Greenfields School is an Applied Scholastics

Applied Scholastics

Applied Scholastics is a non-profit corporation founded in 1972 to promote the use of study techniques created by L. Ron Hubbard, a science fiction author and the founder of the Church of Scientology...

 and Independent Schools Association

Independent Schools Association (UK)

The Independent Schools Association is an organisation of independent schools in the United Kingdom. Founded in 1879, it is one of the country's oldest such groups. It is a constituent association of the Independent Schools Council, and has a membership of around 300 schools...

 private school on the edge of the Ashdown Forest

Ashdown Forest

Ashdown Forest is an ancient area of tranquil open heathland occupying the highest sandy ridge-top of the High Weald Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. It is situated some south of London in the county of East Sussex, England...

 in East Sussex

East Sussex

East Sussex is a county in South East England. It is bordered by the counties of Kent, Surrey and West Sussex, and to the south by the English Channel.-History:...

, England. It is unique as being the only Study Tech

Study Tech

Study Technology, or Study Tech, is a methodology for learning developed by L. Ron Hubbard, founder of the Church of Scientology. Hubbard's "Study Technology" is used by Church of Scientology members as part of their training, and is also promoted outside the church by a church-affiliated...

-based private school of its kind in the area. It originally opened in Hammerwood in 1981 without planning permission, and was forced to move sites by the local authority.

The school has been described as a school run by Scientology

Scientology

Scientology is a body of beliefs and related practices created by science fiction and fantasy author L. Ron Hubbard , starting in 1952, as a successor to his earlier self-help system, Dianetics...

, something they deny. The school and its staff have misrepresented themselves in the past: inspectors from the Department for Education who toured Greenfields in 1985 noted: "Many children are reading, and certainly writing, at a level below what they might be expected to achieve.", despite the school claiming that the students were over a year ahead in reading. The High Court have also stated that Deputy Principal Mark McQuade used "false, spurious" titles.
In 1994, one of the few non-scientologist teachers from the school was jailed for five years after he admitted sexually molesting teenage pupils.

GTC

Once a year, after the GCSE season is over, the school stops most schoolwork and becomes a theatre company they call GTC (Greenfields Theatre Company.) These plays have been reviewed mostly in a positive light, though not always. Previous plays include The Hobbit, Wuthering Heights and The Hound of the Baskervilles.

The company is noted for creating everything themselves. They purchase old fabrics and scrap wood and turn these items into their costumes and props.