THE founder of the Ringwood Waldorf School, Christine Polyblank, returned to help celebrate its 40th birthday.

She took part in a tree planting ceremony at the Steiner school, which now has 250 pupils between the ages of four and 18.

The school was formed in a row of disused labourers’ cottages but is now the only Steiner school in the UK in its own purpose-built building.

Steiner schools provide an education which is not driven by exams and offers the Steiner School Certificate which is a qualification tailored to the individual.

Plays, pageants and music play a big part in school life and parents are actively involved in the running of the school community. Ringwood Waldorf School administrator, Nigel Revill, said: “From little acorns a truly magnificent school community has grown, so it felt very apt to mark this significant anniversary with a tree planting ceremony.

“We were delighted to welcome back our founder Christine Polyblank, without whom our wonderful school would not be here today.”

Ringwood Waldorf School opened in 1974 when a letter was sent from the Sheiling Curative School (a school for children with special needs based near Ringwood), describing the need for a ‘little school’ to cater for the growing number of staff children that could also open to children in the wider community. This letter was sent by Alex Baum, then principal of the Sheiling, to Christine Polyblank, a teacher at a Camphill Community school in Yorkshire – inviting her to start a similar school near Ringwood. Christine accepted the offer and on September 16, 1974, the school was born.

She herself had grown up in an idealistic and pioneering Camphill Community in Scotland and the school she founded at Folly Farm was set on the principles of Austrian philosopher Rudolf Steiner.

She said: “It was an honour to be asked to come back to the school and mark its 40th birthday.”