South Downs Learning Centre has a new home

[Alison Mcdonagh]

 

The South Downs Learning Centre operated for a number of years in a house in Brighton, as part of the Self Managed Learning College. However the number of students had to be limited due to the space and now the work has been transferred to a new building in the centre of the city so that we can expand. Making the move has allowed us to drop the name 'South Downs Learning Centre' and we are just using Self Managed Learning College as our title.

Our programme for 7-16 year olds operates from 9 - 1 Mon - Fri in term time. It is a fully-functioning learning community and not a school. There are no classrooms, no imposed lessons, no uniforms, no timetables imposed by adults (students write their own timetables). We find out about each student when they arrive and help them to come up with learning goals that are relevant to them. They are then supported in learning what they want. There are no limits on what students can learn apart from keeping within the rules agreed by the community.

Students have a base in a learning group of 6 students and one adult, acting as a learning assistant to support the group. The group meets every Friday so that each student can review how their learning has gone in the week and to consider how to move on in the next week.

Students may choose to take exams if they wish and they generally go on to college at 16.

We have 2 open mornings coming up on 1st and 7th September from 10-12am at Brighton Youth Centre.

For more information please call 01273 703691, email [e-mail], or visit our website www.college.selfmanagedlearning.org

Alison Mcdonagh