WITHIN days of starting at his new school, Michael Robson caused thousands of pounds of damage by setting fire to a farmer’s hay bales.

He already knew that no other school would have him – but this one was different.

At Breckenbrough School, near Thirsk, the emphasis was, and still is, on creating an honest, open, trusting and caring community where each boy can move toward fulfilling his academic, personal and social potential.

The staff are trained and skilled in defusing confrontations and resolving conflicts in a positive way.

Now in his mid-twenties, Mr Robson said: “I would be dead or in jail now if I hadn’t come to Breckenbrough.

“I terrorised them for a long time and they sorted me out. Normal schools don’t have time for you.

They suspend you – expel you.”

He said some of the staff had wanted to get rid of him, but others stood by him.

“They never gave up on us,” he explained, and added that they had a lot of patience and faith in the boys. Like others, he found there the family he desperately needed.

For him, problems at home often meant he could not go home at weekends or even during the holidays.

Instead, members of the staff took him into their own homes.

Now, he is serving with the Army and has been on the front line in Iraq and Afghanistan. But he still comes back to Breckenbrough.

As do Jonny Palmer and Richard Westmoreland, who were at Breckenbrough at the same time as Mr Robson.

For them, the teachers and care staff will remain their friends for the rest of their lives.

Mr Palmer, now an RAF pilot, and Mr Westmoreland, who is a computer game designer, spoke of how the staff went out of their way to help them attend air cadet or St John Ambulance meetings outside the school.

“I got sent here because I was acting up at school – more having a laugh and messing about than actually learning things,” said Mr Westmoreland.

Many of those who go to Breckenbrough have higher than average intelligence, which is part of the problem.

Jonathan Wilkins, from Burnley, attended Breckenbrough from 1990 until 1993.

He explained: “Comprehensive school wasn’t working out for me.

I started out in the top set in the first year at secondary school and, because I was disruptive, they put me down into A2.

“The work wasn’t a problem – it wasn’t enough of a challenge for me.

“I was more interested in disrupting the class and getting attention because the work we were doing wasn’t stimulating me at all.

“It was easy – so I spent the rest of time messing about in class.

“I got suspended a few times and in the end they decided they didn’t want me because I was too disruptive.”

He studied with a private tutor at a community centre for a few months until the local education officer suggested he should go to Breckenbrough.

“I dread to think where I would be now if I hadn’t come here,” he said.

He is sad that Lancashire County Council no longer sends boys like him to Breckenbrough.

“The big emphasis when I was at the school was on outdoor education and that was a massive vent for children who are over-active, which the majority of us were.

“We went rock climbing, abseiling, skiing, orienteering – you name it, we did the lot.”

And there was plenty to do in the evenings as well.

The formula hasn’t changed, as Steve Atherton well knows. For 30 years, he has run his own electronics business. But, in the 1960s, he was close to being a complete reject and failure.

“Without Breck, I would probably be in prison somewhere,” he said.

“With the ethos of teaching, you didn’t really know you were being taught. It was fun. In the summer, we used to go out every afternoon – caving, potholing – and we thought we were going for a jolly.

But we were learning about geography, about nature, we were learning about map-reading.”

They also learned a lot of maths and English.

The relaxed atmosphere at Breckenbrough certainly helped Neil McCarthy, who left in 2004.

He said: “I couldn’t cope at my other schools. I had attended three primary schools and one secondary school before coming here. In the first few months I was here I matured enough to proceed academically. The environment they have here is crucial.”

What also helps is the small classes and the dedication of the staff.

Mr Palmer said: “Because the classes were so small, we were given the individual attention that we needed. We were challenged academically.”

He was never in a class of more than seven boys, and sometimes there were just two of them.

“On the academic side, the school is second to none for the level of teaching. The staff are exceptional people,” said another old boy.

“They were like parents – and I will always say that Trevor has been like a dad to me.”

Trevor Bennett, who has just retired, joined the staff 25 years ago and became headteacher ten years later. The new headteacher is Geoffrey Brookes.

In his farewell speech, Mr Bennett said: “I am proud of what has been achieved here.

“I have worked with a lot of fantastic young people – I have seen them grow up, I have seen them change, and I hope to see them succeed.

“There is something magical about Breck – it comes from the boys and the team of dedicated people who have been here throughout the years working with them. I know that Breck will go on changing and improving.”

But the Quaker trustees are determined that the ethos will not change.

It is an ethos based on the Quaker belief that there is something of God in each person.

The chairman of the governors, Keven Nicholas, said: “That essential core of goodness in a person can be reached and responded to, even if it is overlaid or masked by anger or disruptive behaviour.

“It’s hard, and it takes time. But it works. All of us at Breckenbrough will continue to reach out and respond in peaceful and constructive ways to the boys who come to us.”

*Pictured above: With the spades are Geoffrey Bookes, left, the new headteacher, and Trevor Bennett, who retired as headteacher in July.