Innovative Approach to Education

Plans for an innovative new English school in the Algarve have just been made public. Tomorrow Magazine sent Sophie Sadler to interview headteacher Penelope Best to uncover all the details.

I meet Penelope in the new Eupheus office in Carvoeiro, which is a happy blend of minimalist white interiors and colourful children's toys, which very much sums up the concept behind the Eupheus school, currently under construction near Loulé.

The school will embody a new technological approach to 21st-century learning, whilst staying true to core old fashioned-values and the British curriculum. It is being marketed as a preparatory school for ages 3-11. Penelope tells me; "Eupheus means lifelong learner in Greek and also implies originality and something unique. The school’s USP is small class sizes, allowing an individual approach to learning for each child."

An educational visionary, Penelope Best, will be head of school.  She is a highly experienced primary head, well-known for her educational and philanthropic endeavours in the Algarve over the past 18 years.  

After 10 minutes in her company, I challenge any parent not to want their children to be in her care! Her enthusiasm and ideas are infectious and most importantly she makes school sound fun!

Its press release announces that Eupheus will be an Apple School and I am still thinking this may mean they are focusing on ‘core’ values or nutrition! I learn, however, that we are talking about technology giant Apple Inc.

Penelope says: “We will be piloting the only Apple School in Portugal and will only have Apple products and be totally interactive. Every aspect of Apple will be incorporated into every element of the school from the classroom, communication and administration. Which doesn´t mean to say the children will sit on ipads all day, but it will make the children prepared for the technology they will need to embrace in the future."

Apple´s website sums up the concept: "Apple Distinguished Schools are centres of leadership and educational excellence that demonstrate Apple's vision for learning with technology — and we believe they are some of the most innovative schools in the world."

Penelope explains what this will mean for her school: "We are the first pilot school in the Algarve. Apple invests in the school and the school invests in them, teaching and learning on both sides. There will be interactive screens to help with age-appropriate demonstrations and research. It will be used where this would be advantageous and will be entirely dependent on the subject and totally will not take away from the importance I place on reading and writing. Rather it will enhance 21st-century learning by providing an engaging way for children to process information."

For parents there will be posts created by teachers and the pupils, showing what the children have done throughout the day, allowing them to be part of their children's education

Apple says: "We've developed tools to make it easy for you to guide how your students use devices and apps in the classroom and to provide valuable insight into each student's progress. So you can focus on what's most important: teaching."

Will this put parents off because they are coming to the Algarve to escape technology? Penelope thinks not: "parents want the best education possible for their children, at the highest level so that they can return to their home country at any time. We are going to have a selective entrance, small class sizes and be at the forefront of education. A concern of parents, when they come to the Algarve, is will their kids keep up? I can now truthfully say, Yes, they will."

All prospective pupils will be interviewed and given diagnostic tests, the UK National  Curriculum will be delivered by fully qualified and experienced teaching staff, personally recruited by Ms Best. "It is all about teachers and how the education is delivered," she says. They are also going to be following the concept of the forest school, "There will also be an emphasis on embracing the outdoor classroom and taking learning outside as much as possible and embracing ecological themes.

Penelope shows me the plans of the new school situated to the south of Loulé located a short distance from junction 12 of the A22 motorway. It is a pleasant modern looking building with undulating curved walls, which she points out, by a twist of fate, mirrors the shape of their school mascot, the owl. All classrooms are purpose-built, age specific and have very wide windows providing natural light and all open onto an outdoor learning area.

The property was built for another function and then abandoned and as they are refurbishing the building, they have the potential to create the areas that will contribute to the forest school ethos.  There is a good amount of outdoor space which will incorporate a playground and sporting areas.      

Has she found getting the licences difficult? "No, because I am working with very experienced and knowledgeable people who know exactly what they are doing. Although it is a challenge, because of rules and regulations, we know that our school will be one of the few fully licensed private schools in the Algarve. The fact that we are creating a school from scratch also makes things easier and the Loulé Camara have been very open and helpful and we have worked with the Ministry of Education."

Her aim is for every child to have a fluency in Portuguese, they will assess each child and they will then learn accordingly. They will have a dedicated Portuguese teacher educator to help meet the aim throughout the school.. . English, mathematics, science, information communication technology, design technology, geography, history and art  will be among the subjects taught.

"We will make the British curriculum purpose-built for our children. All sports will be offered within the time-table including, gymnastics, games, football and dance. Assemblies will reward good work and celebrate school activities. School dinners will be multi-national and nutritious created by a hand picked chef specialising in children's nutrition."

The sound of her Ancient Greek Days make me want to return to school again! "Everyone is involved in the day, designing their outfits, preparing Greek style food, inventing activities and learning through games." She will be building on the owl theme by making owl houses, inviting the children to design owls out of recycled materials and studying nature. "We also want to embrace world events and embrace the cultures of the different pupils and celebrate International events."

One of the things that I most admire about Penelope is her desire to embrace the community into the school not act as an island in the middle. "I want to embrace our surrounding and our people. We have already built a strong link with Loulé Câmara. We can step onto a beach in minutes so I want us to embrace our surroundings. We are already linked with the local orphanage to exchange ideas, bringing the local children to us and us to the local children. You have to infiltrate the local community and learning Portuguese is something we have to focus on and activities within the community. I am all about learning to speak first, building confidence and then everything follows."

So who is funding the project? "It is funded by like-minded investors that I know, who have experience in education and who I have trust in and have educational experience. They have put their trust in me to bring this to fruition."  

So how much does all this cost? Unusually the school fees will stay the same whatever the age of the child, Penelope says; "The younger ones actually need the same specialised teachers so it has never made sense for me that older children pay more." The fees will be €9,990 per year and that will include all insurances and school trips. The only extras will be the colourful burgundy and tartan school uniform and extracurricular activities, which will be tailor made to suit the children's individual needs, although Penelope is keen to offer Royal School of Music lessons and exams.

Parents will have the option to pick up the children at 3:30 if they are not doing activities and homework is focused on reading and research on topics and discovering information. Penelope is not a fan of hours of textbooks once they get home; "I want my kids to come in and say look, Miss Best, what I found out about Van Gogh, not having spent time working through exercise books. That is our job."

She is also open to any new approaches that come along and has a very international stance as she recognises the target market is no longer predominantly British, but must incorporate children from all different countries who, though they recognise the benefits of an English education, may speak two or three different languages.

What does she think education should be? "Enjoyable, everyone working together including parents, teacher, family, admin staff and the community to create lifelong learners. I feel there is a need to create a community which works together for the benefit of our children."

So if you are thinking of signing your children up Penelope is currently meeting families, either at her office in Carvoeiro, on-site in Loule or home visits. She is already seeing a fantastic level of interest and anticipates having almost full classes when the first school bell chimes in September.

Penelope has an Albert Einstein quote hanging on her office wall: "Play is the highest form of research;" and this seems to summarise nicely this vivacious and dedicated educator´s approach. I am just sad about one thing; that Miss Best never taught me!

Website: www.eupheus.pt

Landline; 289 154800

Mobile phone no; 910 323 080