Admissions
Our Admissions Procedure
Our admissions process is a little different to most educational environments as it’s important to ensure that Awen is right for prospective students and vice versa.
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Fill in the Admissions Application Form
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An informal online conversation between the young person and their guardians, and one of the tribe’s facilitators will be arranged
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The young person attends a trial week at Awen (Tuesday to Thursday) for them to see if Awen is right for them
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A discussion is held amongst the tribe, followed by a vote as to whether or not a place will be offered, based on the following questions:
a) Does the prospective student want to join the tribe? This is big step towards them taking responsibility for their own education. Everyone who comes to Awen does so because they have made their own choice to come here.
b) Does the tribe feel that Awen can meet the child’s academic, social and emotional needs (and do so without unreasonable detriment to the tribe’s capacity to meet the needs of other students)?
c) Do they have an interest in learning and do we believe they have, or will have, the capacity to take advantage of the learning environment at Awen?
d) Do they want to be a part of a Democratic Learning Community and have the capacity to participate in and share the responsibility for decision-making in the school?
e) Has their behaviour during the Trial Week raised any concerns about their ability to be in school without detracting from others’ learning and / or general enjoyment of the school?
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The student is then either offered a place (occasionally with some conditions), or given more trial time if the school meeting believes that greater exposure to the learning community will help them understand our principles
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In very unusual circumstances the student may be denied a place
We currently have a very limited number of places for students aged 10-13.
If you are interested in being a part of the Awen Tribe please apply here.
Expectations
If a place is offered and accepted the young person will be initiated to the tribe in a process developed by the students. There are certain expectations that an Awen family should be aware of:
Attendance: In term time we ask for students to attend Awen three days a week. This is so that we can devote our energy to developing trust and relationships, have more time together to pursue ongoing projects, and create a stable community. In our experience students who frequently miss days struggle to feel as connected to the tribe as those who are in for the full three days. We have longer holiday times and long weekends, so ask families to arrange holidays in those times rather than disrupting the term.
Awen Duties: Instead of charging fees, and to assure a coherence in our broader community, we ask each guardian (parent or carer) to offer a minimum of 4 hours per month of help to the tribe and the wider project. Individual jobs are identified by the whole village and put into work streams. Guardians can choose which work streams to operate within, or even facilitate work streams themselves. This way Awen runs co-operatively, guardians become active stakeholders in the project, and they can gain skills in a variety of different areas that could help them in their own personal or professional lives.
Awen Village: In support of the tribe is the village: students, elders, parents, guardians, and trustees. We ask guardians to attend fortnightly Guardian Gatherings (usually online) and quarterly Village Meetings.
Admissions and Additional Learning Needs
Awen endeavours to be as inclusive as possible and draws no hard distinction between pupils with additional needs who get extra support and everyone else; more a gradual transition. A key part of coming to Awen is students having the capacity to take responsibility for their own learning and for their behaviour. In particular, students need to be able to use the tribe’s freedoms without putting themselves or others at risk and without detracting from others’ learning and enjoyment of Awen. We do not have the facilities, breadth of skills, or experience of a Special Education School and will not be an appropriate learning environment for everyone.