Sands School

Infobox UK school
name = Sands School


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established = 1987
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type = Independent democratic Day School
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founders = David Gribble, Sybilla Higgs, Sean Bellamy
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street = 48 East Street
city = Ashburton
county = Devon
country = England
postcode = TQ13 7AX
LEA = Devon
ofsted = 113619
staff = approx 8 teaching, 5 support
enrollment = approx 50 - 70 students
gender = Coeducational
lower_age = 11
upper_age = 18
website = http://www.sands-school.co.uk
website_name = www.sands-school.co.uk

Sands School is a democratic school in Ashburton, Devon in England

History

Sands School 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. In the early 1990s the school went through a difficult period with school numbers falling into the mid-twenties. This resulted in the staff cutting back to a four-day week for a short time. Since then, however, the school has steadily grown, and is currently thriving with around 60 to 70 pupils.

External links

* [http://www.sands-school.co.uk Sands School]
* [http://www.idenetwork.org/index.htm International Democratic Education Network]
* [http://www.phoenixeducation.co.uk Phoenix Education Trust]