The Steiner Academy Hereford is a
Steiner-Waldorf
Waldorf education, also known as Steiner education, is based on the educational philosophy of Rudolf Steiner, the founder of anthroposophy. Its educational style is Holistic education, holistic, intended to develop pupils' intellectual, artistic ...
Academy
An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...
school in
Much Dewchurch near
Hereford
Hereford ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of the ceremonial county of Herefordshire, England. It is on the banks of the River Wye and lies east of the border with Wales, north-west of Gloucester and south-west of Worcester. With ...
,
Herefordshire
Herefordshire ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England, bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh ...
,
UK. It opened in September 2008 based at the earlier Hereford Waldorf School and is the first publicly funded Steiner-Waldorf school in the UK. The school takes students from the Kindergarten age of 3 to 16.
Natural Environment Academy
As a state-funded academy, its specialism is the natural environment. The academy is based on the earlier Hereford Waldorf School which existed for 25 years at the same site and comprised a Victorian school, medieval farmhouse and a more recent kindergarten extension, and eighteenth-century barns. Between 2008 and 2011 the school and site were redeveloped by John Renshaw Architects in a £6.5 million project using natural materials. This redevelopment provided a new hall, renewable energy, and buildings upgraded to reduce the environmental footprint, while organising the development of the site in sympathy with the natural environment. The school has outdoor classrooms and an area of productive gardens and other ecology areas dedicated to Landwork activities.
Controversies
In December 2009 Steiner Academy Hereford was bottom of the primary school league tables for England derived from SATS scores at
Key Stage 2
Key Stage 2 is the legal term for the four years of schooling in maintained schools in England and Wales normally known as Year 3, Year 4, Year 5 and Year 6, when the pupils are aged between 7 and 11 years.
England and Wales
Legal definition
The ...
. Parents had opposed the testing and many children were absent for the dates.
In contrast with assessment tests, in July 2013 Ofsted reported that 'Pupils are well prepared for more formal learning', 'Pupils achieve well throughout the school, reaching above the expected levels', they 'Go on to successfully study and achieve wide-ranging qualifications at GCE A level and beyond.', 'Older students develop strong independent working and thinking skills', 'Pupils’ artistic and practical achievements are impressive', 'Pupils have a strong sense of personal responsibility', and 'bullying is extremely rare'.
In September 2012, the school was accused by the
British Humanist Association
Humanists UK, known from 1967 until May 2017 as the British Humanist Association (BHA), is a charitable organisation which promotes secular humanism and aims to represent non-religious people in the UK through a mixture of charitable servic ...
of
including pseudoscience in its curriculum. Clarence Harvey, an acting principal of the Steiner Academy Hereford, responded:
Times Educational Supplement article
'Homeopathy? Sorry, we're just not swallowing it' 17-09-2012 accessed 2013-11-28 'It is not our aim to promote scientific orthodoxy, but rather to enable pupils to think and engage in independent verification of reality.'
See also
Curriculum of the Waldorf schools
Notes and references
External links
Official siteUK Steiner FellowshipGuardian Education article on SAH 25 May 2012John Renshaw Architects redevelopment of SAC 2008-2011Steiner Academy FromeEuropean Council for Steiner Waldorf Education
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Waldorf schools in the United Kingdom
Academies in Herefordshire
Educational institutions established in 2008
2008 establishments in England
Secondary schools in Herefordshire
Primary schools in Herefordshire