IN September 2012 headteacher Lee Ryman achieved her dream when she opened a new non fee-paying independent primary school in Cholsey.

Now she is thinking big and wants The Treehouse School to branch out with a new £350,000 premises in the village near Wallingford.

For the past three years the school, which focuses on outdoor learning, has been based at a house in Wallingford Road.

About a third of the time pupils, aged five to 11, are at school, they are taught outdoors.

There are 15 pupils at the school and Miss Ryman said she wanted to relocate to another site in the village to double the intake.

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Mum-of-one Miss Ryman, from Cholsey, who is also a grandmother, said: “We have been offered a plot of land in an orchard and that would be donated if we get planning permission.

“There is a lot of interest in the school so we want to expand and we want to build three linked eco-pods lined with sheep fleece.

“We would never need the heating on because the pods would be so well insulated.

“We need to raise about £350,000 to build the new school and I would love us to be in there in 18 months’ time.

“We have got the current premises on loan from a very generous landlord and we pay a minimal rent.

“Our plans depend on fundraising and we will look at a range of sources for funding including trusts and donors.

“But we will take any donations, however small, and we will hold lots of fundraising coffee mornings and car boot sales.”

James Lynn, 11, who switched from Cholsey Primary School to attend The Treehouse School, helped to cook lunch for his fellow pupils on Tuesday.

He said: “I love cooking – it’s great fun.”

Miss Ryman said: “James cooked some vegetable broth and cheese scones with the help of a parent.

“He could have chosen burger and chips but instead he has prioritised home-sourced ingredients.

“We are outdoors all day Friday whatever the weather – we just get out into the woods and create shelters.”

Miss Ryman said children of all ages were usually taught together, apart from during maths classes.

She added: “The other day we had a six-year-old explaining to an 11-year-old where he should put a capital letter.

“The children teach each other incidentally and we try to give pupils practical examples, so we might send a pupil to buy something in the local shop as part of a maths exercise.”

Miss Ryman said she got the idea for an alternative to mainstream education by talking to different educationalists including those in Sweden.

Before launching The Treehouse School, Miss Ryman’s bid to run a free school was turned down, but Ofsted inspectors then gave her and colleague Sharon Julian permission to run The Treehouse School.

It does not receiving any public funding, and seeks support through donations, sponsorship, trusts and grants.