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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! Their 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
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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:
