History

Lewes New School was founded in September 2000 by a group of parents and educators whose children had a wide range of educational experiences including home-education, Steiner, Montessori and local state funded schools.

The founders are members of Subud, a small international organisation that is based on a spiritual practice. The school was founded by Subud for the broad community and the trustees of the school will always be members of Subud in order to preserve it's the ethos and long term security. However, the school does not adhere to any particular spiritual or religious teaching.

Environment

The spacious Victorian school buildings and large playground are located in the Pells area of Lewes adjacent to a pond, park, wetlands and open-air swimming pool and just five minutes walk to the centre of this charming county town.

History

The purchase of the buildings was completed in August of 2000 with the assistance of several local benefactors and support from the Guerrand-Hermès Foundation for Peace, a Brighton-based international charity promoting peace through education.

Floods

One month after opening, the River Ouse burst its banks and within one hour the school was flooded to a depth of 1.5 metres. The school reopened three weeks later in temporary buildings in the playground and continued like that for the next year.

Present Day

The school now occupies beautifully refurbished accommodation with new furnishings and carefully chosen learning resources .