Leighton Park shows its concern for the World in a variety of ways. I have just returned to my desk inspired by the activities of a group of students, staff and parents who are beginning a community action project in the woods on the Park between Grove and the rear of the music school.

The initial idea was to build a nature trail, but I feel that I witnessed something far more special. The team were, even at the end of a day of hard work shovelling, weeding and clearing, absolutely brimming over with enthusiasm about the possibilities which they envisage for this path through the trees. Eventually it will incorporate quiet places for reflection, outdoor classrooms and staff meeting areas, sculptures and other artwork, story areas, team building apparatus and living science laboratories.

Members of all year groups in the school will become involved in creating this natural, beautiful learning environment. It will serve our own curriculum, and also provide an exciting resource for local primary schools and prep schools. As the ideas and possibilities spilled from the students and staff who were collaborating on the project I saw a vision of the future of education being played out.

We are educating children for a world which they will need to respect, sustain and enhance. They will need to work collaboratively and creatively in diverse teams. We cannot know what jobs these students will have, but we know that they will have several careers in their long lives, and work with technology and in businesses which have not yet been created. They will need to look after their world and find new ways of protecting it, and so they need to feel that it is worth protecting.

In our curriculum review, which we have just begun, the guiding principles are that we should develop a Quaker approach to education, developing learning skills and affording opportunities to explore, create, make mistakes and learn from them. We want to create a curriculum which encourages our students to live adventurously, and will prepare them for a future in which they will let their lives speak.

Projects such as this one, which arises from the International Baccalaureate, will be at the heart of such a curriculum, as well as engaging those beyond the community in an understanding of the true nature of Leighton Park. In this instance the passion of Sally Pearce, our Eco Resident, has been passed on to a team of people who have embraced her passion and put it into practice. The possibilities of a whole school community collaborating on a variety of projects are exciting. We currently have groups of staff exploring ways to reward students; seeking the most meaningful ways to set prep; and working with Reading University on addressing creativity in learning and teaching.

Change is in the air at Leighton Park. It is change which is adventurous and exciting; which is focused on the development of both students and staff; and which demonstrates at every turn the value of independent education, based on the values of Quakerism.