Upon entering the Wings Agora building in Roermond, Netherlands, it is clear this is no standard school. The physical environment itself is designed to spark curiosity and creativity, the school is full of metaphors for the unique type of teaching and learning they do there. In the middle of the courtyard there is a large climbing wall, equipped with ropes, harnesses and carabiners. Rob Houben, our host and a founding teaching staff at Wings Agora explained to us that he sees teaching and learning like climbing and belaying. The students harness up and enthusiastically attack the climbing wall. They do not need to be instructed at this point, they can intuit and explore which rocks to reach for. It is only when a student is stuck, unable to see how to reach the next rock, that the teacher, or belayer, should step in with guidance. It’s this ethos of learner autonomy, exploration, and support, rather than direct instruction, from supportive adults that underlies everything at Wings Agora.
Rather than working in year groups, Agora organises students and teachers into ‘families’. These consist of around 60 students and 5 teachers who all collaborate on student directed projects known as ‘challenges’. When you walk into one of the huge family rooms, you will see students working independently, reading, and playing games on their phones, collaborating with one another, and even getting taught by a teacher or community member. Students choose how to spend their 6 hours a day at school, and even decide (within reason) which 6 hours these will be. Students are also trusted to explore their local community in order to find the information they need to complete their projects. We saw students working in small groups to create a programmable Lego car, others were designing a prom dress. One student was researching local green bridges and their impact on biodiversity in the area. We saw artifacts of learning all over the school, products of these challenges known at Agora as ‘footprints’. Students and teachers track their progress using a computer programme developed by students specifically for this purpose.
We had the pleasure of spending break times in the Wings Agora staffroom and spoke to teachers about what it is like working in this unique working environment. The staff emphasized the continuous learning they do at Agora, from each other and from the students, but most commonly with the students and the learning community.
Teachers work hard at Agora, but rather than working hard marking papers these teachers work hard to support students to reach their goals and find their purpose. They help students on their projects, by disseminating knowledge directly when they can, but also helping students to outsource information from the wider community and show them how to find the information they need. Teachers at Agora are not instructors, but rather learning guides, coaches, and mentors.
A teacher I spoke with acknowledged the challenges of providing social and emotional support to their group of students, but the satisfaction that also comes with seeing a young person overcome adversity and become a better version of themselves. The comradery of the staff was palpable, and they work in a system within their ‘families’ where no teacher can leave the premises without checking in with the other teachers in their team and confirming they don’t need support or help. By thinking hard about each staff member’s skills and knowledge, Agora creates diverse teaching teams that cover much of what is needed for students to thrive, but also for the team to work effectively. Each team doesn’t need 5 leaders, 5 science experts, or 5 trained youth workers. The leaders at Agora clearly put effort into creating balanced and effective teams.
Unlike many schools in the UK, the values of Wings Agora were not clearly outlined or plastered on the walls. But an hour into our visit it was clear that this place is built on trust, cooperation, curiosity, student autonomy, creativity and mutual learning. We were, however, reminded by our tour guides that Agora is not an educational utopia. They are working towards a fully self-directed model, but currently students do begin direct tuition in their final year to prepare for exams. It is also clear that Agora is not the place for every student, or even every teacher, but it does show an alternative model of education that we can learn from, and possibly adopt, in parts, to a UK context. Edge's interactions with Agora students made it clear that their model was beneficial to student wellbeing and self-knowledge. By having the opportunity to explore their interests, students had clear ideas of who they were and what they wanted from life. The projects they planned and executed allowed students to develop both technical and transferable skills, arming them with exactly what they need to accomplish the goals that their coaches have helped them identify. The use of facilities, knowledge and resources in the local community means students have great exposure to local industries and are knowledgeable about pathways into them. Finally, the staff satisfaction and wellbeing appeared to me a major benefit to this model, which is very interesting in the wake of the staffing crisis that faces UK schools.
Our trip to Wings Agora in Roermond, Netherlands was eye opening and inspiring. There are many benefits to their model of self-directed learning and it’s interesting to see if any parts of this model can be utilised in the UK context to combat issues of staff and student wellbeing, technical and transferable skill development, and greater knowledge of local industry and career pathways for young people.
You can read more about Wings Agora in our Practice Library.