It is hard to summarise what makes up this tiny primary school in the picturesque village of East Budleigh. It is a special place where there is a tremendous amount of academic and life long learning brought to pupils through a dynamic and dedicated teaching staff. We believe we are a committed Christian, family orientated, child friendly school, with a whole host of delights in store for pupils to develop their learning.

The aim of the school is to recognise each child as an individual and assist in reaching the highest standard of academic attainment of which each is capable.

Drake's School offers a happy and stimulating environment and one which sets out to develop confidence and an imaginative understanding of others.

Academic progress is carefully monitored by the staff in order to encourage success as well as to identify problems promptly for appropriate measures to be taken.

The partnership between home and school is an important one. Parents and staff maintain close communication throughout a child's school career. Each year the parents are invited to take part in an “audit” / questionnaire of the school.

Our children as they grow through the school will learn to become increasingly sympathetic to other people and gain self confidence.

We are interested in the development of the 'whole person'. We believe that Christian principles provide a secure foundation for this and are as relevant as ever in dealing with the pressures of modern society.

We want the children who leave us for their senior schools to have self confidence, be aware of standards, have a concern for others and be equipped to achieve the high quality of life that we all want them to enjoy.

We strive to extend, develop and individualise the requirements of the National Curriculum for each pupil. Careful attention is given to ensure that each child attains the highest possible standard in every activity and in every area of a full and varied academic programme. We systematically structure activities to provide a broad and balanced curriculum and this helps not only to ensure success but provide a firm foundation for later school years.

The children are taught within Key Stage I and Key Stage II in separate classes. The Lower Years are taught within KSI, the Middle Years and the Upper Years are taught within KSII. The subjects taught as required by the National Curriculum are:- English, Mathematics, Science, Design Technology, History, Geography, Information Communication Technology, Music, Art, Religious Education, Physical Education, Personal, Social and Health Education, including Citizenship, Sex and Relationship Education

Teachers plan coverage of the National Curriculum and other activities within a 2 year rolling programme of themes. Curriculum subjects are tackled gradually at different levels. We do some activities daily (e.g. reading activities), some in frequent applications (e.g. tables), some in blocks lasting several weeks (e.g. a study of the village). The children are simultaneously learning social and study skills, such as exploring and discovering, framing and solving problems, discussing and debating, handling various media and communicating and evaluating.