Website: www.sibfordschool.co.uk
Address: Sibford Ferris OXFORDSHIRE
Sibford is Quaker school (although few pupils are Quakers) that promotes the values of respect and contemplation, set in a beautiful village surrounded by farmland in a horsey area (the entrance in the middle of the village is prettier than the one on the outskirts, where you only see the modern buildings). Sibford, where teachers are called by their first names (as is the Quaker way), has a reputation for being the right place for previously ‘square pegs’, for being good on learning support (some 20% of pupils), for being blissfully free of pushy parents and for promoting individuality (it has a ‘gifted and talented’ register). Its mission is the long-term mental health and emotional well-being of its pupils, but, despite its peacefulness, it’s academically successful. It’s also been declared a nut-free zone to avoid allergy problems.
- 400 pupils aged 3–18, co-ed, day and boarding
- £4,818–£9,548
-
A 500-year-old cottage in West Sussex that's as beautiful as you could ever hope to see, with a pool ringed by flowers, stables and a croquet lawnJames Fisher was in need of some balm for the soul when he came across Woodshill House.
-
From Cornish Gilliflower to Rivers Early Peach: An apple a day keeps Britain’s heritage native fruit from dying out81% of traditional apple orchards have vanished from Britain, but ‘heritage’ apples retain a following, says Jack Watkins, who rounds up nine of the most interesting.
