Welcome to our federation

We are a group of three village schools in the heart of the picturesque South Downs, which:

• are all caring, happy and inclusive, small schools, with a maximum of 15 children per year group, where everyone knows everyone

• all have stunning locations with lovely views, adjacent woods and fields for Forest School

• share an exciting, engaging and inclusive curriculum and an embedded Christian ethos - but retain their individual characters

• have a single senior leadership team and board of governors, which gives them an unusual management depth and experience 

• benefit from three sets of teaching staff, who share their ideas and resources, to work together for the good of the children 

Here's what our parents and others say about us:

"Children feel safe and secure at school" [Ofsted 2021]

"Children who are new to the school settle very quickly. The ethos is strong and children are keen to welcome newcomers as friends"  [Diocese report 2022]

With an intake of 15, our reception teachers ease the children into school very quickly. Parent surveys consistently report that their children feel safe and happy.

"My children picked up friends and skills for life at this lovely little local school . . .”

We passionately believe that young children can only learn and develop their own potential if they enjoy coming into school and feel happy and safe there - and that this is much more likely in our small, community-based schools, where all the staff and children know each other and treat each other with respect.

“Pupils really enjoy their learning" [Ofsted 2021]
"Where else could you find a village school with lambs in the next-door field, a swimming pool or a forest of its own?”

We are a group of small, rural, village schools that share a common culture and vision, whose governors, staff and parents agreed to come together to give our pupils all the benefits of small, caring village schools, in lovely South Downs settings, while creating a stronger, more stable group that can also offer them the advantages of larger schools.

“The quality of education has been improving rapidly since the appointment of the executive headteacher. Pupils are now achieving well. Staff, parents and carers told inspectors that the school is in a much happier place than it was previously”   [Ofsted 2021]

Our class teachers can share their planning and ideas between three colleagues, who teach the same year groups in their sister schools. Instead of one headteacher, we have three experienced senior leaders, each of them head of one of the schools, but also with specialist responsibilities across the federation – able to share the management role and support each other. Our schools can share resources, including the grounds, swimming pool and woodland and can come together to afford better school trips or outside visitors. 

“To see them walking to church, each big one holding hands and chattering to a little one, is just a delight.”

Our schools have a maximum of 15 children per year group, so no more than 105 pupils on one site. Our reception classes have 15 little ones (or fewer) with a teacher and teaching assistants to help them to settle in and create individual learning plans for each child. The class structure varies, dependent on which school you choose. Please visit each school's pages for further details. Whichever school you come to, the older children support and guide the younger ones who will, in turn, learn to help the next group when they move up. 

“They shared the minibus to pick up from each school and take the year 6s to the sports training at the local secondary academy”

“The STEM day they put on was fantastic: our little school could never have got the range of outside guests that made it so exciting – mine still talk about it two years later!”

Your children can enjoy the lovely settings and strong family feel of our schools, but still get the benefits of larger schools. They can make friends for life by getting to know other children from their own communities. But, through joint educational visits, shared events and activities, they can also get used to mixing in larger groups before they move on to big secondary schools.

"Governors know the school very well. They have a strong understanding of what the school does well and where it needs to develop further." [Ofsted] 

By combining three separate boards of governors, we were able to form one single governing board, with a formidable range of skills and experience. The governors have a dedication the common goal of providing our pupils the best possible start in life.