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Forest school in County Durham
5 forest schools run in County Durham, and 6 more nearby. Each page says what they offer and who for; book with them directly.
Towns in County Durham
Forest schools in County Durham
- Bright Woods Forest SchoolDeepdale Nature Reserve near Barnard Castle, County Durham A community interest company running weekly pre-school sessions with a parent, school holiday family sessions and woodland wellbeing sessions for adults at Deepdale near Barnard Castle. It also works with schools, home educators and groups across County Durham and Darlington, and hosts birthday parties.
- FERN Outdoor AdventuresWoodland near Bishop Auckland, County Durham A community interest company running forest school, bushcraft and outdoor learning from a woodland base near Bishop Auckland. It offers home education sessions, a holiday activity club, family sessions, teen bushcraft and sessions for schools and youth groups across County Durham.
- Pinpoint AdventureSchool grounds within reach of Hexham, Northumberland An outdoor activity company based in Hexham that runs half-day and full-day forest school sessions on site for nurseries, primary and secondary schools in Northumberland and County Durham. It also runs climbing, bushcraft and Duke of Edinburgh expeditions.
- Stomping Grounds North EastDukes Hagg Wood near Prudhoe, Northumberland · Riverside park in Haltwhistle, Northumberland · Chopwell Community Woodland, Gateshead A charity running forest school at woodland sites across Northumberland, Gateshead, Newcastle and County Durham. It offers holiday clubs for 5 to 12 year olds, weekly home education sessions, family sessions, youth clubs, a kindergarten for 2 to 5 year olds and programmes for schools.
- We Are WildWalled garden at Neasham near Darlington, County Durham Runs forest school sessions and workshops from a walled garden at Neasham near Darlington, and takes forest school out to local primary and secondary schools and colleges. It also hosts forest school birthday parties for children aged 4 and over.
Forest schools nearby
- Footprints on the Moon Forest School and NurseryPlessey Woods Country Park near Bedlington, Northumberland · Beaches on the Northumberland coast A forest school and nursery in Plessey Woods Country Park with a toddler group for under-fives, school holiday woodland clubs, home education sessions, school groups and birthday parties. It also runs beach school sessions on the coast.
- Groundwork South and North Tyneside (West Boldon Lodge)Purpose-built forest school area at West Boldon Lodge, South Tyneside An environmental charity running Forest Playschool blocks for children aged 1 to 5 with their grown-ups at West Boldon Lodge, along with forest school and outdoor learning days for primary schools.
- Northumberland National ParkWalltown Country Park near Greenhead, Northumberland The national park runs blocks of weekly forest school sessions for home educated children aged 8 to 13 at Walltown Country Park.
- PAWSPrivate woodland at Whalton near Morpeth, Northumberland A preschool and after-school club at Whalton that runs outdoor holiday camps for 3 to 13 year olds in a private woodland, led by qualified forest school leaders, with den building and bushcraft.
- Scotswood GardenCommunity garden in Scotswood, Newcastle upon Tyne A community garden in Scotswood that runs weekly or fortnightly forest school programmes for schools, from early years to secondary, either at the garden or on school grounds. It also runs a forest school project for emotional wellbeing.
- Tees Valley Wildlife TrustWoodland sites across the Tees Valley, with a base at Margrove Park, Redcar and Cleveland The local wildlife trust runs forest school for schools across the Tees Valley, from one-off taster sessions to full programmes held outdoors all year round.
Forest school training in County Durham
For practitioners: Level 1, 2 and 3 courses. Which level do I need?
- Adventure Training North EastNewcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, Northumberland, County Durham Offers Forest School qualifications at Levels 1 to 3 across the North East, with the ITC Level 3 Certificate for Forest School Leaders run over nine days including assessment.
- OASES (Outdoor and Sustainability Education Specialists)Esh Winning, Hamsterley Forest, County Durham Runs a four-day NOCN Level 2 forest school assistant course and a ten-day Level 3 leader course in County Durham, with a cohort running from October 2026 to April 2027.
Other counties in the North East
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