Our days are structured to focus on our academic skills in the mornings with a full and varied weekly programme of afternoon activities that include children learning French, drama, cooking, music and movement, sports and artistic activities. Outdoor learning plays a key role in our Nursery School and we are outside in all weathers making use of our large site and coastal location, and taking advantage of all the amazing learning and developmental opportunities nature provides.
Thorpe Hall has an established Forest School
and the woodland on the edge of our 10 acre site provides an exciting outdoor classroom throughout the year. The concept of Forest Schooling first began in Scandinavia and is designed to encourage and inspire children through positive outdoor experiences when guided by our trained and qualified Forest School Teacher.
We were the first independent school in Essex to achieve Beach School status.
This allows us to make the best possible use of the coastline, with all its unique learning resources, right on our doorstep.
Beach School is a relatively new concept and a natural extension to our Forest School initiatives. The child-led learning ethos is essentially the same and both programmes will help build your child’s self-esteem and self-confidence as they undertake tasks such as shelter building using natural resources and discover the plants and wildlife to be found on our beaches nearby.
Through our forest school and beach school initiatives we aim to develop:
"They have such a busy week in Nursery. One afternoon they'll be building a camp and making hot chocolate together in the woods, and the next they'll be learning French, dancing or doing some Yoga! I'm amazed at all the things they get up to!"