Our Vision

Imagine a school library that is a wonder to walk into. A comfortable place that has a warmth and gravitas reflective of its significance to learning and the development of our society.

Imagine a life size dinosaur skeleton walking out of the school entrance or walking across the school roof.  Imagine the feeling it would create amongst our children, the message it would send about the value we place on inspiration; imagine the effect it would have as a focal point for the local community and the new sense of civic pride it would stimulate.

Imagine the feeling created by a school that is able to display critically acclaimed art by national and local artists. This will enable the cutting of the demographic divide that prevents many from experiencing such art later in life, helping to create a greater sense of wellbeing in the school and belonging to the community.

Imagine a school that encourages children to challenge their fears, accept failure as part of the learning process, take risks and push themselves beyond what was initially thought possible – all while having fun.  None of these highly prized character traits are reflected in any test but we intrinsically know they are a vital part of education.

Imagine your child coming home to tell you that today she has flown through the stars and visited other worlds. The real question to ask is: why don’t all schools have the ability to immerse young hearts and minds in such a way?

Imagine seeing a series of skeletons showing the evolutionary anatomy of a particular species through time such as series of elephant, dolphin or ape skeletons.

Imagine allowing our children to see the world as never before with scanning electron microscopes. Imagine the effect on future science teachers. Only one school in the UK has a SEM – and it costs £12k a term to go there.

Imagine a 4D Immersive room with the ability to allow our children to travel in space and time and become absorbed within their learning environment.

Imagine the effect on recruitment and retention for schools with challenging demographics – mimicking the provision set by world class corporate environments.

Imagine liberating the brilliant ‘museum idea’ of a Wall of Life with hundreds of models and exhibits showing the beguiling passage of deep time.

Imagine seeing a life-size Supermarine Spitfire locked in suspended flight and the visual impact this would have on parents, visitors and students.

Imagine real and life-size models of Mars landers, satellites, Rolls Royce jet engines and perhaps even Virgin Galactic’s Space Ship One – showcasing the best of British creative engineering and ambition.

Imagine placing your hands on, contemplating, and discussing the origins of an asteroid that is older than the Earth itself.

Imagine beautiful, permanent galleries to display student and community art – a clear signal that creative work is regarded with equal importance to academic attainment.

Imagine a school that allows our children to see the real-time link between their actions, their impact, and their responsibilities. A school that has sustainable development written into its fabric. A carbon neutral school with wind turbines, solar cells, ground source heating, kinetic flooring, and bio-digesters that all link to live infographic energy displays.  Our future leaders must be able to draw a connection between their actions today and their impact on tomorrow.

Imagine state-of-the-art audio-visual green-screen recording studios for film and music production and the impact on our future creative talent.

Imagine if schools in challenging areas were able to attract the best hard-to-reach talent with subsidised housing – in the same way many private fee-paying schools do.

Imagine creative thinking spaces allowing for freedom and clarity of thought.

Imagine large wildlife ponds being created so our children can learn about the functioning ecosystems that sustain the Earth. How can we expect our children to look after the planet if they don’t understand it.

Imagine our children attending schools that are beautiful – places created not because they raise attainment but because they raise what it is to enjoy existence.

Imagine giving our children spaces where they can be outside of their standard classrooms to learn, create and relax.

Imagine our schools having purpose built gas storage facilities to hold nitrogen, oxygen and carbon dioxide, allowing science teachers to demonstrate the amazing properties of the gases that surround our planet.

Imagine the press coverage that will detail how our children are adapting algorithms to program and change the mood and feeling of their school with kinetic art, linking beauty, creativity and mathematics.

Imagine your local school hosting a unique event that brings together world-class musicians to work with and inspire our children’s talents and creative ambition.  In a time of global education system reform, where governments around the world are prioritising narrow academic attainment in favour of STEM subjects, it is important we don’t forget that the arts are critical to a sense of wellbeing and help students engage and succeed in all academic areas.  Such events would be priceless, unforgettable moments in our children’s learning journey.

Our children must be able to connect with their food in a meaningful way. Imagine a school that has a large working kitchen garden and how children’s life-long health and wellbeing would benefit from this…

Imagine our schools not as dull uninspiring places that exude value for money, but as places of architectural wonder and warmth.  Places that resonate with their pivotal role and deep value to their community and wider society. Schools that make use of the biophilic effect which has been shown to reduce stress and increase a sense of wellbeing. The World Health Organisation has expressed serious concern at the UK’s 54% rise in antidepressant prescriptions for children  – as such it is ever more important we ensure our educational infrastructure creates a sense of psychological fulfillment.

Imagine giving our schools the opportunity to host their best Shakespearean performances wonderful inspirational setting.

Imagine the warmth of feeling that would be brought with outdoor classroom facilities which would allow our children and their teachers to enjoy their learning environments and escape their usual, dull boxes. We know that greenspaces make us happy.

Imagine walking into a school that invokes a sense of depth of thought, warmth of feeling and importance to us all. Stained glass has been used for centuries as a way to tell stories and help people appreciate light, space and craftsmanship.

Imagine a country where more than half of 7-11 year old children  cannot swim, where 40% of non-swimmers have never been offered a lesson, a country where drowning is the third highest cause of accidental death in children . We can change this.

Imagine a centre of learning that becomes a source of community pride, a place that resonates with great importance and permanence.

Imagine bringing Wilfred Owen’s harrowing descriptions of the First World War to life, not by sitting in a dull classroom but while standing in a muddy trench, as a whistle blows.  Imagine a teenage boy writing his own poetry in response to this experience in an immersive dugout with the sights, sounds, and smells of trench life as the ground rumbles beneath him. Imagine the effect on his reflective prose, the conversations he will have that night with his parents, and the questions which will form in his mind about the politics which led us to war. Experience is a better guide than the words of others.