I just stumbled across this article by Ewan McIntosh on MET Schools in America and it got me thinking.  We have a number of small schools in Norfolk, both in the primary and secondary phases.  The school model described in the article seems to provide support to the idea of Diplomas, the importance we place on Assessment for Learning and goes much further on the path towards a personalised learning experience.  I think that these kinds of models need to inform our thinking on small schools and the difference they make to young people's lives, such as Lyall's:

Although technology clearly features highly, it complements and extends but doesn't replace the important small group face to face interaction.