Inside Britain’s hipster £1,250-a-term school where pupils have no exams, no uniform and take lessons in ‘finding their real life passion’ just three days a week in a yurt
Pupils at The Green House Education Project in Bath spend their time playing outside and wearing what they like
BRITAIN'S most hipster school where pupils have no exams, no uniform and take lessons in "finding their real life passion" just three days a week in a yurt has opened.
Pupils at The Green House Education Project in Bath, Somerset, spend their time playing outside and wearing what they like.
They don't have desks but instead sit on blankets and huddle round wood burning stoves.
The kids are not tutored in traditional subjects but instead are taught how to resolve problems, find their real passion in life and play freely without supervision.
Its 23 pupils, aged 5-14, go to classes either outdoors if the weather is good or in a yurt with a wood-burning stove.
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They sit in circles and often give a presentation about their chosen passion - recent examples include ballet, Hebrew traditions and snow leopards.
There are no rules, no exams and no uniform and the school encourages children to understand safety by taking risks - including climbing trees with whittling knives.
And despite the school only running three days a week - Monday to Wednesday - and the majority of the day being made up of outdoor play, fees are £1,250-a-term.
The project is the brainchild of Bath mums and qualified teachers Anna Robinson and Cindy Adams.
The mums describe their project as a "learning community" with a focus on developing social skills through "collaborative learning".
Cindy said: "There is a saying 'it takes a village to raise a child' and that is what we are trying to encourage.
"We are a real community, the children, parents and mentors, we are all one big family.
"Children learn so much through play and interaction with each other, we want them to discover the best of themselves."
She added that she and Anna had the idea after both agreeing they were "very disillusioned" with the schooling system.
"I think there is too much pressure on children in mainstream schools," said Cindy.
"There is something wrong when research shows young children are suffering high levels of anxiety.
"In our schools, we do yoga, meditation and mindfulness and we encourage free play.
"We want our children to be happy - you can't learn if you are anxious."
Anna and Cindy's children attend the school and the mums say they are very happy there.
They say the children learn all the things they need to but much else besides - including how to resolve problems, how to find their real passion in life and how to play freely without supervision.
Cindy said: ""We start each day with circle time, a Native American tradition.
";Then each child will give a presentation about their chosen passion, it can be anything from ballet, Hebrew traditions to snow leopards.
"We use technology and they have their power points but we like to work as a community and spend lots of time outdoors."
Anna said: "While safety is at the core of what we do, we also like our children to explore, not to be afraid to do things.
"We let them climb trees with their whittling knives - we believe they learn safety by understanding the risks and being allowed to do things without always being supervised."
The pupils are divided into two age groups - the Wolf Cubs, aged 5-7, and the Wolf Pack, aged 7-14.
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