Round Square schools share a commitment to character education and experiential learning built around six themes – our IDEALS – International Understanding, Democracy, Environmental Stewardship, Adventure, Leadership and Service.
The Round Square IDEALS are underpinned by twelve Discoveries that students explore on their learning journey: inquisitiveness, tenacity, courage, compassion, inventiveness, ability to solve problems, self-awareness, sense of responsibility, appreciation of diversity, commitment to sustainability, communication and team-working skills.
Together these make up the Round Square Discovery Framework:
Round Square schools are characterised by a shared belief in an approach to education built around six themes, our IDEALS, drawn from the theories of the educationalist Kurt Hahn. The Round Square IDEALS underpin our Discovery Framework, which supports schools in developing and structuring holistic programmes that build character, competencies and life-skills in our students.
Our schools have collaborated to distil, from practical experience of teaching and learning with the six IDEALS, twelve way-marks that students can be expected to discover on their Round Square learning journey.
A visionary in his time, and the inspiration behind Round Square, Kurt Hahn regularly spoke of the need to educate for character and compassion above all else. In Germany in the 1920s, Hahn’s views certainly weren’t mainstream, but today character education and the acquisition of “soft skills” are widely acknowledged to be essential in the development of well-rounded, active and informed global citizens.
After more than 40 years in education you don’t expect to encounter a teaching and learning initiative that is genuinely new, surprising and exciting. As with cover-versions of our favourite songs, every generation of educators learns that it all comes around again… eventually.
