Students

Summerhill is home. Summerhill is family. – Martha, former pupil 1969-74
At Summerhill I found out that creativity was waiting for me on the other side of boredom. – Lenka, former pupil 1962-1968
Summerhill is where I established Me. – Alayne, former pupil 1968-1973
Summerhill taught me that humanity is more important than productivity. Respect, kindness, equity and self-expression stays with you longer than an A* in a one time test. – Pera, former pupil 2002-2012

Parents

I found my own time in school to be restrictive and only felt that I could follow my own interests when I studied towards an art degree. When I found out about Summerhill I swore that I would send my own children there. With my two children attending Summerhill now I see it as a gift where they can grow organically and where they can nurture a deep trust in their emotions and life experiences, revealing who they were born to be. – Sophie, mother of two current Summerhill pupils
You can take GGSE English at any time in your life, but you only have one shot at a happy childhood. There are no resits – Joy, mother of two former pupils
So Alexander writes to us after his first week at Summerhill-“I’m up a tree eating chocolate cake” happy as Larry. – Derek, father of a former Summerhill pupil 1998

Staff

Summerhill, rather than a blueprint to be imitated, exemplifies an attitude as to how young people should be treated: an attitude that can be applied to a multitude of institutions and spaces, an attitude of ‘being on the side of the child’. – Philipp Klaus, teacher/houseparent 2010-2015

A.S. Neill

If the emotions are free the intellect will look after itself. (A. S. Neill: The Free Child)
No one should try to educate the emotions; one can only create an environment in which the emotions can be fully expressed. If the emotions are free, the intellect will look after itself. (A. S. Neill: Freedom – Not License!)
The happiness and well-being of children depend on the degree of love and approval we give them. We must be on the child’s side. Being on the side of the child is giving love to the child – not possessive love – not sentimental love – just behaving to the child in such a way that the child feels you love him and approve him. (A. S. Neill: Summerhill A Radical Approach to Childrearing)
The function of the child is to live his own life – not the life that his anxious parents think he should live, nor a life according to the purpose of the educator who thinks he knows what is best. All this interference and guidance on the part of adults only produces a generation of robots. (A. S. Neill: Summerhill A Radical Approach to Childrearing)
A good teacher does not draw out; he gives out, and what he gives out is love. And by love I mean approval, or if you like, friendliness, good nature. The good teacher not only understands the child: he approves of the child. (A. S. Neill: The Problem Teacher)
The function of the child is to live his own life – not the life that his anxious parents think he should live. (A. S. Neill: Summerhill: For & Against)
I would rather see a school produce a happy street cleaner than a neurotic scholar. (A. S. Neill: Summerhill)