Summerhill cannot afford to let hygiene slip so we have to keep the school up to standard by employing cleaning staff. This also cuts out any conflict over an issue that would be on-going and unproductive. Children have a great deal of interest in what time they go to bed at night, but little in keeping the corridors tidy!
The older children with individual bedrooms are responsible for their own washing and cleaning, and the whole community has to take care of keeping the school grounds tidy. This usually involves a “litter pick-up” used as a fine for misdemeanours. There is a ‘Health & safety’ committee to ensure that standards of reasonable hygiene and safety are maintained, they visit all rooms (including staff who live in areas adjoining the children) a few times each term.
Most children enjoy doing some cooking – but having to feed over 100 people every day for the whole year is a different kettle of fish! We also have to comply with Health & Hygiene rules, which make it impossible for the children to cook for the whole school.
We employ a team of professional chefs to look after the catering. However, there are many opportunities for the children to get involved in cooking: cookery classes, kitchen helping, bar committee, school café etc.and areas to cook for themselves.
Among subjects offered are:
- Art
- Design technology Information technology
- English language and literature
- Geography
- History
- Languages – German, Hungarian, Japanese, Chinese and Spanish
- Maths
- Music technology, DJ work, studio sessions, various instruments and vocal coaching
- Psychology
- Science – Biology, Physics and Chemistry
- Woodwork and Metalwork
There is an outdoor swimming pool, library with and a well equipped study room, games field, skateboard ramps, tennis court, theatre, and music studio and practice rooms.
Also see: Learning at Summerhill
Yes, we have several. Some are families who have moved here specifically to be near the school. It is quite common for parents of younger children to move here for the first few terms so that the child can start off as a ‘day child’.
Later on the children will naturally want to be more involved in the community and will progress to boarding, normally around the age of 10.
As classes are optional, homework works in a very different way to conventional schools. Pupils may have homework if the teachers feel it is needed and there is often course work to be done for exams. Teachers are very honest with pupils about their work, or lack of it. If they need to work harder then some homework will be essential. The pupils may ask for homework as part of self-managing their learning.
There are 5 full-time house parents and 10 full-time teachers.
All full-time time staff live on the 12-acre school site, either in single rooms alongside the children or in out-buildings. When the houseparents take time off the teachers provide cover for them .
We also have a team of “day” staff, including teachers, cleaners, chefs, etc.
When children leave Summerhill most go on to study for appropriate qualifications (A-level, BTEC, GNVQ) at college or higher education. Some will go to university, some will not — it is a case of personal choice. Because of the unconventional schooling they have had, they tend to look at it with a balanced view, not just thinking that “you have to go to university to get anywhere”. They know that it is not the only answer to happiness and success in life!
Their careers are very varied. By way of a few examples, Summerhill has produced artists, doctors, lawyers, teachers, university professors, carpenters, scientists, musicians, chefs, actors, gardeners, farmers, newspaper reporters, filmmakers, technicians, photographers, dancers, computer programmers, writers, illustrators, carers for the elderly and entrepreneurs…
Yes, we offer the standard English school leaving exams, GCSEs at ordinary level, though they are not compulsory. We do not provide for “A” levels at Summerhill. Pupils wishing to take them will have to go to college afterwards.
Almost all Summerhill pupils take some exams before they leave, but some may choose a different path after they leave and prefer not to take any at all.
In our experience all children respond well to personal freedom and self-government. Though whether a Summerhill education will work for them depends on many factors. They need to want to be part of the school community, which ultimately means to learn about making decisions, amusing themselves and not having adults to create interest and activities for them all the time. Coming from conventional schooling these can be difficult challenges. Eventually they need to be able to fit in with a group of all ages and characters and live as harmoniously as they can. Occasionally a child who is struggling with their own personal difficulties in life may find the freedom at Summerhill so captivating that they are unable to differentiate between freedom and license and aren’t able to take responsibility for their actions. This can lead to problems in their relationships with other children and with the community as a whole. It can also mean that the development of other children is impaired due to the negative influence upon them. In such cases, sadly, the child will have to go elsewhere.
Under British law it is illegal for children to have sex under the age of 16. In line with many other establishments that deal with teenagers in a real-life setting, we are a supportive environment — providing our pupils with information and advice wherever possible. We are proud of the fact that our children are unafraid to approach us to discuss anything.
Obviously, as a school, pupils are not allowed to have sex even if they are over the age of consent.
Summer 2017- 68 pupils
Summer 2018- 85 pupils
Summer 2022- 53 pupils
Autumn 2022- 61 pupils
Like any school, there are incidents of bullying at Summerhill; but unlike other schools, staff or pupils, can bring-up a case against anybody else in the school meeting. Thus, we are all answerable to the whole community. Our ombudsmen and self-government meetings ensure that everybody in the school has a voice and can have conflicts resolved or perpetrators dealt with by the community. The Summerhill system tends to brings things into the open so bullying is confronted in the early stages. The typical cases we see in our school meetings would normally be termed as fairly minor harassment or low level bullying on other schools – we rarely get cases of really spiteful bullying.
