Hi! I’m Angelica and Brave New School is my journey to find progressive, effective and fascinating alternatives to the mainstream, industrial model of schooling.

Maybe you’ve asked yourself:

• what are the top ten most important skills I want my child to have by the time they finish school?
• how do I pick the right school for them and what do I do if I suspect it’s not working?
• what’s the best way to build a good relationship with my child’s teachers?
• what other options are out there for kids who need something other than the conventional model of schooling?

You’re in the right place! Here, I’ll share everything I’ve learnt about alternative, progressive education methods and schools.

The first time I watched Sir Ken Robinson’s Do Schools Kill Creativity?, I was spellbound. It’s no wonder it’s the most watched TED talk of all time. The ideas in it resonate with so many people because they’re true: between the time that a child begins school and the time that they graduate, school does something to them. They’re forced to jump through hoops that sometimes don’t really make any sense. Their boundless creativity is more often than not diminished by time spent on standardised testing. They are scored largely on outcome rather than effort.

I should know – I’m a teacher.

I’m also a mother of five. And I started thinking more about all the different ways that a child could spend thirteen years of their life when I realised that for one of my children, school was likely going to be a holding pattern until they could be released into ‘the real world.’ I don’t want that for them.

School should be exciting, surprising, challenging. And of course, for many students in many schools, it is. But school should also be personalised. And the factory model of schooling has changed very little since it first started.

I have never let my schooling interfere with my education.

Mark Twain

Brave New School is a resource for people who want to learn more along with me about what else is out there for our children. Their generation will have to solve more complex problems than any other. And to do this, they need the kind of preparation that teaches them to be truly disruptive, truly divergent, and truly empathetic. They need to act outside the box, not just think outside it.

I’m so happy you’ve stopped by!