School days happy days

Its principal Rosemary Whaley has created a revolutionary education scheme based on her conviction that there is 'a better way for children to learn'. And Llangattock School, which opened in 2003, is already over-achieving the National Curriculum by a significant margin.

The ethos of the school is that 'variety and inspiration are the best triggers for learning'. "We provide a relaxed, family atmosphere where children can find their own level and have fun - where they're not 'damaged' academically," Rosemary explained.

Rosemary moved to Monmouthshire from London in 1998. She was formerly head of Garden House preparatory school in Sloane Square and, before becoming a teacher, had trained as an opera singer. "Moving here from London with two small children and another on the way was a huge decision. It didn't know the area at all until I stayed with some friends and fell in love with the view! When I discovered that the former village school was for sale I saw a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."

The school at Llangattock-Vibon-Avel (built in 1870 by John Rolls) was being run as a Montessori nursery.

Rosemary bought the school buildings and adjoining school-house and kept the nursery going while she worked on her plans for a new junior school on the site.

The number of children attending the nursery, reduced to three prior to the sale, soon started to increase. "I hired a Montessori teacher and an early years teacher, acquired some Montessori equipment and employed a mother's help who doubled as school cook. It was a wonderful time for all of us - and a new experience for me to teach children aged two to five."

The Montessori philosophy differs from traditional school in three key ways: Multi-aged classrooms enable the young child to look to the older child for social and academic guidance. The older child in turn gains a sense of responsibility and self-esteem. Abstract ideas are taught in a concrete way, enabling the child to truly understand the concept. All children are treated as individuals, with their strengths capitalised.

Rosemary decided to evaluate elements of the system for her junior school - adopting some, rejecting or modifying others.

The Montessori Institute has endorsed the project because it follows the organisation's central philosophy. But Llangattock School is essentially Rosemary's own creation. "I think it's very important to allow children to follow their natural desire for knowledge. "Our aim is to give every child a positive experience of childhood and education so that they grow into confident adults with a strong self-image. "All the staff are experts in their field. I've tapped into a very rich resource - teachers who'd taken early retirement because, although they loved the job, they felt stifled by the system."

Each schoolday offers a varied programme of formal and informal, oral and written, rote and applied learning. A weekly timetable ensures that all subjects are covered but it's flexible enough to allow for the fact that a topic may be best learnt by immersion for whole days at a time. "Mixing the ages is a natural way of learning, as you would with siblings. "Obviously it's a priority for children to hit targets in core subjects but, by not restricting them to year groups, they're allowed to develop at their own pace and their teachers are sensitive to the fact that different children learn in different ways. "If children feel forced to do something they blank it out and it's very hard to bring them back into focus. Our system often leads to them developing at a faster pace than their age would suggest."

Achievements in all subjects are given equal status. "Success in one area prompts achievement in others. A child applauded for her flute-playing at assembly goes into her maths lesson with a positive attitude. "We bring kinesiology into the mix too - combining practical left-brain and creative right brain skills. Role-play, story-telling and drama, for instance, stimulate the imagination, broaden skills and increase confidence." The length of lessons is flexible. "We don't pad them out for an hour if a child has achieved his or her target in 20 minutes. "Children don't absorb information if they're not concentrating - and concentration doesn't come in 40-minute bites. Our teachers are always aware of a child's attention span and will stop the lesson and use techniques to get them engaged again." "We have days when the children make and wear Tudor costumes, eat Tudor food and have conversations as if they were living at that time. We introduce French, Welsh and Spanish at an early age - exploring the sound and feel of the language before looking at grammatical rules. "We believe children are natural philosophers and foster the thinking process, helping them to grow in confidence and self-knowledge and to think laterally." "We see all children as individuals - and as the adults they will become. They're taught that everyone has to work for a living and we set out to provide them with the kind of skills that will be useful to them throughout their lives."

There's no homework, other than to complete something that wasn't finished in class - 'which provides the incentive to get it right in the first place'!

The school attracts gifted children who might otherwise be home-schooled. It enables them to work with older children in some subjects, returning to their peer group for others.

The individual attention also provides an ideal learning environment for a small number of children with special needs.

The Montessori nursery is popular with Rosemary's enthusiasm for her unique teaching system is infectious. "I'd never go back to the other way of teaching," she said. "In fact I feel guilty that my eldest son Charles, who's 13, didn't have the chance of this education. "Freddie (10) and Christy (seven) can't wait to expand on what they've learned here at secondary school."

For more information log onto: www.llangattockschool.co.uk