Coombe House operates on the former St. Mary’s School site near Shaftesbury, which was purchased by Dorset Council in January 2021. Following initial investment and the formation of its independent Board of Directors, the company (Dorset Centre of Excellence Ltd) was incorporated in June 2021.
Coombe House School opened in May 2022 following a positive inspection visit by Ofsted, and approval to open as an independent special school was granted by the Department for Education.
After an initial period of stabilisation, further planning and investment preceded a period of careful growth in the pupil roll. To accommodate this growth, the school moved into Oak building in 2023 and its brand-new, purpose-built classroom block, Willow, in 2024.
Coombe House Leisure was established in 2024, offering high-quality community swimming sessions, pool hire and swimming lessons to local residents.
Coombe House Farm opened in 2025 to offer high-quality animal care and horticulture opportunities for pupils at the school, and members and volunteers from the local community
Coombe House was built by Mark Hansbury Beaufoy in 1896. Coombe House was built on the high ground at the west end of the Coombe valley near Shaftesbury. The estate included 1500 acres of land. In 1911 he enlarged the house with a south wing which incorporated a ballroom for the marriage of his daughter, which was a major social event for the town as well as his family.
His son Henry inherited Coombe House, but six years later sold off most of the land and then in 1930 the house was sold and became a hotel.
The house was used as a hotel until the second world war, when it was requisitioned by the American Red Cross in 1943 as a rest home for USA Air Force personnel, and then purchased by the IBVM (Institute of the Blessed Virgin Mary) to establish a school.
A spearhead from the convent at Bratton House arrived on 28 August 1945 at Coombe House to open a school. St Mary’s Shaftesbury was founded in the vision of Mary Ward (1585-1645), a pioneer who strove for equal opportunities in education, in the belief “that women in time to come will do much.”
St Mary’s Shaftesbury was a much beloved leading Catholic school for 75 years. Rooted in great strengths and traditions, it was a proud promoter of single-sex education, and ambitious for its girls.
In January 2021, St Mary’s Shaftesbury was purchased by Dorset Council. Recognising the importance of the site for the local community, Dorset Council aims to continue the school’s history of high quality education.
