Our Day

“I’d looked around all the local private schools, but when I came here, I just knew — this was enough.”

Overview

Our mornings are dedicated to English and maths. Children are split into two ability-based groups, ensuring lessons are carefully matched to their level and needs. In the afternoons, learning becomes more creative and exploratory, with topics such as history, art, engineering or science.

Break and lunchtimes are flexible: sometimes we eat while working; sometimes we pause learning to get a burst of fresh air or to enjoy playing in a rainstorm. Wherever possible, we take our learning outside. Research shows that outdoor learning brings wide-ranging benefits — improving concentration, reducing stress, and supporting brain development, creativity and problem-solving skills.

While our day is shorter, the learning is not. In just four hours, children often cover more — and in greater depth — than they would in a full day within a large class. With small groups, focused teaching and minimal disruption, learning time is purposeful and highly effective. Parents frequently comment on the significant progress their children make within just a few weeks of joining us.

Maths

Whilst we are open two days, we have chosen to focus largely on the 'number' objectives from the National Curriculum: these skills form the foundation for nearly all other mathematical concepts. Countries like China, renowned for pupils' high performance in mathematics, emphasise number fluency, ensuring students master these fundamentals before progressing to more advanced topics.

English

We cover writing, punctuation, vocabulary and comprehension. Where possible, we give our writing a real-world purpose, for example:

- writing for our local newspaper

- coming up with the text for social media posts / marketing copy for our enterprise projects

- entering children into competitions (we currently have four published writers!)

- proofreading an author's work

- finding opportunities to display our writing in our local community

Our main aim is to instil a love of literature. When the weather allows, we pick up our camping chairs and head into the woods with our books!

Topic

Engineering & Science:

Our pupils benefit from our in-house engineering and science specialist, who also teaches at a local private school. Engineering teaches children to think creatively, solve problems, work as a team, and develop resilience. They follow the full ‘engineering cycle’—from spotting a problem, to designing, testing, and improving their ideas—turning challenges into hands-on learning adventures.

The Arts & Humanities:

In our Arts & Humanities curricula, children help shape the direction of their learning, choosing the topics they’re most curious about. To bring these topics to life, we regularly welcome local professionals who enrich and extend what we’re studying. So far, our pupils have learned alongside a: