The Awen Tribe
The Awen Tribe is the first Awen Learning Community, established in 2019 and operating in a number of temporary structures in an ancient woodland in South Wales. It is a self-directed, consent-based learning community for young people to focus on their own education, developing their individual processes and objectives, unlocking their own intellects and creativity, whilst benefitting from a rich and wild learning environment, and participating in a community founded on robust debate and mutual respect. Awen students learn to love learning freely, but are, by social necessity, required to be responsible members of the community.
Our team of creative facilitators (the tribe’s elders) have developed a relationship-based pedagogy to help students figure out who they are, what their desires and ambitions and fears are, so that by the time they’re adults they have the self-knowledge they will need to lead a happy healthy life. The elders also model intellectual and creative work, and construct many opportunities for group projects that develop collaborative skills, meaning Awen students are able to articulate their opinions and ideas, whilst appreciating the importance of listening with patience and generosity. Our pedagogy focuses first on wellbeing, understanding that if a young person is not ok they will struggle to learn anything at all.
Our tribe is governed by The Gathering, a democratic meeting held twice a week, where any member of the tribe can voice concerns, put forward ideas, and address behavioural issues that may arise. Each member has an equal vote, and through practicing deep democracy exercises and upholding the importance of individual consent, the Gathering promotes social learning, tolerance, and the development of communication and collaboration skills.
Every three weeks the tribe holds The Sharing, where students present their recent work and appraise the work of others. The culmination of students’ work over the academic year is displayed at the annual Celebration of Work, a public exhibition to show the wider community the quality and diversity of the tribe’s endeavours. Over the course of an Awen education, students amass a portfolio that can be used as a record of their achievements.
We do not follow any exam curriculum for traditional subjects, however if students decide that they would like to study for a GCSE or other qualification then they will supported as part of self-directed learning.
At Awen, students spend time discovering their talents and passions. They begin to sketch out a plan for their future and identify the entry requirements to gain access to the next stage of their journey. For students who wish to go to college this will likely include a number of GCSE or equivalent qualifications dependent on their preferred institution’s entry requirements (5 GCSEs including English and Mathematics is a fairly common set) and their portfolio will provide a far richer demonstration of their strengths and achievements to date.
Since 2019, our students have put on public art exhibitions, filmed a production of Macbeth, transformed trash collected in the woods into monster sculptures, built an online school. They have participated in educational role playing games, set in the year 2050, and in modern day Afghanistan. They write poetry and paint watercolours in the forest; they learn to identify plants and observe the seasonal changes in an ecosystem that they are a part of. They learn history and languages, economics and psychology. None of this is untested or even revolutionary. This is the way learning is facilitated in schools across the globe that are seen as world leaders in education.
Weekly Provision
Awen is open to students on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays between 10am and 3:30pm. We offer provision of up to 15 hours per week (plus 30 mins for lunch) as a learning community of Elective Home Educators, with the expectation that parents and carers continue to provide opportunities for students to learn at home up to full time provision at home.
Additional Support
We recognise that a barrier to home education for some families is the need for full-time childcare. To ensure equity of access our families support each other with childcare before and after school, and on Mondays and Fridays as necessary.
