hockey, rugby, rugby 7s and cricket. Honours were also achieved in netball and tennis.
An excellent range of coaches complement the school’s sports staff, including new addition, Mr Simon Guy who has recently coached Suffolk and Derbyshire CCCs as well as England U19s & U17s. Anyone considering senior school education should look at the College’s fixture list and results across all sports and compare them with other schools, both locally and nationally.
Drama and music highlights
Drama and music are excellent at
Denstone College, both academically and in performance terms. There are approaching 18 productions on the stage each year, with this year’s main school play, Les Miserables performed to audiences exceeding one thousand at Christmas. Highlights of the music calendar include Carols by Candlelight, the Summer Serenade and Words and Music for Easter, amongst others, and new Director of Music Nick Parrans Smith (ex Eastbourne College) has plans for some fabulous additions to the programme.
The Threlfall Library and learning resource centre was opened in 2014 by international author Samantha Shannon (
The Bone Season and
The Mime Order). Featuring the latest in learning technology as well as many thousands of books, this wonderful facility is managed by Dr Philippa Ireland and her assistant team.
Exam results
Of course no review of
Denstone College would be complete without reference to the first-class academic performance of Denstonians in last summer’s public examinations, where 79 per cent of pupils gained A* to B at A level, a statistic which compares very well nationally amongst all round schools such as Denstone.
Higher Education destinations
Almost all pupils continue into Sixth Form, and in turn almost all enter higher education. Popular university destinations include Bath, Cardiff, Exeter, Leeds and York, as well as Oxbridge and Durham for top academics. This is particularly rewarding given that Denstone is also in the top 5 per cent nationally for value-added measurement, meaning that all pupils, irrespective of academic potential, gain significantly higher grades at GCSE than predicted by Yellis.
A “remarkable” school
With a pupil;teacher ratio of 10.9 to 1 and an average Sixth Form set size of 10, the all-round education afforded by the College is truly remarkable, and this has been confirmed by recent Ofsted and ISI inspections. This year’s excellent results can be seen on the website where you can find up to the minute information on academic performance at Denstone. Also, visit
www.denstonecollege.org for information on the College’s flexible family-friendly boarding packages. Fees can be found in the Admissions section. We are confident that you will be impressed with a
Denstone College education.
Book your place at this year's Gala Awards Dinner.
