The Creative Makers Quarry
Create. Explore. Grow.
Set within a beautiful two-acre rewilded ancient clay quarry on the edge of Witham Friary, just south of Frome, The Quarry offers a unique, secluded and immersive learning environment for young people who benefit from something different from a traditional classroom.
Surrounded by wetland, ancient and newly established woodland, and wild grassland, The Quarry gives young people the space to slow down, reconnect, explore and learn through doing. Our approach is creative, flexible and young-person-centred, combining the arts, practical skills, outdoor learning and opportunities for adventure.
Learning Beyond the Classroom
At The Quarry, learning can take many forms. Young people might spend their day developing an art project, learning to use woodcraft tools, cooking over a fire, building something, photographing the landscape, exploring conservation and foraging, or simply finding the confidence to try something new.
Our “Learn by Doing” ethos allows us to build learning around each young person's strengths, interests and needs. We encourage imagination, inventiveness, experimentation and experiential learning, while supporting young people to develop confidence, independence, communication, resilience and a positive relationship with learning.
The natural environment is an important part of the provision. Young people can take part in Forest School-inspired activities, conservation, foraging, woodcraft and permaculture, developing an understanding of and care for the natural world.
Space to Explore
The Quarry has been designed to offer both challenge and sanctuary. Young people can access:
- Two acres of secluded woodland, wetland and grassland
- Forest School and woodcraft activities
- Fire circle and outdoor cooking
- Conservation, foraging and nature-based projects
- Adventure play
- Zip wire and treehouse
- Hammocks and slackline
- Optional circus rig and physical activities
- Outdoor kitchen, communal table and decking
There are also spaces for young people who need somewhere quieter to work, rest or regulate.
Learning in Every Season
The Quarry combines the freedom of outdoor learning with facilities that allow us to work throughout the year.
At its heart is a 20ft, sheep's-wool-lined yurt with a wood-burning stove, providing a warm and welcoming base for creative work, group activities and quieter learning.
The site also has power and internet access, a covered parachute fire-circle area, outdoor kitchen and compost toilet, enabling us to move naturally between indoor, covered and outdoor learning according to the activity, weather and needs of the young person.
A Different Way to Learn
Our ethos is empowering, flexible and democratic. Rather than expecting every young person to learn in the same way, we look at what engages them and use those interests as a route into learning, relationships and personal development.
For young people who may have found conventional educational environments difficult, The Quarry provides something deliberately different: space, nature, creativity, practical experiences and trusted relationships.
It is a place where young people can create, explore, experiment, discover what they are capable of and begin to build a more positive relationship with themselves and with learning.
