Sands School
| Established | 1987 |
|---|---|
| Type | Independent democratic Day School |
| Founders | David Gribble, Sybilla Higgs, Sean Bellamy |
| Location |
East Street Ashburton Devon TQ13 7AX England 50°31′00″N 3°45′09″W / 50.51658°N 3.75257°WCoordinates: 50°31′00″N 3°45′09″W / 50.51658°N 3.75257°W |
| Local authority | Devon |
| DfE URN | 113619 Tables |
| Ofsted | Reports |
| Staff | approx 20 overall |
| Students | approx 60 - 80 students |
| Gender | Coeducational |
| Ages | approx 11–approx 17 |
| Website | www |
Sands School is a democratic school in Ashburton, Devon in England.
Sands School is a democratic school which was started in 1987 by a group of students and teachers from the recently closed Dartington Hall School. Starting in the kitchen of a parent's house, the school quickly established its own philosophy, building on the progressive principles of Dartington. The school's name, Sands, comes from the first letters of the first names of two of the founding teachers, Sean Bellamy and Sybilla Higgs: ‘S and S’, or 'Sands'. This shortening came from the letters written by the school's other founding teacher, David Gribble, to Sean and Sybilla in the spring and summer of 1987. The school grew from its original size of 17, and within six months had moved to a large town house in Ashburton where it is still based today.
Since 1991 it has been at the forefront of IDEC, the worldwide international democratic education movement, and has partner schools in Israel, Japan, U.S.A and most European countries. In 2006 the European branch of this movement was launched, EUDEC, and many Sands students are actively involved in promoting democratic approaches to education both in the private and state sector in the UK and abroad, travelling through Europe to conferences and events aimed at establishing democratic education as a viable alternative to the present educational model. In 2011 the school hosted a combined IDEC and EUDEC conference over ten days with more than 500 people attending from around the world.
It now has 70 students aged 11 to 17 and 10 teachers and 5 learning support staff. It offers a range of conventional qualifications including eleven GCSEs, (General Certificate of Secondary Education), BTEC Performing Arts, and LAMDA certificates, and offers students the chance to develop an approach to learning that is personalised and encourages critical thinking and creativity. The exams and lessons offer a medium for the development of open-minded and emotionally intelligent children.
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