We are inquisitive and don’t feel shy asking “why?” We have built a dream school with a deep purpose and a spirited team of doers ready to face the world.

We observe, learn, question and dare. We built our school from first principles, based on our own observations of how learning thrives. We take in the latest research but critically question it. We built it as a community, based on mutual respect and with a focus on quality. We saw order and beauty emerge from this, not laid down by lines or laws. We dared to be different only to be a better school, and to call ourselves Strawberry Fields.

SEE HOW WE MAKE IT DIFFERENT

Challenging and nurturing aren’t opposites. We believe that education is best imparted with reason, not force.

Children learn best when in a state of mental and emotional alertness. Our teaching is designed to keep this edge where emphasis is on building a space that offers emotional security with self paced learning and rewarding experiences instead of competitive drills.

A teacher has said it best: “My classroom is a mistake-making, laughter-sharing, independence-building, brain-stretching sort of place.” Learning moments where realisation occurs, are the key—but they have to be spontaneous yet planned.

BY DESIGN, NOT CHANCE

As a student I am ready for (add PYP attributes?). I must lead by example; by acting like a leader.

It’s not just a ‘certain something’, nor just the high bar of quality they exhibit. It’s positivity, openness, and initiative that they carry forward from their years at school. A respect for diversity, and valuing group goals alongside their own. They know that these positively affect high performance in many ways. As global citizens, they shake hands and are rooted enough to touch feet, always alive to context.

WHAT STUDENTS NEED TO BE

Great teaching seems to be less about knowledge and skills and more about our attitude towards our students and our subject.

Remarkable individuals, who really want to teach. We pick them because they are aligned to our way, not for their degrees. They are trained to draw each learner out to crack what’s on the smartboard, and convey what isn’t, through experience and example. We require them to adapt to different learning styles and paces rather than simply provide answers. They use questions, suggestions, and challenges to script the learning moments that learners remember forever: it’s the attitude that sticks.  

CHILDREN LEARN FROM TEACHERS THEY LOVE

Botany in the garden, performing at the Globe theatre, music at the Natyashala. Who forgets such an education?

First, we shape our buildings. Thereafter, they shape us. The Strawberry Fields built environment deliberately embodies the very idea. It is not a container for the school, but a part of its content. Designed to intermingle inside and outside; every play of light, texture, colour and scale stimulates and protects. The spaces are a vibrant, permanent teacher. They teach quality without ostentation, inspire discipline with joy, individuality and community, brick by brick.

THE INS AND OUTS