• "Pupils are independent, confident young people who show immense enjoyment in all aspects of school life" Ofsted 2009

The Acorn School is an independent, co-educational school in Nailsworth in Gloucestershire that is known for its unique approach to providing an outstanding holistic education.

We accept children from the age of 7 (or children who will be 7 in the course of the school year) and the school continues all the way through to age 18 or 19, when the majority of our students go on to university.

We are a small, family school with currently around 75 students. Our intimate size and our strong sense of vision and values mean that The Acorn School can focus on every single child, seeing each one as unique. A thriving school community and a strong family ethos support the vision. Put simply, people know each other – students, staff and parents – and everyone has a strong commitment to the school’s values.

Our approach focuses on bringing out the innate intelligence and love of learning of our pupils in order to foster confident, enthusiastic, caring and highly skilled children and young adults. The school was founded in 1991 and ever since then we have been enabling young people to take their place in the world fully, based on self-confidence, love of learning and high standards of personal conduct.

Our unique approach to education has attracted national and international interest. Almost half of our families have moved to the area because of the school. In the Upper School we accept a small number of students from other parts of the United Kingdom and abroad, where we help to arrange boarding with local families. Our curriculum is based on the Steiner Waldorf curriculum, although we have our own distinctive approach.

the-school-that-becomes-a-family Read an article about “the school that becomes a family” on the BBC website.

Read other recent news and features on the school.