DASP (Dorchester Area Schools PArtnership) is an partnership organisation which incorporates all the First, Middle and Senior State schools, and Sunninghill Prep, in the Dorchester catchment area. There are 18 schools and a Learning Centre involved in the group. http://www.dasp.org.uk/daspcommunity.htm

Sunninghill Prep are one of the only independent Prep schools in the country to join such a partnership. The school has joined the DASP schools partnership in a pioneering venture that aims to break down traditional barriers between state and independent schools.

The partnership involves co-operation on planning for new initiatives in the curriculum, such as ways to deliver effective preparation for the demands of the Government’s new Secondary curriculum.  It also involves teachers working together at all levels and pupils collaborating on special project.

From the Headmaster's perspective, "Sharing good practice between teachers helps to generate creative solutions to shared problems and thereby increase the standards achieved by all the schools involved. At the same time, breaking down the artificial divide between our pupils and those from state schools, will benefit the community and offers a model that could benefit society in general. It is time to break down the social barriers that can cause problems for young people in later life by creating opportunities for them to work together without fear or prejudice during their school years."

Sunninghill’s Chairman of Governors has stated, “The established DASP partnership is nationally recognised for its excellent academic results, through close co-operation between its schools and yet every school involved retains its individuality and ethos. As Governors we support this move as it creates stronger links with Thomas Hardye Secondary School, to where many of our pupils move onto at 13, while allowing us to pick and chose the best new initiatives in education.”

DASP Director, Peter Farrington, Head of Prince of Wales First School in Dorchester has commented. “Inviting Sunninghill into our partnership has given us a new dimension that supports our commitment to aim to provide the best education possible for our young people. We hope to share good ideas and get involved in new joint initiates that will enrich and broaden our curriculums.”

The Headmaster aslo understands that they are other implications of the partnership, “Clearly parents who chose to send their children to a fee-paying school want to know that they are getting excellent value for their money and so although we are working more closely with local state schools, we are still heavily involved in IAPS, the leading Prep Schools organisation, and the local Independent Senior Schools to which many of our pupils go at 13, often with scholarships. We feel that by being closely involved with both sectors we are genuinely offering our pupils better than both worlds.”

Chief Executive of IAPS, David Hanson, commented, “We fully support this initiative by Sunninghill Prep and Andrew, who has been an active member of IAPS for a number of years. It is only by building closer links between the independent and state sectors, which encourage and support best education practice, that we can offer the world class education we all want for our children.”