It will not look or feel much like a conventional school. Built around a central garden, the main classroom will be the great outdoors: the surf, the dunes, the rock pools. The only uniforms will be wetsuits and, on chilly days, students will love hopping into the hot tub.
Plans for what is being billed as the world’s first purpose-built “beach school” will be presented to the public this weekend on north Cornwall’s rugged Atlantic coast.
The idea behind the Wave Project’s school at Gwithian Towans, near St Ives, is to provide an alternative place of education close to the surf for vulnerable Cornish children struggling to engage in mainstream education and at risk of being permanently excluded.
Joe Taylor, the founder and CEO of the Wave Project, said there was a growing need for different ways of reaching vulnerable children in the far south-west of Britain.
“Cornwall has a shiny image – lovely beaches and cliffs and beautiful houses,” he said. “But there’s another side visitors don’t see. There are deprived areas where people have very little. It’s surprising how many Cornish children don’t surf or even get to the sea.”
A pre-application report on the project cites rising concerns about the mental health of children in Cornwall. It flags up that there is a greater proportion of children in Cornwall with social, emotional and mental health needs than across England as a whole and cites rises in self-harm among young people.
The Wave Project itself is well-established. Since 2010, it has offered “surf therapy” for young people facing mental heath issues or social exclusion and in 2018 became the first charity in the world to offer surfing on prescription, via the NHS.
Its headquarters is close to the surf beaches of Newquay in Cornwall, but it runs projects across southern and northern England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Children referred to Wave Project beach classes attend for one full day per week during school time, providing them with a break from normal classes.
They learn about the sea, surfing and the natural world but also about more conventional subjects. For example, the “Speed Demons” lesson uses bodyboarding to teach primary school children about maths and physics.
Taylor said pupils, some of whom have experienced bereavement or sexual abuse, found the environment calming and supportive. He said: “We hear that kids who have done the surf therapy course with us concentrate more, get on better with classmates. They love being outside, they learn so much more. They’re on the beach, but they’re learning about maths, science, English.”
Young people with ever-more-severe emotional needs are being referred to the project. Taylor said: “They were the ones we had in mind when we designed the beach school. Working out of a gazebo or surf clubhouse was not enough for some. Previously we’ve had to cancel sessions if the weather is horrendous, as it can be.”
The proposed spot seems perfect. As well as being a popular surfing destination, Gwithian Towans beach is a good place to explore rock pools and look out for seals and seabirds.
“We’re excited to be pioneering this groundbreaking model and look forward to partnering with local schools,” said Taylor. “We hope it will provide a blueprint for other beach schools nationally – and worldwide – helping to reduce the number of children who fall out of the traditional education system altogether.”
At Watergate Bay beach in north Cornwall this week, Niki watched her children, Finn, 13, and Cass, 10, take part in a Wave Project surf club meet. “It’s awesome, amazing to see them here,” she said.
Both her sons have struggled in mainstream education. “They’ve sometimes been misunderstood,” she said. “Finn was treated as an angry young man. He got signed up to the Wave Project and had the best time.”
When Cass first went to the Wave Project, he was reluctant to get into the water. “They gave him this red T-shirt and made him feel he was special. He hasn’t looked back. The staff really listen to you and work around the child.”
Elin Graham, the project’s co-ordinator for mid-Cornwall, said children benefited by doing something challenging but having supportive adults around them. “The idea of failure goes out of the window,” she said. “It’s all about fun, progressing in small steps.”
A former teacher in a mainstream school, Graham said more alternative forms of education were being requested by parents. “I left teaching because I felt the system was failing some children, forcing them into a mesh that didn’t work for them.”
The new, permanent beach school would enable the course to be delivered to up to 15 children a day – 75 each week. Local residents have been invited to a consultation on Saturday. If given planning permission, the project will start fundraising and aim to open next year or in 2023.
