The Acorn Free School is a secondary Alternative Provision serving the city of Lincoln as well as the wider Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire. We work with secondary schools through commissioned places to help children and young people who are at risk of exclusion. The school opened in September 2013 providing a unique high-quality alternative education for youngsters aged 11-16, who for a variety of reasons may not be succeeding in a conventional classroom environment. We not only follow a broad and balanced academic and vocational curriculum; we work with children and young people to work out why they are struggling to engage and give them strategies to aid their future success.