On East Street in Ashburton, the week turns on a School Meeting where students and staff vote on how the place is run, and learning is built around choice rather than compulsion. That single detail tells you almost everything: Sands School is designed for young people who want ownership, responsibility, and room to grow into their own way of working.
Sands is an independent secondary school with sixth form for boys and girls aged 11 to 17 in Newton Abbot, Devon. It is intentionally small, with a published capacity of 84, and it organises the secondary years over six rather than the usual five, so many students finish at 17. The 2024 ISI progress monitoring inspection found the school met all the relevant standards checked.
The founding story is unusually direct. In the summer of roughly in 1987, just fourteen students and three teachers from the recently closed Dartington Hall School gathered and designed a new school together. The result is not a conventional hierarchy with students at the bottom. Sands still talks about equality of voice, shared responsibility, and a community that expects young people to take decisions seriously because they will live with the consequences.
Sands describes itself as a democratic school: rules are made through the weekly School Meeting, students chair meetings, and students and staff are on first-name terms. For some children, that feels like oxygen. They are trusted, listened to, and expected to handle freedom well. For others, it can feel exposed, because the adult scaffolding is lighter and the child has to supply more of the engine.
This is also a place that does not lean on the usual visual cues. There is no uniform, and the day is not punctuated by bells. That suits students who are ready to manage time, negotiate choices, and show up for what they have committed to.
A capacity of 84 changes the rhythm. Relationships are harder to hide from, and individual needs are more visible. It can be reassuring for students who have felt lost in bigger settings, or who need adults to notice the early signs of wobble. The trade-off is that the social pool is smaller. Friendship groups, fall-outs, and reconciliation play out in a tighter loop, and students need the maturity to keep that manageable.
Sands makes a clear decision early: it wants the learning experience to be led by the student, not by a results dashboard. Even so, the published GCSE measures are part of the picture and are worth reading carefully, because they can signal fit as much as attainment.
Ranked 3,997th in England and 7th in the Newton Abbot area for GCSE outcomes (FindMySchool ranking, based on official data), Sands sits below England average, within the bottom 40% of schools in England. The available GCSE measures include an Attainment 8 score of 11.7, an EBacc average point score of 0.67 (England average: 4.08), and 0% of pupils achieving grades 5 or above in the EBacc measure.
For families, the implication is practical. If you want a conventional GCSE profile with a strong EBacc pathway and clear, comparable headline measures, Sands may feel like swimming against the tide. If your child is more likely to succeed through autonomy, small classes, and a pace that can flex, the “standard” comparison points can matter less than the lived daily pattern. When you are weighing very different kinds of school locally, the FindMySchool comparison view is useful because it lets you see the GCSE measures side by side without losing sight of context.
England ranks and key metrics (where available)
GCSE 9–7
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% of students achieving grades 9-7
A key detail sits in the timetable philosophy: there is no school bell, and students are expected to keep track of time and get themselves to lessons. That is not a gimmick. It is a daily rehearsal for self-management, and it shapes how teaching lands.
Sands aims to prepare students for GCSEs while also developing the learning habits that make self-directed study possible. The school describes a mix of structured lessons and space for project work, independent study, and choice. In the GCSE years, students work with an academic tutor to build a programme, typically choosing between six and nine subjects. GCSE study is spread over three years, with some exams sat at the end of the second year of study and the remainder later, which can suit students who benefit from time to consolidate or who need room for re-sits.
Choice also shows up in the weekly pattern. Two afternoons a week are framed as “choice options”, which can include activities such as Japanese or yoga, extra tutoring in a subject, or social time. The day ends with fifteen minutes of “useful work” where everyone participates in tidying and cleaning, linking school life to practical responsibility rather than treating it as someone else’s job.
For students with additional needs, Sands sets out a “core offer” that includes a personal tutor, flexible timetabling (including the option to attend classes outside of year group where appropriate), teaching assistant support in many lessons, and bookable coursework support in GCSE years. It also makes clear that it is not a special school and that the freedoms of the model require a student to be able to use them safely and without derailing others.
The six-year secondary structure means many students leave at 17 rather than 16, with the intention that they can take more time over GCSEs and, where needed, take exams more than once. That extra year can be a relief for students who have found academic pressure draining, and it can also be a gift for those who want to study more subjects or take a deeper run at the ones they care about.
After Sands, the typical next step is further education rather than an in-house Year 13 route. The school’s own admissions guidance also makes the pathway explicit for families who want a standard move at 16: apply for a place in the year above so the student reaches college at the usual leaving age.
Admissions at Sands starts with a child-centred premise: the school wants the student to decide whether it is right for them, not simply the adults around them.
The process begins with an enquiry and a conversation with the admissions team. Visits are usually offered on a Tuesday or Thursday morning at 10.30, and tours are led by current students. The pivotal step is the Try-Out Week: five days in school so the student can experience the model in reality. At the end of the week, students have an informal interview with their peer group about how it went and whether they want to join.
Places are offered if there is space, the school believes it can meet the student’s academic and wider needs, and the student is making an active, informed choice. Sands is also clear about additional needs: it welcomes applications from students with Education, Health and Care Plans, but due to resource constraints it can only process applications for up to two students with EHCPs at a time per year group.
