Welcome to Bearnes Voluntary Primary School website.

The School is situated in the centre of the busy market town of Newton Abbot. The quaint stone building is easily identifiable from the main street with its steep, church-like roof, while the contemporary hall facilities at the rear of the building reflect the modern day opportunities we afford the pupils of this school.

The history of the school is interesting and unique. Bearnes was conceived in 1788 by Hannah Maria Bearne, to provide an education for the poor children of the parishes of Highweek and Wolborough. Pupils were required to attend at some place of public worship; no preference would be given to children of a particular persuasion or sect of the Protestant religion. This would set the school apart from others in the area. The school still has a Trust to this day and is the only school of its kind in Devon.

The pupils of this school are encouraged to benefit from and respect the diversity of their environment, learning through educational opportunities from the locality and being involved with the community at all levels.

We have a strong ethos of self- fulfilment for the pupils of our school while of equal importance is the development of a caring and nurturing attitude to life. We endeavour to provide all children with a safe and secure environment that has high expectations and supports them to fulfil their potential.

The caring, family atmosphere fostered by the school is reflected in the way we praise, encourage and support our pupils to build their self confidence to achieve their very best. As well as providing a broad and balanced curriculum we offer exciting and creative learning experiences. We strive to recognise talents and abilities within our children and to equip them with the skills they need for life- long learning.

Life is challenging and we are constantly being faced with exciting new demands, we seek, in partnership with parents to equip the pupils of this school to deal confidently with these challenges.

Parents form a close partnership with Bearnes Voluntary Primary School; they are encouraged to support the school in many ways. We value the full range of parental skills and attributes available and we encourage participation in the variety activities that the school provides.

This is a small school which offers its pupils an individual, caring and exciting education, we endeavour to reflect the cutting edge of education and give all pupils in this extraordinary school the opportunity to make the most of their talents and qualities.

The most exciting new development for the school has been the establishment of a Management Partnership between Bearnes and Hennock Community Primary School this has enabled us to achieve some exciting learning opportunities. Both schools are of a similar size, but we seek to exploit the very different contexts of the two schools. Please look at Hennock Community Primary School Website for more details- www.hennockprimaryschool.org

You are welcome to come and visit our school to meet the staff and pupils and get a true feeling of the warm atmosphere we work in.

Nicky Dunford.
Headteacher