WHO ARE WE?
We are a private alternative schooling and education initiative based a few minutes outside of central Marbella close to La Canada shopping centre, seeking to offer conscious families another way for both them, and their children. Many of us feel that there is no current environment in the immediate Marbella area that truly meets the needs of our young children and reflects our belief systems (or the research) about the nature of childhood and learning. We don't believe that the human spirit can be nurtured well inside concrete walls.
Most of us know that the schooling system and its insistence on rote memorisation and sedentary repetition as it exists today, was designed to create compliant workers during the Industrial Revolution and off the back of world wars. There is growing recognition from many of the most respected and successful entrepreneurs and enterprises in the world that commonplace schooling systems do not in fact support the future success of young people, because they fail to develop the individuals capacity to think critically, self motivate, and create. The old ways of schooling are becoming outdated and defunct. Normalised though it has been for the last few generations, including our own, it remains a relatively recent experiment within the context of human history. The needs of the world are rapidly changing, and, in any case, we aren't sure that the system served us all that well to begin with. We are a generation seeking therapeutic support in record numbers, we are a generation drowning in epidemic rates of anxiety, depression, and disillusionment. We are a generation who for the most part, will openly acknowledge that we use very little of what we learnt in school in our day to day adult lives, and that school didn't teach us most of what we desperately needed to learn. The mental health statistics for young people aren't getting better, they are declining rapidly. We are doing something wrong.
We believe our children deserve better. Do you?
It has been well demonstrated that children placed under the least pressure academically at primary/elementary age, usually do academically better later. When we nurture the natural curiosities of children and their innate impulse to learn in ways that inspire them, they develop a positive relationship to learning, and their self esteem remains nourished and in tact. Young children are under disturbing amounts of pressure to "keep up" with numeracy and literacy skills even before the age of 6 - in spite of the fact that the research demonstrates clearly that it is not developmentally natural to focus overtly on such skills until around 6 or 7. Scandinavian schools teach in alignment with these studies, and as a result, are some of the most academically successful in the world.
We encourage you to learn more via our resources page.
“Alternative” systems are emerging here - and all over the world at this time. The pioneering and internationally renowned "Green School" has won countless prestigious awards and has now birthed schools in three locations worldwide. The Brave Generation Academy, with an established base now in San Pedro de Alcantara for children 12-18, offering flexible learning hours and international exam access for older children, is another great example. Alma Forest established 6 years ago in Sotogrande, has been a roaring success, now with long waitlists and people travelling globally to bring their children to it's inspiring space.
Following in their footsteps, Wild Academy Marbella are now offering a similar Marbella based alternative schooling initiative, starting with a small group of trail blazers 2024/25 aged 3-8, with plans to expand up to age 12 in 2025/26. Tuition sits at £2895 per term and places are limited. We anticipate a large amount of interest and urge you to register your interest early.
If you would like a warm space for your child to learn in an unhurried way, if you are not convinced by many of the standardised schooling systems but also want (and maybe need!) your child to go somewhere during weekdays to connect with other children, if you were interested to home school here in Marbella Spain, but don't want to navigate the legal complexities of this, or for your child to learn in isolation, then reach out to us.
KEY FEATURES OF THE WILD ACADEMY WAY
Shorter days - 09.30-14.30 Monday to Thursday with optional "Freeplay Fridays" from 09.30-13.30
A holistic synthesis of British curriculum, Montessori principles, Reggio Emilio , natural learning and forest school philosophies
Priority on life learning, life skills, emotional wellbeing, and nurturing of the individual
A community for your child to belong in and develop social skills and sense of self value
Focus on child-led learning that keeps the inspiration to learn alive
Highly experienced teaching staff trained in multiple internationally respected learning philosophies
Inspired learning of literacy and numeracy skills at developmentally appropriate ages
Beautiful school house in a countryside location just minutes from La Canada Marbella
It’s so easy to ignore the niggling whispers that what we are offering our kids isn’t quite right, but we want to start listening to our parenting instincts, and be the change we wish to see in the world. Do you? Are you one of us? Contact Wild Academy Marbella and chose another way.
