Student Case Studies

Why choose Abbot’s Way School? 

We believe that a students own personal ‘distance travelled’ is evidence of impact and value added, rather than purely academic attainment. 

This belief is the crucial driver to ensuring that all of our students receive a specialist education that’s truly unique to their own individual academic and social pathway and not someone else’s. 

Here are some Abbot's Way stories which depict students’ journeys to date... their destinations are now on the horizon and not in the ether somewhere... 

Year 7 Student

'I cannot imagine having to cope with the level of fear and anxiety which has become latent in my son, day after day ...hour after hour.. minute by minute.

At 11, he is now terrified of ‘school’. This emotion has heightened over the last two years particularly, affecting his self-esteem and self-worth.

My child was bright, questioning, loving and helpful - the amiable and gentle friend who was there for his peers and enjoyed the companionship of his siblings.

My child is now a frightened, withdrawn, bright and loving Year 7 student who has forgotten how to enjoy companionship and has not been able to face school for 9 months, not one single day.
Not the size, nor the hustle and bustle, nor the anonymity.

Recently diagnosed with various SpLD, he has somehow shown the will to summon up the infinite courage he has needed to attend tasters at Abbots Way.

He still has the will to learn somewhere inside him, he just needs to be taught in the way in which he can learn... and in the right environment.

My son walked into Abbot’s Way and I watched him tremble.

I watched him brace himself for noise, for sensory overload and for social challenge.

There was none.

I watched the hint of relief on his face and the seed of realisation that this place was different, that somewhere could be so different.

I watched him begin to process that ‘school’ could be a place of calm, of support and of absolute understanding.

In the six half days so far at Abbot’s Way, my child has initiated conversations with peers and adults.

He has succeeded at calculations in Maths and engaged in discussion during Humanities.

He has begun to learn again, in the multi-sensory way that he needs to, has always needed to.

He has joked, smiled, shared, enjoyed ...and even accepted some praise

My son is returning - slowly but very surely’.

Year 3 Student

'Our seven year old son struggled since starting in Reception.

He had no friends. He dreaded going to school and it was heart-breaking walking him to his classroom to drop him off. When we picked him up at the end of the day, we’d be either greeted with an account of his misdemeanours and refusal to engage in learning and/or experience complete meltdowns from a child who was exploding after having to contain himself all day.

Academically, he was falling further and further behind whilst a pattern of emotional dysregulation emerged.

As parents, it has been heart-breaking to see our son struggle. It was crushing his spirit and sense of fun, rather than nurturing his incredible imagination, curiosity, ideas and all the many other things we love about him.

Whilst our child struggled on at school, we had our own turbulent struggles as parents in getting him assessed.

During an EHCP process that took over a year, it emerged that our son has Dyslexia and Dyscalculia.

We spent many months researching and visiting schools with increasing despair in the lack of provisions in our area that could meet our son's needs and nurture his special and unique talents.

Finding Abbot’s Way gave us back our hope that there was somewhere that would give our son the chance he so desperately needed to thrive at school and in life beyond education.

We instantly felt a connection when we first met the Abbot's Way team; we were particularly impressed by the Joint Heads' honesty and integrity and loved the school’s ‘home from home’ environment.

It’s hard to describe the sense of relief we feel as parents to have found this very special place.

There are so many things that have impressed us about Abbot’s Way.

Finally a school that gets our son - from his complete lack of understanding about the meaning of time, his need for space to reset and a different way of learning through exploring in a way that seamlessly blends subjects across the curriculum'.

Year 4 Student

'In a very short space of time his whole experience of school and learning has transformed, far exceeding our expectations. Our son is so happy that he has asked on the way home if we can turn around and go back. This, from a child who in his previous school had been unable to recall anything he’d done at the end of each day.

He’s now making memories and for the first time enjoying being in a place where he is learning, where learning is fun and where he is finally happy'.

Our son, eight years old described his mainstream school as bad, scoring it 1 out of 10. What a difference coming to Abbot’s Way has made. It is the most positive experience he has had in his education in his young life.

Finally, he is thriving in an environment that is so different to the mainstream schools in which he was swallowed up. He was just about surviving and his complex needs were continually overlooked.

At Abbot’s Way he is loving learning and has come on leaps and bounds with their special approach to multi-sensory blended learning in a welcoming and nurturing environment. He already feels so special and his self-esteem is growing all the time. He is loving learning at long last unlike previously where he would constantly complain about learning being boring as he slipped further behind his peers and was struggling to establish and sustain friendships.

Now he’s enveloped in what feels like an extension of a lovely welcoming home with a family feel. He’s with children whose unique neurological differences are celebrated as they are encouraged to discover their unique talents.  We can’t believe he’s already talked with confidence about his special talent being Sport and has sung a little Christmas Solo in his beautiful singing voice which he always hid in mainstream. He only every spoke negatively about himself previously and lacked confidence so this is a massive leap forward.

What he has covered academically and engaged in emotionally in such a short space of time has blown us away. He has formed a strong bond with the amazing Abbot’s Way team including Apollo the Dog and we are so glad to have found this remarkable school. We are excited to see him reach his potential at Abbot’s Way - he gives it a thumbs up and scoring of 20 out of 10'! 

Year 7 Student

‘Abbot’s Way has changed my daughter’s life and future and I will forever be thankful to the team for creating such an incredibly needed specialist establishment for our SEN children.

Abbot’s Way is more than just your average specialist school, it goes above and beyond formal education and provides pastoral care and imagination.’