Welcome to Schoolhouse

As a society we are at a critical moment. A moment when how we educate future generations is of crucial importance. When we need meaningful, informed voices debating options and striving for better solutions. This is not just an Australian problem – educational thought-leaders around the world are calling for a profound paradigm shift in our approach to school.

The Schoolhouse Centre for Educational Innovation is an initiative to drive awareness, discussion and adoption of more innovative and progressive approaches to school education in Australia. We believe that more than ever, we need to prepare and inspire our children to change the world. Sadly, this is a challenge many schools are failing.

The next generation will inherit many global challenges – environmental, social, political, ethical. We need to foster in young people the skills and strengths to embrace these challenges and create positive, sustainable solutions. Skills like critical thinking, creativity, communication and collaboration. Strengths like initiative, resilience, empathy and awareness.

Unfortunately, our schools are often distracted, their efforts misdirected. They focus on the accumulation of facts; standardised testing; compliance and uniformity. Or they simply give in to the pressures of economic efficiency and social convention.

We have to change the way our schools work. We need them to reflect the dynamic nature of the world we live in. Schools need to give young people an education that focuses on problem solving, cooperative projects and social skills; one that encourages curiosity and play; that values experiential learning; that emphasises entrepreneurship and civic participation.

While innovation can and will come from many quarters, we believe that the independent sector can play a key role as the engine of radical innovation for the education sector – a role it is largely failing at in Australia. Our aim at Schoolhouse is to champion a more entrepreneurial approach to education, and to foster a community of diverse and exciting innovative schools.

The first step in our journey is opening an independent high school in Sydney. Whether you’re a parent, an educator, a young person, or a potential collaborator, I hope you’ll become a part of the Schoolhouse community.

Help us reinvent school.