By Sarah Newstead

Last updated 17:14, Thursday, 08 May 2008

A new owner is being sought for the Montessori school in Warwick-on-Eden which has been helping young children learn in their own way for more than 11 years.

Headteacher Raf Appleby with pupils Saffy Appleby and Silas Ferrugia

The Blue Gate school is up for sale as its headteacher and owner, Raf Appleby, wants to devote herself to her other greatest love besides teaching – painting.

Raf, 47, will be following in the footsteps of her grandmother, British painter Winifred Nicholson, by becoming a full-time artist.

She told The Cumberland News: “I’ve been teaching Montessori and training Montessori teachers for 25 years.

“I’ve found that periods of teaching and periods of painting influence each other, but it is difficult to do both at the same time. Now is a period for painting.”

Raf started up the Blue Gate school on January 6, 1997 – exactly 90 years after the movement’s founder, Dr Maria Montessori, opened her first school in Italy.

Raf converted the Georgian house that is home to the school and began with a staff of just two and four children on the roll, one of whom was her own.

There she introduced to north Cumbria the method where children learn in their own way, choosing their own tasks in a structured environment.

But since then, the reputation of the school and the Montessori method has grown.

Now 20 children, most aged between five and six, attend the school to learn with the guidance of five members of staff.

Its growth is a testament to its success according to Raf. “I chose Montessori because I felt it respected children more than other ways of learning.

“The best publicity for the school is parents who see other children who have been to the school.

“It just grew as people came and saw what was possible.”

Blue Gate is one of just a handful of similar establishments in Cumbria and claims to be the only Montessori UK accredited school in the north of England.

The decision to sell was a tough but timely one for Raf.

“I love teaching and I will miss the kids,” she said. “But there are periods in your life where a new focus is necessary.”

Raf and her own brood of four school-age children will remain in their home near Brampton. “This is where my family roots are,” she said.

She plans to sell the business to another manager who will retain the Montessori ethos.

“At this stage I can’t say exactly who will take over. I’m hoping very much that whoever it is will continue with the power of the school and add their own strengths.

“The most important thing is that the school should continue to blossom.”

Parents interested in sending their children to Blue Gate but who may be unwilling to commit until they learn who will take it over can register on a waiting list at the school.