The Alcuin School is an independent day school for boys and girls aged 4 -11. It is located in the thriving North Leeds suburb of Chapel Allerton.

The school is named after Alcuin (AD.735 -782) who was born near York. He became master of the York School and transformed education in his time.

The school puts the great spiritual teachings of the world at the heart of the curriculum. We achieve high academic standards and children put into practice simple spiritual values. These are reflected in self control, confidence, respect for others and generosity.

The school was opened in 1994 and is one of eight day schools affiliated to St James School in London, the others being in Dublin, New York, Sydney, Melbourne, Auckland, Johannesburg and Trinidad.

All levels of the child's development are addressed - the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual.

The recent visit of OFSTED to the Alcuin School highlighted the school's strengths as:

• Pupils attain high standards by age 11 and do well in competitive examinations
• Pupils' spiritual, moral, social and cultural development is very good
• The curriculum is broad and enriched by a good range of extra-curricular activities, visits and visitors
• The accommodation is spacious and attractive. Good use is made of specialist facilities

The report also said, "Moral education is an aspect of the pupils' development upon which the school places considerable emphasis. Pupils are given close guidance on how to establish and maintain good interpersonal relationships. There is a strong emphasis on respect and courtesy for all as in some very thoughtful, good quality writing in Years 5 and 6.

The pupils' social development is good. They are expected and encouraged to respect and behave well towards each other, their teachers and other adults about the school. The pupils respond well to these expectations.

Pupils delight in the achievements of others through, for example, the awards ceremonies during the school assemblies. They work and play well together, and co-operate happily in small groups. They show an ability to understand the needs of others and opportunities are periodically provided for activities to raise money for national medical and other charities. Pupils have to engage socially with other pupils from different schools through many competitive sporting activities and a wide and impressive range of chess tournaments.

Pupils are very aware of cultural diversity within the world around them and they are provided with numerous opportunities for exploring their own cultures in a way that promotes tolerance and harmony between different traditions. This is a strength of the school's ethos and curriculum."

The Alcuin School was recently awarded the British Chess Federation award as Northern School of the Year for its promotion of the game in the Leeds' area. It is the first Leeds' school to win this award since 1955!

The school chess team competed the national primary schools' semi-finals in Wales in June and were runners up in the Leeds League. Seven pupils reached the National Finals of the UK Chess Challenge.

The school can offer bursaries.