School’s out (of the classroom) forever: The very best global schools
Imagine learning maths on the deck of a large sailing ship crossing the Atlantic Ocean, tackling eco-projects deep in the Balinese jungle or exploring the world with a cohort of fellow teens. This isn’t school as we know it, but it is for some lucky pupils.
Advances in technology, an increasing desire to educate children as global citizens, and an acceptance that exam-assessed learning isn’t suited to all means some parents are seeking alternative schooling options. Luckily, a number of educational change-makers are meeting this need, creating international schools that are moving away from classroom teaching and rote learning. Pupils are assessed on projects they’ve chosen to study, on subjects that capture their enthusiasm and which they feel are relevant to their future by teaching them research skills, leadership and resilience.
A top education that caters to a thirst for open skies and global connections is now available.
Green School Bali1/4GREEN SCHOOL
greenschool.org
In the heart of the Balinese jungle lies a bamboo cathedral dedicated to learning, fun and gold-standard sustainability. Everything on site is recycled, up-cycled or made from the earth. Green School children are ecologically bilingual; saving the planet is as natural to them as learning to walk. With three core values dictating the curriculum – be local, let the environment lead, and think of your grandchildren’s future – Green School Bali, and its equally stunning sister school in New Zealand, are a lifestyle choice for the whole family.There’s no boarding on offer, so families need to relocate, recalibrate values and wholeheartedly embrace this change of life focus. As parents enthuse: ‘The wide range of subjects offered, the interaction between the grades, the mix of ages on campus from kindergarten through to seniors, the blend of international culture with up to 40 different nationalities – all provides a rich background for learning and social interaction.’
In Bali, parents gather at the co-working space The Bridge; everyone enjoys the fortnightly farmers’ markets and the school run is on the popular ‘Bio Bus’, which is fuelled with used cooking oil that the student ‘Grease Police’ collect weekly from restaurants and hotels. Green School NZ has renovated a hay barn as a work space for parents, inviting them to be on-site all day. Post-Covid, it’s seen an upsurge in families desiring an education for their children far from the madding crowd, which Head Chris Edwards is certainly able to offer on New Zealand’s North Island. ‘It’s probably the most remote place in the developed world,’ he says. ‘But it is absolutely stunning, with a river running through it, a mountain on one side, the ocean on the other and the school embarking on the largest private rewilding project in NZ.’
Educationally, Green School eschews traditional exam-assessed rote learning and sets out to embrace children’s creativity, firing up their imaginations, nurturing the desire to explore and teaching students the rudiments almost by osmosis. Embracing the local community is the beating heart of Green School. In New Zealand, studying indigenous cultures and speaking Māori provides wisdom and skills. At Green School Bali, where fees for Years 9–12 are £15,500 per annum, 42 local scholars are on 100 per cent bursaries, and a thriving afterschool programme sees 500 Balinese pupils learning English. With Green Schools opening soon in Tulum, Mexico and Paarl, South Africa, this school that aspires to be the future is fast becoming a much-needed fixture.
Best for: Pioneer families looking for a total lifestyle change
Worst for: Conspicuous consumption
2/4A+ WORLD ACADEMY
aplusworldacademy.org
A year sailing the Atlantic Ocean with 60 other teenagers, visiting some of the world’s most exciting ports and cities may seem a dream come true – but former students are adamant that while their time with A+ World Academy was the ‘best experience of their lives’, it was, at times, the toughest. Built in 1925, the Sørlandet is the oldest fully-rigged active sailing ship in the world, purpose-built ‘behind her time’ to ensure everyone on board becomes a master sailor.Embarking on 10 months at sea without any scheduled home visits and no wifi, emails or mobile phones can be ‘extremely difficult’, according to the Head, Dr Kevin Kessler, especially while pupils overcome home- and sea-sickness, acclimatise to sleeping in hammocks, learn the ropes (literally, all 212 of them) and get used to never getting eight hours of uninterrupted sleep. As one student recalls, ‘The night watches lasted two hours, scheduled between 10pm and 8am. We’d also have special duties, such as cleaning mould off the walls of the bathroom, doing the ship’s laundry or sorting the rubbish.’
Should they sail into rough seas, it’s all hands on deck as with 12 maritime crew on board, the pupils’ involvement is part of their seamanship training. All this, while completing their high school diploma and studying for their Advanced Placement exams (students have the option of an additional land-based year to complete their studies). As one parent explains: ‘The students learn grit, resilience, teamwork and problem-solving in the “real world”. They board the ship as children and come back as young adults, as global citizens.’
