Summerhill School
Democratic boarding and day school in Leiston, Suffolk, founded by A. S. Neill.
At a glance
People
How it works
Optional lessons, School meetings, Freedom, not licence
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- Summerhill is an independent boarding and day school in Leiston, Suffolk, run as a democratic community.
- Lessons are optional, and the school's rules are made at meetings where pupils and staff each have an equal vote.
- It was founded by A.
- S.
- Neill on the belief that the school should fit the child.
- In 2000 the UK government's case against it over optional lessons collapsed at a tribunal and a settlement was agreed.
Why it matters
- It is the best-known democratic school, and many schools opened on its model, especially in America in the 1960s.
Key facts
- Founded
- By A. S. Neill; the school marks 1921 as its founding year1
- Location
- Leiston, Suffolk, England, from 19271
- Earlier sites
- Hellerau near Dresden; Sonntagberg, Austria; Lyme Regis, England, from 1923, where the house gave the school its name1
- Leadership
- Run by Ena May Neill from 1973 to 1985; now by Neill's daughter Zoë Readhead1
- Tribunal
- In 2000 the government's case over optional lessons collapsed and a settlement was agreed1
People
Founded by
How it works
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