News 14th November 2022
Shaftesbury School’s Future Classroom named one of the top educational innovations in the world!
Shaftesbury School’s Future Classroom has received global recognition this month, after being named one of the top 100 educational innovations in the world!
The space has been hailed as a ‘learning space of the future’ by HundrED.org, a global organisation focused on innovation in education. The organisation focuses on identifying, amplifying, and facilitating scalable innovations, which concentrate on 21st century skills, including social and emotional learning, student wellbeing and mental health, and equity in education.
HundrED.org’s Global Collection 2023 showcases the leading innovations and innovators globally. Shaftesbury School was shortlisted from a field of 3,488 submissions and judged by a panel of 188 education experts from around the world, before going on to win the UK spot.
Shaftesbury School established the ‘Classroom of the Future’ in 2020, as a space that disrupts the usual model of learning. With no desks, and white boards covering the walls, students explore topics with technology to support them. Teachers across the school have been trained on how to make best use of the space, so it is not uncommon to see a history lesson where students are using virtual reality to explore ancient civilisations, followed by a biology lesson where students are experimenting with hydroponics and investigating the food of the future. The emphasis is placed on encouraging young people to be brilliant owners of knowledge, not just consumers of it.
Receiving the prize in Helsinki, Alex More a teacher at Shaftesbury School who led the creation of the Future Classroom, said “I am immensely proud that our project has been recognised as amongst the best in the world. It is a huge honour and testament to the amazing work Shaftesbury School is doing in providing forward thinking education for students”
Headteacher Donna London-Hill added “We are incredibly proud that our Future Classroom has been recognised on the global stage! We believe in inspiring our students, preparing them for the workplace of the future, and exploring innovative ways of teaching. The Future Classroom enables is to do all of this, and both students and teachers love using this space for learning”.
