At Sompting Abbotts, we adopt a school-wide ethos that embodies our commitment to the environment. Our overriding principles – 'Embrace Nature; Embrace Learning; Embrace Childhood' – are threaded through our teaching, influencing every child's journey from Pre-Prep to Upper Prep.

Our 30-acre grounds and woodland in the South Downs National Park are at the roots of our ethos, with parts left ‘untamed’ to invite downland diversity: orchids, cowslips and wild thyme; badgers, foxes and squirrels; butterflies, beetles and birds.

Currently, two buzzards are nesting in our trees! 

Thursdays are ‘mindful mornings’ when our ornithology-enthusiast Mr B takes his form out with binoculars for their ‘tweet of the day’.

“I don’t want it to feel like a lesson. Birdwatching is just a wonderful way to be amidst nature and understand connectedness,” he says.  (Read about our birdwatching lessons here)

Headmaster Chris Gunn believes: “If children lose contact with the natural world, they won't fight for it. Too many are more familiar with Roblox and Fortnite characters than British wildlife species.” The climate emergency, he adds, underscores the importance of teaching children to appreciate nature.

Kirsty Miles, Head of Pre-Prep, elaborates: "Even at nursery, the children engage with nature and the changing seasons: collecting wood for fires, making tools, digging in mud, identifying insects and plants. Getting caught in brambles or covered in mud is part of it: it builds resilience and makes them observe nature."

Spring, they grab nets and use our big pond for wet habitat science learning. Staff are urged to integrate outdoor elements wherever possible into lessons. “Icicles for teaching states of matter, trees for bark rubbings or orchard fruits for numeracy and baking are just a few examples,” adds Mrs Miles. “We celebrated the King’s Coronation in the woods, making crowns from the long grasses and thrones, orbs and sceptres from wood and twigs!” 

Time spent outdoors helps lift moods and boost concentration and our prep classes continue their nature immersion: tree climbing is encouraged (with a few rules – our prep children are allowed to climb to higher branches)!

From Year 3 to 8, students leverage our diverse habitats for practical learning, including dissecting Barn Owl pellets, making rainwater harvesters (our own tomatoes, peas and onions get used in the school kitchen), re-enacting the Minpins in the woods and creating Andy Galsworthy-style land art using plants, twigs and leaves.

At Sompting Abbotts, thinking green and celebrating the wonder of nature is simply ‘what we do. With each class, each discussion, each outdoor exploration, we’re sowing the seeds of environmental understanding and stewardship.

“But as an ethos, it’s powerful,” says Mr Gunn. “Our children have the future of the planet in their hands.”