About Sands School

Welcome to Sands School, a democratic day school for 11 to 17 year-olds.

Sands School is so different from the mainstream, it can be hard to know where to start to describe it.  It looks different – there is no uniform or even a dress-code for students.  It sounds different – there are no clanging bells or unnatural quietness.  But mainly it feels different – there is no “us and them” division between staff and students.

As a democratic school students and staff run the school through the weekly school meeting, making decisions together in a spirit of equality and mutual respect. There is no headteacher, everyone is called by their first name, meetings are chaired by students and the student council sorts out the day-to-day niggles of school life. In short, a democratic school puts students views at the centre of everything the school does.

Listening to what our students say has shaped how we learn and live together by:

  • Freedom of choice, by not making classes compulsory, students choose to learn the subjects that matter to them
  • Allowing students to go at their own pace in the classroom
  • Keeping class sizes small
  • Allowing students to sit exams when they are ready
  • Including practical life skills in the school day such as cooking, cleaning and managing a community
  • Valuing the students as physical and emotional beings not just as exam candidates
  • Embracing and making space for play

A Video Introduction to Sands School