Adolescence

AGES 12-18

“At this time the human soul by nature opens itself to love. His conscience becomes sensible to the greatness of man and to civilisation based on the great conquests which were made possible by human cooperation …this man is now ready to begin to live mysteriously, yet positively for other people, to dedicate his life to others, to make sacrifices, to give his life to protect. That is the meaning and importance of this period: i.e. the man who lives for others is a fundamentally social being.”

– Dr. Maria Montessori

Our vision for the adolescents in our care is that they will leave the Young People’s Community as intelligent, thoughtful and compassionate young adults, who love their world, and who feel within themselves both the desire to contribute to it and the power and capability to transform it.

We believe adolescents are the most misunderstood and mismanaged energy in the world today.

We have seen that in the right environment, adolescents are capable of far more than usually thought possible, or that the conventional structures of school allow.

We have found that adolescents are meaning driven: deeply reflective about humanity and their place in it, in a way that standardised, test-driven schooling cannot nurture.

We have found that adolescents are purpose driven: with intellectual, creative and entreprenuerial passions that go far beyond the norms & walls of conventional schools.

We have found that adolescents are mature and responsible about things that matter: able to take ownership for themselves, their education, and their school community in a way the control structures of conventional schooling deny.

And we have found that each young person 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 environment described by Maria Montessori as being ideal for the extraordinarily tumultuous, creative, deeply felt and revolutionary period of life that adolescence represents.

Adolescents in the Young People's Community live, study, and work together in a context that prepares them to be agents of transformative change in a 21st century world.

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Only through freedom and environmental experience is it practically possible for human development to occur.

MARIA MONTESSORI