Life at Dame Bradbury’s doesn’t begin or end in the classroom. We get out and about – in our garden and grounds, on educational trips and on the sports fields – at every opportunity, for lessons and for fun.

Our clubs and societies offer a chance to try something new, to meet pupils from different years, building confidence and social skills. From chess to cello, football to fashion knitting – most pupils take on several challenges each term.

Active learning

Music, drama, and dance bring performance to the fore in everything from re-telling traditional stories to full-scale musicals and the annual carol concert in Saffron Walden. For the artistic, there’s everything from self-portraits to sculpture.

Of course, all this activity needs to be fuelled, so there are always healthy snacks of fruit and home-made pastries and savouries, with lots of choice at lunchtime and options for vegetarians or children who need a special diet.

Connecting home and school

Strong partnerships between home and school complete the picture. Apart from the usual evenings and open days, parents are encouraged to involve themselves in all aspects of school life.

Whether that means joining the audience when their child is acting or making music, helping with a trip or talking over concerns and opportunities with a form teacher.