Gardening, eurhythmic dancing, bread-making and basket-weaving.

Not a snapshot of an hour in a hippy commune but a day in the life of a student at the Michael Hall, England's oldest Steiner school, set in 50 hectares of rolling parkland in Forest Row, near East Grinstead.

The first Steiner school was founded in Stuttgart by Rudolf Steiner in 1919 for the children of the Waldorf-Astoria cigarette factory workers.

There are now nearly 900 in more than 50 countries.

In most of Europe they are state-funded but Michael Hall and the 22 others in the UK are fee-paying.

Steiner schools espouse a holistic approach to education based on the thinking of Steiner, who claimed he could perceive spiritual essences and beings beyond the mundane reality apprehended by ordinary people.

His world view incorporated reincarnation, karma, astrology and numerology, which resulted in a liberal, progressive attitude to education which resonates with concerns about the constraints of the national curriculum and offers organic meals as an alternative to Turkey Twizzlers.

Steiner viewed education as a means to personal, social and moral development rather than as a process of filling a child with facts to regurgitate in exams.

As a result, Steiner children are taught to read later than usual - about the age of seven - when they are believed to be more receptive.

Until then the emphasis is on cultivation of the imagination through watercolour painting and play with toys made from natural materials.

As with the other UK Steiner schools, Michael Hall teaches GCSEs and A-levels but children also experience hands-on learning through activities such as gardening.

Simon Gillman, chairman of the college of teachers, said: "Before GCSEs we are not bound by testing and in the state sector there is widespread frustration with the restrictions teachers have to work within.

"On the other hand, Steiner teachers could have better training through dialogue with teachers in the state sector. What we do is good but it's a bit like being on an island.

"We want to be part of educational thinking in Britain."

For the first eight years of lower school, a child has one teacher who teaches them in every lesson and moves with them through the school.

As the children move through the school, specialist teachers are brought in to focus more specifically on academic subjects, though still using Steiner methodology.

Beth Pridham, 15, from Mayfield, near Crowborough, found herself struggling at a private school in Tunbridge Wells until she joined Michael Hall four years ago.

She said: "At my previous school, I couldn't always keep up with the work and lost confidence. Here, it's not pressured and I can work at my own pace. I'm not falling behind because the school gives me the confidence I need."

Alex Leys, 15, from Forest Row, helped build seats and shelters in a garden area as part of a project in which pupils are taken out of the classroom for three weeks in the first year of their GCSEs.

She said: "We can be much more individual here. We also learn a whole variety of subjects, not just the academic things like English and maths.

"We don't learn to read until we are six or seven. Children at other schools start when they are five. I can see why some people see that as a bit strange but we know as much as people in the academic schools and can come out with better results."

The schools also only teach sport to children once they are in puberty.

Martin Baker, gymnastics and games teacher, said: "We think it's a great mistake children are forced into adult games too early. If you tell a six-year-old they have a good body and and they have to be a runner, this is a mistake.

"It has been said that Steiner schools don't believe in competition but we do. Competition is a very useful educational tool if used correctly. We use sports to help children grow in a balanced way and help them achieve what they possibly can."