Pastoral care is tantamount to the A+ World Academy’s success, with every teacher and crew member forming incredibly close bonds with students, and teens becoming so close, ‘we acted more like siblings than just classmates’. At an annual cost of €57,900 plus extras, students enjoy up to 15 scheduled port stops with planned cultural, historical and geographical immersion plus time in local schools allowing access to science labs, libraries and wifi. Parents are encouraged to meet their children during the two long leaves in Gran Canaria and the Caribbean. The Moroccan stop is one pupil’s favourite; for another, it was a trek into the Colombian rainforest, ‘living and eating with the local indigenous inhabitants’. A third student says his highlight was in the Southern Atlantic Ocean, ‘when we went snorkelling with whale sharks’. Best of all are the lifetime friendships made. Sixty strangers may board the Sørlandet, but 10 months later, they leave as family.
Best for: Friendship
Worst for: Personal space
3/4THINK GLOBAL SCHOOL
thinkglobalschool.org
What sets Think Global School apart? Freedom – to explore four different countries a year; to immerse yourself in new cultures and friendships; to set your own research projects and escape a set-text, exam-factory curriculum. It’s no wonder assessment-fatigued teens are clamouring to sign up to this innovative, brave and groundbreaking travelling school.The rigorous admissions process accepts only 13 per cent of applicants aged 15–18, for either a two- or a three-year programme. ‘We’re looking for students who are not just joining us for the travel, but are usually feeling boxed-in and limited within the traditional model,’ says Principal Russ Cailey.
With a cohort of 30 classmates, a student will visit four countries per year – it may be Botswana, Italy, Mumbai and Hiroshima or China, Oman, Panama and Greece. The students spend seven weeks away, five weeks at home and one week online researching and preparing their projects. There is a choice of three modules per country for their projects; and they work towards three levels of understanding, which are classified: Apprentice, Specialist and Master. Graduates leave with a bespoke diploma accredited by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges, with three students attaining full scholarships to US universities this year. The programme is as diverse as its cohort of multinational students and offers interactive, immersive education in its purest form.
‘My favourite project was marine engineering in Oman,’ says one student. ‘We had sailing lessons and physics classes, and then used what we learnt to build our own model sailboats which we raced at the end.’ With conservation and service at its core, TGS sees teens establish composting pits in India, create public art installations in Panama, and make documentaries chronicling the rebuilding efforts in an earthquake-devastated region of Japan. They have also enjoyed incredible adventures such as white-water rafting in Costa Rica and hiking in Patagonia.
Small cohort groups and high staff-to-pupil ratios mean that one-to-one guidance and excellent pastoral care is a given. As one pupil says, ‘When I’m in a country thousands of miles away from home, our educators are our stand-in parents.’ Annual school fees are £75,000, but there is an extensive bursary programme with 88 per cent of students receiving assistance. For teens craving adventure with project-based learning, TGS offers the perfect education for the global citizens of tomorrow.
Best for: Teens looking to broaden their horizons
Worst for: Helicopter parents
4/4UNITED WORLD COLLEGES
uwc.org
Global connectedness, borne out of shared experience, is the tenet at the heart of United World Colleges. Founded in 1962 as Atlantic College in Wales to bridge the social, national and cultural divides caused by the Cold War, UWC now has 20 campuses across four continents.With The Queen as College Patron and Queen Noor of Jordan as global President, Atlantic College is regally situated within the stunning 12th-century St Donat’s Castle with the sea crashing at its battlements. Past alumni include King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands, who relished being part of the College’s lifeboat service, Princess Raiyah bint Al Hussein and Crown Princess Elisabeth of Belgium, who celebrated the end of her studies this year with a virtual Leavers’ Celebration.
Applicants from more than 150 countries clamour to join United World Colleges. A minority of students pay fees up to £66,000 for the two-year International Baccalaureate course (co-created by the College in 1968) and can select which UWC school or college they’d like to attend. However, the majority of pupils are fee-assisted – a number of whom are refugees or victims of war and receive full bursaries. These culturally, socially, politically and economically diverse scholars are selected and assigned to a UWC by worldwide committees who ensure every campus has a truly diverse student body.
Aside from a Welsh Castle, UWC students can study for their IB in the rainforests of Phuket’s green-capped mountains with a focus on mindfulness, or in conjunction with film studies in India’s Western Ghats, or by combining climbing Mount Kilimanjaro with community projects in Tanzania or even embracing the wilderness in New Mexico while studying conflict resolution. The options are endless.
The consensus from pupils is, whichever UWC you attend, it’s a truly life-enhancing experience that is impossible to replicate. As Dechen, a third-generation Tibetan refugee from the Northern Himalayas in India, says: ‘I can’t believe I am really here, in Wales, at UWC Atlantic. It seems like a dream come true...’ She’s now working towards her ambition to study medicine. Parents concur: ‘Staff are supportive and focus on enabling the young to grow, guiding rather than dictating, sharing not telling. We called the combination the “UWC hug”.’ All in all, a UWC education is a transformative experience that encourages students, irrespective of background, ‘to become the very best versions of themselves, with the knowledge that friendship, empathy and humility will carry them far’.
Best for: World peace
Worst for: Closed mindsThis article was originally published in the Tatler Schools Guide 2021
