SOME of Devon’s most vulnerable children taking their ‘last chance’ on education have been told they can go on learning at a riverside school farm which has offered them a lifeline.

Greater Horseshoe School went to Teignbridge Council to ask for permission to go on using the 40-acre site which features livestock and gardens.

The land beside the River Lemon is designated a flooding risk, and members of the council’s planning committee were warned they were dealing with a ‘risk to life’.

But they also heard that that school had rigorous procedures in place to manage it.

And members were urged not to just adopt a ‘computer says no’ approach to dismissing the plans, and to look at the wider picture instead.

The Greater Horseshoe School says it helps young people with complex needs towards a better future.

The school farm at Chipley Mill near Bickington is a ‘satellite’ of the main school at Heathfield, and comprises woodland areas and pasture.

Staff and students are developing it to include horticulture, livestock, an outdoor kitchen, an orchard, wildlife areas and workshops.

The site has been in use since 2018, and the committee heard there had been no incidents of flooding in that time.

They also heard the school had ‘robust’ procedures in place to react to any flood warnings, including evacuating the site or not opening it at all.

But members also heard warnings from officers about the potential dangers of flooding, which could happen at any time and was growing more likely as a result of climate change.

Head teacher Peta Hewitt urged the committee to allow the school to continue.

She said students, many of them on a ‘final chance’ of education, travelled from miles away to attend the school because there were not enough like it in Devon.

She stressed: ‘The safety of these vulnerable students is our number one priority. The children are taught to treat the river with respect.

‘This location is a lifeline for vulnerable and complex young people and their families.’

The farm has been a caravan site in the past, and in 2022 a previous application for use as a school was rejected over the flooding risk.

A planning inspector also dismissed the school’s subsequent appeal.

In November 2025 Teignbridge planners discussed enforcement action to stop the school using the site, and gave it until May 2026 to submit a formal application to continue.

Members of the committee also heard the latest figures showed flooding risks being less acute than they were thought to be when the proposals were considered before.

Cllr Stuart Rogers urged his colleagues not to take the ‘computer says no’ option and Cllr Kevin Smith said: ‘We should apply some common sense.’

Cllr Phil Bullivant added: ‘In a different location we would be shouting from the rooftops about the service this school provides.’

He said the benefits offered by the school outweighed the risks, and the school already had procedures in place to address any flooding issues.

Planning officers had recommended refusal of the plans because of the flooding risks and insufficient information having been provided on the effects on protected species, but eight members of the nine-strong committee voted in favour of the school’s proposals, with one abstention.