York Steiner School

💫 Huge congratulations to our pioneering Upper School students who have received their GCSE results today. These students were our first ever to sit GCSE exams with us and for most of them this was their first experience of formal, public examinations.

🌈With an overall pass rate of 80%, markedly higher than the national average, our Headteacher, Tracey Lucas, had this to say,

“I could not be more proud of every single one of these young people . They all worked very hard, and every single one of them approached the experience positively. They should all be proud of their achievements."

Alongside Maths and English GCSEs the students also took the Crossfields Institute Extended Diploma in Integrative Education, an OFQUAL recognised qualification equal to between 5 and 8 GCSEs. This is an holistic portfolio based course that offers students a broad curriculum and includes subjects such as Global Awareness, Performing arts, Chemistry, Physics, Biology, Physical education.

The Diploma also includes a year long project where the students focus on an area of interest to them. This year these ranged from investigating sustainable farming to creating a reality TV show to writing a novel.

All of the students gained their diplomas, almost half at distinction level. They are going on to do a variety of courses including A-Levels, and T-Levels and two students have gained prestigious places at the United World Colleges in Germany and Bosnia which aims to unite people, nations and cultures for peace and a sustainable future.

🌿We have an Open Day on the 17th October and an Upper School specific open evening on 21st October. To find out more contact our admissions team, [email protected] 🌞

🌎 Voices of Waldorf Elders is an oral-history project preserving the experiences and wisdom of longtime Waldorf educators for younger and future teachers.

💫 Ina Jaehnig’s life in Waldorf education reaches back to postwar Stuttgart, where she attended the newly reopened Waldorf school in old American military barracks. After moving to Colorado in 1971, she helped found the Denver Waldorf School and went on to teach and mentor generations of students and teachers in the United States and around the world.

💫 In this video, Ina reflects on her childhood in Germany, the early years of building a Waldorf school, the joys and struggles of teaching, the people and experiences that shaped her, and what she hopes the next generation of Waldorf educators will carry forward.

https://youtu.be/H9cwWPznx4g?is=j1C5bBRLiFvzA9-A

💫 Continuing with our campus focus, here are some pictures of the front of York Steiner School.

💫 The front area of a Steiner Waldorf school is deliberately designed to act as a gentle transition zone between the outside world and the learning environment, heavily prioritising natural aesthetics, open play spaces, and organic architectural forms.

💫 Our entrance integrates seamlessly with local paths. It features secure bike parking infrastructure to encourage walking and cycling over car use.

💫 The front of the school is a busy hub where our community gathers, networks and shares the highlights of a school day.

🌍 Here are some pictures we took recently of where our children play. The campus is quiet at the moment, but we fondly remember and miss the sounds of excitement, enjoyment, games, music, and the ringing of the bells.

💫 Steiner school playgrounds are designed to connect children with nature. Rather than brightly coloured plastic, they feature natural materials such as climbing trees, mud kitchens, sandpits, and logs.

💫 Playgrounds incorporate uneven terrain, tree stumps, and balance beams to develop coordination. Mud kitchens, dens made of branches, and willow structures encourage children to create their own games and interact with the environment.

💫 At York Steiner School, children enjoy daily outdoor play, nature walks, and gardening. We have an outdoor classroom that connects children directly with the environment, emphasising nature-based learning, sensory engagement, and practical skills.

🌍 Each year at York Steiner School, so much beautiful artwork is taught, created and displayed. We can’t help but photograph the incredible work that brightens up every school corridor.

🎨 Art at a Steiner Waldorf school is fundamental. The curriculum is interdisciplinary, with academic subjects such as science and mathematics interwoven with the social sciences and the arts. Art is a methodology for teaching and learning, rather than a standalone subject.

💫 The curriculum integrates visual arts—such as wet-on-wet watercolour painting, form drawing, and beeswax modelling—with music, drama, and handcrafts to engage a child’s emotional, intellectual, and physical faculties in a balanced manner.

🌍 Steiner Waldorf education emphasises hands-on learning, where students actively engage in the entire "field-to-fork" cycle. Children participate in cultivating gardens and then harvest, process, and cook the produce to understand the natural world and build practical, real-world life skills.

🌱 Class 7 recently enjoyed their hard work on the allotment again. After planting radishes only a few weeks ago, they tended to them by watering and weeding, and they were able to harvest and cook them in their outdoor lesson.

👏 This time, they prepared a quick pickle for the radishes while they stir-fried the tops, then put it all together on a rice cake - the perfect hors d'oeuvres!

🌈It's hard to believe that only a week has passed since had our end of term festival and ushered our Class 8 students onwards towards their Upper School journey!

👣The end of Class 8 marks the end of the beautiful cycle of our Main School. These students have spent 8 years with their class teacher, and are now ready to embark upon the adventure of our Upper School 💫

🌿To celebrate the end of Class 8, families gathered for a picnic and games along with their class teacher. One parent said;

"What I love about this school, is that as our children grow together, our wider families connect too. Some of us have been parenting together since kindergarten, and others have joined in more recent years. All of us are sharing an amazing journey, watching our children grow in confidence and purpose year on year.

"We're so excited for the Upper School journey to begin, when we will have some more families join us. It's a wonderful opportunity for our young people (as they are now!) to continue their personal, social and academic development in an environment that values them as individuals, yet shows them all the value of community too."

Happy Summer holidays Class 8! And to all of our families and friends, may the sun shine on and may you gather and create wonderful memories together. 🌞