Where silence is on the timetable: Quiet is key at Quaker schools

There are a number of noises that one associates with school: the cacophony of young voices in a playground; the chatter of a busy dining hall; and the teacher's whistle on the playing field.

But at Quaker schools, there's a fourth that's part of the routine: the silence in a hall packed with hundreds of children.

Every day, at all seven Quaker schools in the UK, there are several deliberate periods of communal silence: the beginning and end of assembly, and before the start of meals. But at least once a week, as well, the whole school gathers for Meeting, when, for as long as 15 minutes, everyone is left to their thoughts.

It is perhaps the most distinctive element of the Quaker-school experience, and one that mirrors the contemplative approach to Sunday worship practised by all Quakers, who believe that every individual has what is termed "that of God" within them.

"Young people learn how to use these periods to think their own thoughts in their own way," says Graham Wigley, head of the Friends' School, Saffron Walden, which educates 390 boys and girls aged three to 18."And past pupils often come back and tell us that they didn't really appreciate them until they'd left the school."

A similar view of the power of silence comes from Peter Simpson, head of Ackworth School in Pontefract, whose 590 students are the latest in a long line of pupils receiving a Quaker education on this Yorkshire site since 1779. "What students use the silence for is up to them, but it has a profound impact on how they conduct themselves around the school," he says.

Maddy Ward, 16, is a student at Ackworth, and says: "I think about all sorts of things – sometimes it is just an opportunity to think about your prep, at other times there might be something bigger on my mind."

"In my first year at Ackworth, I found the periods of silence very strange," says Nicola Waudby, 17. "But as I have moved further up in the school, I have come to understand their purpose."

The vast majority (around 85 per cent) of pupils at Quaker schools are not themselves Quakers. Many of the teachers, too, including Simpson and Wigley, are also not Quakers. This supports the view that parents are primarily attracted by the educational values behind Quakerism. However, much of what goes on in Quaker schools, including stellar exam results, can be found at many other fee-paying schools. There are small class sizes and a spread of extracurricular activities, with pupils being given every encouragement to realise their potential academically or in sports, art or technology.

At Ackworth, the 50 or more clubs and societies run outside lesson time give a flavour of the diversity on offer: fencing, chess, canoe- building, flamenco dancing, poetry and digital photography, to name but a few. All are included in the fees.

But one element that makes Quaker schools stand out from the crowd is the emphasis put on peace campaigning, following Quakerism's commitment to the peaceful resolution of conflict.

One of Ackworth's most popular clubs, PeaceJam, takes its lead from the American organisation of the same name that champions the work of peace campaigners around the world, especially those who have been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

At Bootham School, in York, pupils from the 500-strong senior school often demonstrate these views publicly. Peace vigils have recently been held outside a nearby RAF base, used as a US listening station, and, on United Nations' International Day of Peace, along the road outside their city-centre school building.

"The school is not afraid of the political side of peace," explains Bootham's development director, Jane Peake. "But it's less about arms and weapons than about showing that you can get along with people more productively when you take them along with you, rather than defeat them,in an argument."