We believe teenagers may be the most misunderstood, unsupported and alienated group in any society.
We have seen that in the right environments, teenagers are capable of far more than usually thought possible, or that the rigid structures of conventional schools allow.
We have found that teenagers are meaning driven: deeply reflective about humanity and their place in it, in a way that standardised, test-driven, conveyor-belt schooling cannot nurture.
We have found that teenagers are purpose driven: with intellectual, creative and entreprenuerial passions that go far beyond the norms & walls of conventional schools.
We have found that teenagers are remarkably mature and responsible about things that matter: able to take ownership for themselves, their education, and their school community in a way the heirarchical structures of conventional schools deny.
And we have found that each teenager is totally unique: advancing in one or more areas of knowledge in ways that industrialised, timetabled, one-size-fits-all curricula simply cannot cater for.
Our commitment is to nurture the kind of environments described by Maria Montessori as being ideal for the extraordinarily tumultuous, creative, deeply felt and revolutionary period of life that the teenage years represent.
Aspirational words matter, but they are not sufficient: what teenagers need is actual daily experience of living, studying and working together as valued members of a small community.
Teenagers in the Young People's Community live, study, and work together, as they prepare to be agents of change in a 21st century world.
