In the business of pioneering, every year is start-up year. Every project is foundational, and every season is a planting season. We look into the future of thrive and we don’t see an end goal, we see thriving as perpetually growing — growing in capacity to reach more children with our individualised schooling; growing in access to tools that improve the efficacy of our individualised approach; growing in infrastructure to support our incredible teachers who are key to doing this good work, and doing it well.
thrive started as a sapling school in our little farmhouse in Durbanville in 2016. This is where we spent the first 4 years breaking new ground in developing our alternative approach to schooling. We were immediately able to meet our aims of pioneering a completely individualised schooling setup where we could curate a curriculum and methodologies to each individual child. Those first 4 years we used what we learnt to build an infrastructure that answers the self-contradictory question, “how do you offer individualised education to everyone?”
Being purposeful about creating an infrastructure that supports perpetual growth with longevity has meant caring about how to protect our culture, our focus on individuality, and our capacity to offer holistic care for each person and child in our community. The transition from last year (2021) to this year (2022) has been a significant milestone in taking thrive from an idea about individualised education to establishing a new era of individualised education.
thrive is living up to its name in 2022 as our one Hub we have been tending from sapling to tree is now the first of a forest of Hubs, each growing in their own unique and diverse directions, but part of a cohesive eco system of community and culture. Here’s a look into each of our Hubs and the lifestyle of learning you’ll discover in each space.
Our Durbanville Hub is the replanting of our farmhouse sapling into a spacious and homely property in central Durbanville. White walls invite you into a bright and open space where students can find a quiet place to read, a free area to run and play, or a serene space to get their hands dirty in the edible school yard.
Each of the 7 classroom spaces have their own energy and enhance a different style of learning. A walk through the corridor takes you past our spacious, engaging senior classes, through a bright and plant filled intermediate phase zone, and ending in our open, airy foundation phase area where learning often streams out of the classroom space and into the open green school yard.
The perfect, peaceful space for authentic learning - our Noordhoek Hub is situated in the heart of the beautiful farmland of Crofters Valley.
Class time is spent in an airy and homely space where students work closely with their teacher in a collaborative and considerate classroom dynamic. Students are encouraged to take ownership of their learning environment and guided to find their individual space and setup to work effectively. An open flow of wide glass doors extends the classroom into the natural Noordhoek environment, allowing students to engage in learning through nature and organically manage academic pacing and endurance with fresh air breaks.