There is no involvement with parents at Summerhill other than as parents of children enrolled. As the philosophy of the school is to encourage children to live their own lives, make their own decisions and they value their independence and the vast majority prefer parents not to be part of the school.
Most parents become good friends and participate from a distance by offering their approval and support for the school.
We have a Summer half-term weekend when parents are invited to come and stay for a few days and relax so they can experience a little of what their children have!
Obviously this depends to some degree upon the personal circumstances of the child before and during their stay at the school. Some children who have come to the school with problems are still going to have to deal with many of them into their adult lives. Summerhill has a very good record of helping such children, there is no magic “fix” or utopian cure-all.
Qualities we typically see in Summerhill pupils are: Self-esteem, tolerance, integrity, fairness, understanding, sensitivity, compassion, assertiveness, creativity, individuality, humour, self-motivation and common sense.
If you are legally able to work in the UK, have the skills for the job offered, are prepared to live in and work hard and are enthusiastic, humorous, hardworking and adaptable – you could be just what we are looking for! The website will have details of any roles that need filling.
As far as the roots are concerned, there have been no changes. The fundamentals of the Summerhill system are so simple, a part of basic human needs and it’s values so true, that they could not be changed.
Although many exterior things have altered, it is comforting to see how the atmosphere and general feel of the place have remained the same over the years. Obviously as a living community there are constant small changes going on, a very organic process.
Occasionally, but not in the usual sense of being expelled for doing something ‘naughty’. In Summerhill someone will only be asked to leave if their general attitude shows that they are not really interested in being part of the community. Continuous law-breaking, bullying on a regular basis, real violence — these are all things that may make the school decide to send them home for a while or indefinitely. Most pupils get several chances before they are asked to leave.
Most of Neill’s books can be obtained from Abe Books
On this website you can visit our shop to find the latest books.
Unfortunately the school has no financial help for the government and we rely entirely on our fees to run the school.
There are several organisations where you can apply for funding. Get in touch with the office and we are happy to share the list of these organisations.
We feel that Summerhill pupils are better prepared for the outside world than most other young people. Pupils at Summerhill are used to being in control of their own lives and making decisions for themselves – just as adults do in their daily lives. They decide what to do, when, and how to do it. One of the major failings in the wider education system is the lack of opportunities for children to learn about taking responsibility for their own actions, the consequences of their decision making, and how to put things right when they have made a wrong decision.
Critics say there are many things in the outside world that have to be done, such as earning a living. They believe that our pupils will find it difficult to adapt, as there is no compulsion at Summerhill. Actually Summerhill pupils face similar situations in their everyday lives at the school all the time. There are many, many things that need to be done in order to keep the community running. If we, the members of the community do not do them, then they do not get done at all. Instead of being compelled to do things by somebody else, you have to take responsibility for yourself and the community around you. You have to be self-motivated. This is true of all of us in adult life. We have no big “teacher” standing by to tell us what to do. We have to get on and deal with things by ourselves.
At Summerhill we feel that children in other schools are being disadvantaged by their narrow curriculum that does not look after their emotional growth or offer decision making processes to learn from, making it very difficult when they subsequently leave school and have to start living in the adult world.
The popular belief that Summerhill is a wild, unstructured society is untrue. Because of the many laws at Summerhill that govern our lives the pupils are used to a strong framework. Living in a democratic society where grievances are aired in the school meetings gives the pupils a strong sense of justice as well as an ability to listen to, and understand, the other person’s point of view. Thus they are well prepared for interacting in the outside world. Although when they move to life outside they, like many others, may find some rules petty and unnecessary, they are tolerant and understanding enough to deal with it.
Ask the children! Summerhill pupils are not forced to be here – they choose to be. Old-Summerhill pupils all agree that being away from home was a really positive and important thing for them.
Summerhill is nothing like a “boarding school” in the traditional sense. It is somewhere between tribe and family, a sociable, child-centred environment where the adults are friends and where you can play all day if you want to. It is an enrichment of family life, something extra that you can’t get at home – plus lots of brothers and sisters, aunts, uncles and friends.
Some people say they will miss their children’s childhood if they send them to Summerhill. My answer is that childhood is for the child, not for the parents. It can take courage to give your children the independence they need, especially if this means they will leave home.
But Summerhill parents will agree that you don’t “lose” your child, you gain a special friendship with them that lasts a lifetime. And, of course, we have roughly four months holiday each year when parents and children can spend time together unfettered by the ‘school run’, home work or any of the other daily pressures faced by those at conventional schools.
Yes! Summerhill School celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2021 and continues to operate true to its roots today in Leiston, Suffolk.