Studio Time

Heard of Studio Schools? A new type of state school model, they are designed to equip young people with the knowledge, skills and experiences they need to succeed in life and work.

It's all about building an education around real world learning, matching what students get in school with what really happens outside of school – something we at RIO have been advocating for a long time.

Developed by the Young Foundation – the organisation that came up with the School for Social Entreprenuers – and five years in the making,  Studio Schools address the growing gap between the skills and knowledge that young people require to succeed, and those that the current education system provides.

Populated by 14-19 year olds of all abilities, the schools are small, with around just 300 pupils. They operate on a 9-5 working day and have strong links with local businesses and employers.  The idea is that they operate more like a workplace than a school, so that alongside academic qualifications like English, Maths and Science, young people can take vocational qualifications too and do internships, live briefs and paid work placements to augment their studies, all in a bid to successfully train them for the world of work.

On Tuesday 29 November, 2011, Studio Schools Trust Director David Nicoll and Simon Tucker, chief executive of the Young Foundation and trustee of Studio Schools, took part in a webinar to explain more about Studio Schools and answer questions - their presentation from that webinar is a great resource if you are interested in finding out more about the model.

It's an inspirational model that has clear parallels with much of the work around real, purposeful learning that RIO has been doing with schools over the last seven years.

In fact, we are currently working with a range of partners in Cornwall to develop a service similar to Studio Schools, but applied to a rural context. A dispersed network model that links schools with social enterprises and creative businesses. It's early days, but exciting stuff. Watch this space...