Two teachers have launched a new British private school where children have no rules, exams or uniform and learn just three days a week in a yurt. It was the brainchild of Anna Robinson and Cindy Adams, both mothers and qualified teachers, and is open to pupils aged 5-14 with termly fees set at £1,250. Schoolchildren don’t have desks but instead spend their time playing outside, sitting on blankets and huddling round wood burning stoves. They are not tutored in traditional subjects but instead are taught ‘how to resolve problems’, ‘find their real passion in life’ and how to play freely without supervision. Youngsters at The Green House Education Project in Bath, Somerset, are also allowed to wear what they like and can often be seen climbing trees barefoot. Its 23 pupils go to classes either outdoors if the weather is good, or in a yurt with a wood burning stove. They sit in circles and often give a presentation about their chosen passion – result examples include ‘ballet, Hebrew traditions to snow leopards’. There are no rules, no exams and no uniform, and the school encourages children to understand safety by taking risks – including climbing trees and carrying whittling knives. And despite the hipster-style school only running three days a week, and the majority of the day being made up of outdoor play, termly fees are £1,250. The Green House Project, located near Southstoke in Bath is the idea of Robinson and Adams. The pair describe their project as a “learning community”, with a focus on developing social skills through “collaborative learning”. Adams said, “There is a saying ‘it takes a village to raise a child’ and that is what we are trying to encourage. We are a real community, the children, parents and mentors, we are all one big family. Children learn so much through play and interaction with each other, we want them to discover the best of themselves.” She added that she and Ms Robinson had the idea after both agreeing they were “very disillusioned” with the schooling system. “I think there is too much pressure on children in mainstream schools,” said Adams. “There is something wrong when research shows young children are suffering high levels of anxiety. In our schools, we do yoga, meditation and mindfulness and we encourage free play. We want our children to be happy – you can’t learn if you are anxious.” The pair’s children attend the school, and the mothers say they are very happy there. They say that the children learn all the things they need to but much else besides – including how to resolve problems, how to find their real passion in life and how to play freely without supervision. Adams said, “We start each day with circle time, a Native American tradition. Then each child will give a presentation about their chosen passion, it can be anything from ballet, Hebrew traditions to snow leopards. We use technology and they have their power points, but we like to work as a community and spend lots of time outdoors.” Robinson said, “While safety is at the core of what we do, we also like our children to explore, not to be afraid to do things. We let them climb trees and carry around their whittling knives – we believe they learn safety by understanding the risks and being allowed to do things without always being supervised.” The pupils are divided into two age groups – the Wolf Cubs, aged 5-7, and the Wolf Pack, aged 7-14. Published in Daily Times, June 29th, 2017.