A South London school where children learn outside come rain or shine is thought to be the first fully outdoor school in Britain. 

Liberty Woodland School in Morden has been open for three years.

Headteacher Leanna Barrett founded the school following the success of a chain of seven outdoor nurseries across London.

She opened the first one in Wimbledon when her daughter Ella, now 10, was two-years-old.

Leanna, who was previously an analyst at the Home Office, said: “When Ella reached primary years she went into a conventional school, where was nothing particularly wrong with it but I could feel her creativity reducing.”

The primary school started in Worcester Park and moved to Morden Lodge, a “glorious” three acre site in August 2021. 

At the moment there are 60 children between the ages of four and 11 and the school is expanding to open a secondary school on the same site in September.

Leanna, three children Ella, Jack, nine and Indie 6, all go to the school. She said: “Even when it’s raining and cold the children are outside, they are fine, they’re so resilient.

"It’s not an endurance test though we have classroom dens for when children are doing extended writing tasks.

"It is still outdoors but there is a sheltered space with a canvass roof.

“For the majority of the time it is outdoors.

"It is so important for mental health and for the soul, it makes children feel free and less constrained.”

Each term the whole school focuses on a project, this term it has been on becoming environmental influencers.

The headteacher said through learning about biodiversity some of the eight to 10-year-olds have delved into GCSE level geography.

Children eat mostly vegetarian lunches and Leanna says rather than detentions pupils are taught to “regulate their own behaviour”.

She said: “We’ve taken a whole school approach, we develop children to be really self aware.

"We have colours to help them understand how they are feeling. If a child is feeling red, frustrated or angry, they know how to taken them back to green.

"It is all about self regulate, obviously we are there to support them.”

The private primary school costs nearly £4,500 a term but Leanna said she hopes it can become a free school.

She said: “We have to be an independent school as that is the only way I can pay our teachers.

"I am trying to take children from reception to when they leave us and provide evidence that this works, they I can take this to a Free School, I don’t believe you should have to pay for education.”