BOURNEMOUTH School, one of the town’s two grammar schools, has long been known for its high academic standards.

But as important as the lessons being learnt in the classrooms, is the character education that is incorporated into every aspect of school life.

Head Dr Dorian Lewis is keen to stress they don’t just want students to leave school with a great set of exam results, they also want them to be great role models, leaders and ambassadors.

“At Bournemouth School, character education can be found within a school’s ethos, in the classroom and on the playground, as much as it can be found on the sports field and outside of school in the local community,” he said.

The school is proud of its House System, which sees form tutors monitor students’ progress and provide any necessary encouragement and guidance and also allows students to compete against each other in the House Championship.

The school is also one of the few maintained schools in the UK to have a Combined Cadet Force, which gives students opportunities to travel, sail, fly and take part in adventurous outdoor activities. It is also a Duke of Edinburgh Award Directly Licensed Centre and students in year 10 are encouraged to embark upon the scheme.

Pupils are challenged to raise money for charity and every year, each of the five houses is tasked with organising a week of fundraising for their chosen charity.

The total sum raised for charity last year exceeded £10,000.

Dr Lewis said: “Character education manifests itself in students’ consistently thoughtful behaviour which is an outstanding factor in their successful learning and creates an extremely positive school ethos.

“Students are highly considerate and very supportive of each other in and outside lessons.

“They have a pride in themselves and the school and develop a thirst for knowledge and love of learning.”

Jishoden Padiachy, the new school captain, agrees. He said: “I’ve been at the school for six years and I’ve thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it.

“As you progress up the school you want to take on more responsibility and that is offered to you here.”

Deputy school captain Thomas Krum said: “It’s very much a team effort, everyone competes against each other to reach their potential.”

A relatively new move for the school has been the decision to accept female sixth form students. This has been a big success, with 70 girls in the 360-strong sixth form, and the mix benefitting the entire school.

One of them, Kat Zhyvitska said: “I found it really easy to settle in. You would think it’s odd to go from an all girls school to pretty much an all boys school but the sixth form is very diverse with students coming from all over the place and settling in was quite easy.

“It felt like it was one big family really, everyone gets along. We get treated fairly equally to teachers and there’s a mutual respect.”