the school

Norwich Steiner School opened in September 2005 and currently can take children up to age 12. This upper age limit increases as the school grows by one class size each year.

Lessons are held in a beautifully decorated classroom, with good natural light and a wonderfully calm atmosphere. Children thrive in an environment where class sizes are small and where there are no exams or testing until GCSE level. They are free to develop feeling secure, happy and confident.

curriculum and approach

Children normally begin school in their seventh year. Steiner Schools do not follow the National Curriculum but a curriculum developed by educationalist Rudolf Steiner, which covers the whole spectrum of arts, humanities and sciences and is followed by every child.

The teaching in the lower classes lays great stress on artistic and active involvement. Intellectual development goes side by side with this, so that education and learning focus on the whole child in a carefully balanced way. Every effort is made to keep the teaching creative, active and imaginative, whereby the natural interest and curiosity of the child are stimulated and developed.

Each morning starts with the ‘Main Lesson’, a two hour lesson taken by the Class Teacher in which subjects such as writing and reading, maths, mythology and, later, geography, history and sciences are taught individually in 3 or 4 week blocks. In this way, each topic can be entered into deeply and thoroughly over that period of time and such continuity enables the children to form a strong, non-superficial connection with their work.

After the morning break the day continues with subject lessons. In Norwich, the Class One teacher is an accomplished multi-instrumentalist and so takes music. Other specialists teach modern languages and handicrafts. German is taught from Class One and a second language will be introduced during the 2006/7 academic year. Craft projects undertaken last year included clay modelmaking and whittling; also, all the children learned to knit with great enthusiasm.

location and places

The Norwich Steiner School is on Hospital Lane, which runs between Hall Road and City Road in Lakenham, Norwich.

To find out about places, the admissions procedure, or to see a map, go to the contacts page

Admissions forms and school policy documents can be downloaded here.