In the summer of 2010 I visited The Coombes CE Primary School as part of the first International School Grounds Alliance conference. Ever since reading a book, The Creative School, I yearned to see the place and discover first hand what makes this school a unique centre of excellence. At the time of writing this original post, the school had a firm commitment to making excellent use of their grounds. With changes of headship and staff, I think the ethos and emphasis of the school may be different now. However there is a book called The Coombes Approach written by the second HT, Susan Rowe which is the most recent summary of what the school used to be like.
The Coombes School was renowned for its innovative approach, particularly the way in which it used its school grounds to provide experiential learning experiences for the 600 children who attended. It is a state-funded school. The founding head teacher, Sue Humphries, had a vision of a kindergarten – a school in the woods. It is hard to believe when you walk around the grounds that when the school opened in 1971, there was just a tarmac playground and a large playing field.
My visit was also part of the Learning Through Landscapes “World Outside the Classroom” conference that celebrated 20th birthday of this school grounds charity. The Coombes School community  very kindly put together a special day of events for the 60 visitors who descended upon their school. All the Coombes School blog posts have come from this two-day event!
Although dated, Stuart Cummings, an Australian head teacher visited The Coombes School as part of his current Churchill Travelling Fellowship. His blog makes interesting reading, especially the Coombes post about this same event.
The grounds were not in pristine condition and were continuously evolving. They were used daily by all classes for learning outside all year round.
On the day we left I found four different classes outside before 9.30am doing a variety of different activities. This school walked its talk.
The school relied heavily on parents and volunteers to assist with the ongoing maintenance tasks. The nearby army barracks also provided labour and resources when needed too. The overall ethos strongly reminded me of the African proverb, “It takes a whole village to raise a child”.
The staff and children are also involved. When our group arrived the previous day, there was a teacher painting strategy games in the car park for the next day’s activity.
If you want to get a flavour of the curriculum and how The Coombes School approaches this, then have a look at this YouTube video clip that was also filmed in 2010. I think the commentary is timeless.
This blog post was originally published in July 2010.
It is my absolute wish that there were more schools around like this one. What a wonderful place to grow and learn.
I just got back from a progressive education conference in Victoria at the Hurstbridge Learning Co-op and was similarly inspired by their outdoor learning environment and the amount of time they spent in it. I’ll post soon about it too.
Thanks for sharing this Juliet 🙂
What an amazing place, Juliet! Thanks for sharing it.
I especially like that it’s “not pristine,” and that they rely on parents — that’s my kind of school.
Yes – it’s an interesting place because most schools which are doing this sort of thing are very small. Whereas over the 35 years this school has existed, the ethos has evolved and remained strongly rooted in authentic learning experiences. Furthermore, SATS results and other standardised forms of assessing schools demonstrate that this school can meet these standards too. It gets “outstanding” OFSTED school inspections.
I went to Coombes in the 70s and I am now a gardener. Remember Mrs Humpreys.
How amazing! Thanks for letting me know. It is a unique school or certainly it used to be.
Thanks Juliet. The last thing I read about Coombes suggested they were no longer so engaged with their outdoors so I’m really happy to read this.
I went here in the 90s. I have such fond memories of outdoor learning and all the amazing activities they organised for us. We left with a great respect for nature and a well-rounded education.
I’ll never forget being Mary in the Nativity play and being transported around the hall on a wooden donkey! I’m sure these early life lessons shape who we become.
Hi Elise – Thanks so much for sharing your memories. The school was a remarkable place – Sue Humphries had a vision and determination that was quite incredible. I also hope my blog posts capture a moment in time for Coombes too – they are still relevant now as they were 11 years ago.