What is a Studio School?

Studio Schools are a new state school model for 14 to 19 year olds of all abilities. They seek to address the growing gap between what young people require to succeed in life and the skills and knowledge that the current education system provides. In a country in which most lessons are taught in a traditional way Studio Schools will break new ground in the English education system, offering a pioneering practical approach to learning rooted in the real world.

Academic excellence lies at the heart of the Studio School model. All Studio Schools will teach the national curriculum and will offer the same key qualifications as traditional schools.

What makes them unique is not what is offered but how it is delivered.

Studio Schools will take education out of a traditional classroom setting with students learning principally through enterprise themed projects in their local area. Whether it’s a health report for a local hospital or a business brief for a local business, students’ learning will be contextualised and rooted in the local community.

In Studio Schools employability and life skills underpin all the schools’ activities. Working closely with our local partners, businesses from across Britain and the country’s leading educational agencies we have developed a bold new practical approach to learning specifically designed to ensure young people develop these wider skills. But more than that, in Studio Schools students will gain a meaningful insight into the working world through real work placements. These will go far beyond what is currently offered at traditional schools with students spending a significant portion of their weekly time as real employees in local businesses.

On leaving their Studio School, students will have a wide range of options available to them including entering the job market from an advantageous position, taking on an apprenticeship or going to university. For further information regarding the Studio Schools model please click here

For further information on the Studio Schools model please click here