Just imagine an consistently equal and integrated South Africa; it’s not pipe dream but a future reality, which we believe begins with a socio-economically diverse group of children, parent-carers and teachers choosing to co-learn how to live together in a quality, diverse and affordable micro society, that starts with a school… Starting with 3-year olds, we are […]
Core Values
Quality Education. We have a high definition of quality which utilizes a child-centred inquiry-based approach to learning where children are free to express themselves through the use of languages, science, technology and mathematics, in response to complex challenges, within a changing environment which values curiosity, initiative, persistence / grit, adaptability and leadership. We are committed […]
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Best Practice
Image of the child. We believe every child is a unique individual who is capable, intelligent, creative and curious. To fulfill their potential children need to be active participants in their learning and development. In our school teachers, alongside students, determine what should be learnt and how best to learn it. A child-centred inquiry-based approach […]
‘Glocal’ Research
As part of the process of establishing a child-centred inquiry-based learning environment that balances the requirements of a curriculum, with competencies like critical thinking / problem-solving, creativity, collaboration, and character qualities such as curiosity, initiative, persistence, adaptability, social and cultural awareness, our co-founders Phil and Rachel Bowyer have taken steps to ensure children’s rights will […]
Feasibility Study
We asked 100 parents… what they consider of key importance when making a decision on schooling if they would be willing to pay school fees based on their household income1 Key considerations in choosing a school: Below, in order of priority, are the main factors that parents indicated are of up-most importance when choosing a school. Excellent teaching […]
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Making Learning Visible
Documentation Documentation is a key feature of the Reggio Emilia Approach to teaching and learning; a pedagogy we had the opportunity to experience first hand last year, in Italy and beyond.Documentation is a way of making children’s learning visible; it often includes notes of the children’s actions, conversations, and comments – usually made by adults, […]
An inquiry into identity, through sound
The context For one week of the Easter break, a series of creative workshops were facilitated for a group of fifteen children, aged 5 to 9 years. The planning team’s initial thoughts had been to provoke some sort of inquiry into identity, with the understanding that, should any kind of ‘project’ evolve, it should be […]
Re-positioning the Curriculum
In feeding-back findings from our world-wide research into child-centred inquiry-based approaches to education, we were asked which curriculum we are planning to use. Some parent-carers have concerns that the South African curriculum is not rigorous enough, and that it is not supporting children to develop skills they need to thrive in the 21st century; skills […]
Culture
Vision An equal and integrated South African society, which begins with citizens – children, their parents-carers, and the wider communities that they represent – learning how to live together, through the provision of education that is high quality, diverse and accessible. Values Quality Education Research shows that quality education requires a child-centred inquiry-based approach to […]
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Will all this competition be death of us?
I woke up, glanced at the previous night’s football results – as I always do before jumping into the shower / bath – and, as soon as my head hit the water, I surprised myself with a thought: “What would life be like without all this competition?’ It’s not that the team I follow are […]
Parenting and Education
January is upon us, and within the next couple of weeks, children in South Africa will start to embark on a new school year (our school year runs from January to December). But what are our responsibilities as parent/s? How can we have a positive influence on our children’s education? What kind of environment can […]