Entry is not locked to a single annual moment. Sands says it is open to in-year movement where space allows, and it also flags specific points where it adds spaces into year groups. Because logistics matter with a longer day and a small-school catchment, it is worth using the FindMySchool Map Search to sense-check the home-to-school journey before you commit to a Try-Out Week.
Fees are £4,730 per term for 2025 to 26 (VAT included). A £900 returnable deposit is payable on admission. The school offers a limited number of means‑tested bursaries on a first‑come basis; eligible families are typically offered fee reductions of about 10%–33%, depending on the budget.
A democratic school lives or dies on culture. Sands leans on meetings, discussion, and shared responsibility to create a community where behaviour is managed through relationship and accountability rather than constant adult enforcement. Students are expected to regulate themselves and, crucially, to take responsibility when they misjudge.
Pastoral support is anchored in the tutor relationship, and the school describes the importance of trusted adults in a model with more freedom of movement and choice. The SEND “core offer” is framed around practical supports that reduce friction: flexible timetabling, help with coursework in GCSE years, and targeted support where a student needs it to access learning.
The extracurricular story at Sands is not about a glossy list. It is about students building things, making things, and learning to run parts of their community.
Performance has an obvious home in the East Street Theatre, which hosts public productions. Sands also points to student-led work, including Pigeon Play, created and produced by a small student “capsule company” handling writing, directing, lighting, costumes, props, and performance. Drama teaching includes devised theatre, and older students can study BTEC Performing Arts. LAMDA lessons are available for students in any year group, giving a structured route for speaking and performance skills.
Visual art is unusually well-resourced for a small school. Sands describes a dedicated art building across two floors with six separate work spaces, including a clay studio with a kiln and facilities for welding and larger-scale sculpture. It also describes an art library of approximately 500 books. For creatively driven students, that kind of infrastructure matters because it turns “art at school” into sustained practice rather than an occasional lesson.
Sport is framed broadly: movement, challenge, and outdoor time rather than a narrow fixtures culture. Sands describes a sports court built as a community project (available for public use out of school hours via Ashburton Pool), plus a skate ramp and a climbing room. It also describes trips to Dartmoor and the coast, and a summer camp where activities can include cycling, sea swimming, surfing, and canoeing.
Food is also treated as education. Sands describes vegetarian lunches prepared on site, with some ingredients coming from a vegetable garden, and students are encouraged to help with kitchen tasks, from small contributions to cooking whole meals.
*Bursaries may be available for eligible families.
Basis: per term
Sands School is open from 8.30am to 5.00pm each day. It also states that students may use wrap around care hours outside of the teaching timetable for breakfast, independent study, and social time.
For families driving in, Sands advises using the car parks in Ashburton town centre during term time, as on-site parking is very limited. The school also lists a bus option (subject to availability) from Totnes and Dartington or from South Brent, Buckfastleigh, with a published cost of £250 per term; school lunches are also listed at £250 per term.
A high-freedom model: Lessons are not compulsory and students are expected to manage time and choices. That can suit confident, independent learners, but it can be hard for children who need tight structure from the outset.
A small peer group: With a capacity of 84, social life is intimate. It can feel safe and known, but it is not the right setting for every child, especially those who want the anonymity and breadth of a larger year group.
GCSE fit, especially EBacc: The published EBacc measures are very low, and the school’s approach prioritises choice and pacing over an EBacc-led pathway. Families who want a traditional subject suite and clear exam standardisation should ask direct questions about entries, subject routes, and expectations.
Logistics and extras: The day runs to 5.00pm and parking is limited on site, so the daily practicalities matter. Budgeting should include termly fees plus optional extras like lunches and bus transport.
Sands School is a deliberate outlier: a democratic, student-led secondary where freedom is treated as a skill to learn, not a privilege to be granted. It is best suited to students who want agency, who do well in small groups, and who need time, trust, and a flexible GCSE route to find their stride. For families who secure a place, the reward is a schooling experience built around voice and responsibility; the challenge is that it will not suit children who need conventional structure and a standard academic pathway from day one.
It can be an excellent fit for the right child. Sands is highly distinctive in how it shares decision-making with students and how it builds learning around choice and responsibility. It is also a very small school, which changes the day-to-day experience compared with larger secondaries.
For 2025 to 26, fees are £4,730 per term (VAT included) and the school also publishes a £900 returnable deposit payable on admission. Means-tested bursaries are available in a small number of cases, typically reducing fees by 10% to 33% where eligible and subject to availability.
Admissions starts with an enquiry and a visit, usually followed by a five-day Try-Out Week so the student can experience the school properly. An informal peer interview follows, and offers depend on space, fit, and the student choosing Sands actively.
At Sands, students and staff vote together in a weekly School Meeting, and students are expected to take real responsibility for their choices. The model aims to build independence and self-management alongside GCSE preparation, rather than relying on constant adult direction.
Sands describes a six-year secondary journey, and many students leave at 17 rather than 16. Families who want a move to college at 16 are guided to apply for a place in the year above so the student reaches the usual leaving point.
Get in touch with the school directly
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