BROCKWOOD PARK SCHOOL

Begin by taking away punishment and reward. No grades, no comparison, no competition, no prizes. Assist each student to create their own programme of studies that challenges and extends them. Encourage them to take on projects and develop portfolios that are excellent. Give them the space and freedom to make mistakes and don’t judge them when they do. Nurture the spark they have, so they discover their talent and what it is they love to do. Support them in passing exams if they wish, but don’t forget there is more to life than acquiring knowledge and testing it – that kind of knowledge is always limited and always measureable, whilst life is unlimited and immeasurable. Do this in an atmosphere of friendly equality and you have what Brockwood Park School offers, learning that opens eyes to the whole of life.

If you sit together quietly each morning for some time, as a whole school, it begins to have an effect. Naturally, everyone becomes more self-reflective, everyone is better able to give attention to another, listen to another, learn from another. If you create a school in which self-knowledge is valued and self-reflection encouraged, then something very different happens.  There is an atmosphere like no other. It’s unusual for schools to do this, it’s rare for teenagers to encounter it, but this has been happening at Brockwood since the day it began.

Most of us love to be at home, but imagine feeling equally at home in a school that is like a large family. The feeling of being at home generates creative energy and supports every student in their learning and the Brockwood family is from 25 countries or more, so the feeling begins to embrace the world, with all its diversity.  This is their second home and students feel it and respond to it; they help run the school, take responsibility for it, care for it (together with staff they clean the whole school every morning for 30 minutes). They love living here. They form friendships at Brockwood that last them a lifetime and along with staff they create an atmosphere that is inclusive, affectionate and free of fear.  

We want every student to learn how to sow seeds, dig the earth, weed the garden, care for plants and harvest fresh fruit and vegetables. Our future depends on caring for this planet and the natural world and yet education seldom gives much importance to this. At Brockwood we do. Students are surrounded by the stunning landscape of the Southdowns National Park and by our 40 acres of parkland and gardens. Brockwood allows our students to get lost in nature, to learn about its wonders and to get their hands dirty in the process.