HAVING stepped out of the rainbow-knitted bubble of Wynstones Steiner School with no GCSEs and a couple of OCNs in pottery and bothmic gym, I have landed flat on my face at Cirencester College and am having to get to grips with exam boards, forms, ILPs, text books and whiteboards.

If you have never heard of Steiner or Waldorf education before, I assure you it is not as primitive as it sounds.

Rumours have it that Wynstones' pupils do not sit exams at all and spend most of their time dancing around mini Stonehenges in the light of the full moon. False.

Steiner schools have the same subjects as comprehensives - bar IT- but have additional classes such as basketry, pottery, woodwork, etching and printmaking, calligraphy and a form of movement known as eurythmy.

By the age of eight, every pupil is strongly encouraged to pick up an instrument and take part in both the choir and orchestra.

The imagination, intellect and all the senses are developed and harnessed, the physical, mental and emotional brought to bear equally in every activity.

Exams are not the main priority and are taken a year later to allow students to lap up the knowledge and cram in crafts and further learning such as history of art.

I would describe Steiner education as: the International Baccalaureate's cousin.

The idea that a dose of many subjects and activities will make a student a more rounded person is one of the theories behind both of these more alternative forms of learning.

And the process of learning is looked at as closely as the end product.

So, when I clutched my satchel and charged through the never-ending corridors of Cirencester College, I got quite a shock when I found EVERYTHING was structured around exams.

I believe everyone knew this already but as I hear in lesson after lesson what the examiners are looking for' I find myself asking why are we spending so much time on the preparation of a handful of tests when the majority of teachers and students resent that they have to follow a very narrow syllabus anyway?

We need to look not necessarily to Steiner but to Continental models in general.

What we have here now is not working for anyone.