Buckholme Towers School in Parkstone was thrown into the spotlight last year after fire sadly ripped through the building.

Fast forward 18 months and the small school on Commercial Road has a rebuilt roof, high-tech facilities in the classrooms, additional new employees and promoted current staff and is celebrating 75 years since it first opened.

Headteacher, Iain Robertson, said: “The school is doing fantastically well and, sort of on the back of the fire, as it was a bit of a springboard for us and raised the profile of the school.

“While it was a really difficult time for us, we’ve certainly risen from the ashes and have come back stronger.”

Mr Robertson said that while the school’s own premises aren’t huge, they make the most of the provisions already in the area, such as Poole Park and the Dolphin Swimming Pool.

“We live in an exceptional area and it makes sense to use that,” he added.

“More and more people are buying into the idea that a smaller environment is best, particularly as a lot of the local schools are bursting at the seams and there are concerns about the attention that the children are getting.

“Although we’re an independent school and a fee-paying school, our fees fall into the price range of a lot of families within the area and we try to keep it as affordable as possible.”

The school has recently created its own sailing academy and uses Parkstone Yacht Club for this, as well as having a hugely-successful range of opportunities for the students to learn about music.

Iain says that one of the main advantages of the school comes down to numbers, which offer small classes and a high ratio of adults to pupils.

See what pupils, parents and teachers say about Buckholme Towers School

Factfile

Buckholme Towers School, 18 Commercial Road, Poole, BH14 0JW

Telephone: 01202 742871

Mixed independent school

Age range: 3 – 11

Number of children: 100 in main school and 30 in nursery.

Ofsted report: May 2013

Overall grade: Good

The report said: “Results over time show that pupils leave the school with attainment that is consistently above or well above the national average in English and mathematics.” 

“As a result, many pupils are successful in obtaining places at local grammar schools.”

“The school is led well by the headteacher and other senior teachers. They have a good understanding of the school and set high expectations for teachers and pupils.”