Life at The Elms is just as busy outside the classroom as it is in. The children have so many opportunities to try different things and to then pursue them to a high level. Our children are highly motivated to achieve whether it be on the sports field, in the riding arena, on the farm, in the theatre, in the art room or in the music room.

“Pupils make the most of the very rich range of opportunities available to them and achieve at a high level in a range of sports, music, drama and art.”

ISI, November 2021

Pastoral

The Elms, is known in the school community as The Elms family for it’s warm welcome and nurturing care of every individual. It is the start in life that will foster life-long appreciation of secure, validating and fulfilling relationships.

In chapel, in charity work, within the house system and the school community as a whole, there are multiple opportunities for every child to rehearse and develop their social and emotional understanding. In addition, a comprehensive, well-researched and responsive RSHE curriculum offers further opportunity to develop key skills like conflict resolution with friends, or how to stay safe on the internet.

Elms children have a voice in school. They are curious about their learning and share their prior-learning as a springboard for their next steps, they engage with interactive assemblies, their class teacher and form tutors listen to and share their current concerns and the school council listens and responds to common themes across the school community.

Feeling heard is a key ingredient to The Elms family ethos. Children know that they can speak to any adult at school about something that is worrying them and that adult will listen respectfully. That adult will give time and space for that problem. That adult will, depending on circumstance, support them to resolve a problem, or access further support. That is care and that is what we do at The Elms.

The same level of care continues through the boarding team. Flexi and Full Boarders contribute to regular team meetings. The boarders are at home with their Elms family where they have fun, laugh and cry as every family does, secure in the knowledge that they are part of a supportive, kind and respectful community.

Sports & Games

Sport at The Elms plays a central part in school life. The children play sport every day and as a result achieve high standards. For us, sport is multi-purpose – the physical benefits are clear, but the fostering of team spirit, the encouragement and acceptance of those of all standards with the courage and willingness to have a go, and generosity of spirit in either victory or defeat are equally important.

Equestrian

The children benefit from the equestrian department physically, emotionally and socially. The Elms is a registered Pony Club Centre and structured riding lessons are available for all pupils in the Main School.  Pupils can bring their own ponies here on full livery, working livery or use one of our ponies for lessons.

The full spectrum of abilities are catered for from complete beginners learning the basic skills to budding young riders who compete at NSEA competitions and everything in between. In addition to lessons in the beautiful outdoor arena, all able pupils can hone their riding skills and improve their confidence in the freedom of hacking around the spectacular Malvern countryside with their peers.

Meet The Ponies

The stable yard is one of the most popular places in the school for the children to spend free time and to hang out with the ponies. Here are the ponies who are at school and that the children get to ride and groom.

The Elms School Annual Country Show

One of the unique things about The Elms is the on-site farm and equestrian facilities. Each year in September, we celebrate this side of our school with our version of a country show. All of the children are assigned an animal that they will show in various classes throughout the day and they also get to compete in the ‘Apple Olympics’ and other fun stalls. It is a quirky afternoon that you would never experience in any other school and we are very proud of it!

Farm

At the Elms we are incredibly fortunate to have a small working farm situated on our extensive grounds. The farm affords all staff an array of opportunities to educate and inspire our children, whilst also contributing significantly to the ethos of the school. Children are given the opportunity to fully immerse themselves in the day to day running of the farm, be it in their own time or within Rural Studies club, as we strive to demonstrate best practice farming. We also give children the opportunity to show our various livestock in Shows around the country, which requires a huge amount of dedication and commitment.

The farm provides an incredible resource to supplement the holistic education of our children at the Elms. We believe it to be of paramount importance that children are educated about the ever increasing disconnect between agriculture and processed food products and thus are afforded the opportunity to make informed decisions for themselves regarding food. Our vision for the Farm is to enlighten our children in sustainable farming practices and environmental issues surrounding us today so as to best prepare them for an uncertain future in great need of passionate and informed leaders.

Performing Arts

To enrich the learning done in lessons, the children all have the opportunity to get more involved in the Performing Arts at other times in the day. Whether it be performing in the choir, shining in a Musical Theatre concert, playing the drums in the school band or at one of the many plays put on throughout the year, our children embrace the opportunity to excel and support their peers in this creative field.

Clubs

Our children get to enjoy a wide variety of clubs that run throughout the year and change on a termly basis.

Woodland Challenge

Every week we have an afternoon dedicated to outdoor learning. Our much loved Woodland Challenge sessions allow the children to experience the seasons as they change, encouraging them to learn and care for their natural world by immersing themselves in it. From sourcing suitable foliage for den building, or searching for firewood, to harvesting wild garlic and elderflower heads for outdoor cooking. Our budding naturalists marvel at wildlife when pond dipping, animal tracking, or conducting earth worm surveys. Whatever the weather the children immerse themselves in nature’s playground, discovering its endless opportunities. Each session concludes with mugs of hot chocolate consumed around a campfire and lots of happy chatter.