Parracombe School is a Voluntary Controlled Church of England School for children aged 4 – 11.  It is located on the edge of the picturesque village of Parracombe, situated close to the attractive coastline of North Devon and within the Exmoor National Park.

At Parracombe School, we aim to provide our children with an outstanding, broad and balanced education which is closely informed by the National Curriculum and based on Christian principles.  This enables our children to ‘achieve well’ through ‘memorable experiences’ (Ofsted, January 2011).

Parracombe School has a long history, with earliest records dating back to 1830.  Over the years our building has been extended and modernised on numerous occasions to meet the needs of the changing education system.   In 2009 the school was extensively refurbished, creating an environment that is truly fit for learning within the 21st Century.

At Parracombe School we currently cater for just over 25 children, who are taught in collaboration with children from Kentisbury School.  This enables us to provide the very best educational opportunities for our children and maximises the benefits of the two unique sites that Parracombe and Kentisbury offer within extremely small classes.  Children in the Reception Year and Key Stage One are primarily taught at Kentisbury School, within an Early Years Foundation Stage class or in a dedicated Key Stage One class.  Children within Key Stage Two are primarily taught at Parracombe School within a Year 3/4 or Year 5/6 class.   Once a week the children from both schools come together for a Community Day which alternates between the two schools and provides the children with access to specialist teachers in a variety of subjects such as science, religious education, physical education and music.  Regardless of which learning base children attend, they are registered to their home school with appropriate transport between the two schools being provided by the federation. 

At both Parracombe and Kentisbury, our teachers are of the highest calibre with the quality of teaching and learning being consistently good or outstanding at both schools.  Each class is supported by at least one full time, highly qualified, experienced and dedicated teaching assistant.  We encourage each child to maximise his or her potential and to fully develop their individual aptitudes. We do this through creating a family ethos in which children feel happy, secure and valued. In this way, they learn to be part of a community, appreciating and understanding their own and others’ needs and strengths.  We pride ourselves on the fact that our children ‘get on noticeably well together’ and that ‘there is a strong family atmosphere’ (Ofsted, January 2011).

In January 2007, Parracombe School became part of the West Exmoor Federation.  As part of a federation we are able to offer ‘the best of both worlds’ to our children.  Individually, we are able to offer all the advantages of a small school, namely that of being a supportive and caring ‘family unit’ that allows the specific needs of all children to be fully met.  Together, we can enjoy many of the benefits bestowed upon larger schools, such as specialist teachers, extensive enrichment programme and broader friendship groups which is particularly important for our older children as they move on to secondary school.

Across the federation we benefit from having our own Forest School and Pre-School, both of which are accommodated at Kentisbury where the school grounds lend themselves to such outstanding provision.