“No curriculum, no grades, no exams” – that’s how David Martí explains Learnlife Barcelona when asked.
But of course, it leaves a lot unanswered.
In this MumAbroad Life interview, two parents tell the story of how their children fell in love with the innovative educational hub Learnlife in Barcelona.
Kresta Tyler Johnson moved to Barcelona in 2019 with her American husband and 3 children, after having previously lived in Johannesburg for 7 years.
Kresta’s children are 16, nearly 13 and 10. It’s her middle son who is at Learnlife. Kresta tells us he was ‘frustrated’ and not thriving at an international school in Barcelona.
That all changed when they found Learnlife.
Kresta says her son felt ‘seen and heard’ to the point where he ‘wanted to go to school again’. She said that stimulating his critical mind was most important, and didn’t matter that Learnlife is still applying for accreditation which would help advance access to higher education.
David Marti – born and raised in Barcelona, David lived in the States, Amsterdam and Madrid as a young adult. He now lives in a small village of only 50 inhabitants in the Montseny Natural Park 60km north of Barcelona with his Catalan wife, 17 year old son and 2 daughters who are 15 and 13.
David’s son quickly outgrew the limited secondary school options in their small town. The family stumbled upon Learnlife, where David said his son ‘felt ready’ for the challenge despite not speaking English fluently.
David says Learnlife helped open a ‘space for conversation about passions and interests’ which has since rubbed off on his daughter, also a Learnlife student.
“The system listens to students when they want to make a change,” says David.
Learnlife is an innovative educational hub in Barcelona that offers a self-directed approach to learning for 11-18 year olds.
You can read more here: https://www.learnlife.com/
Kresta and David are members of the Urban Hub Parents Group at Learnlife in Barcelona.
You can read the MumAbroad profile page for Learnlife Barcelona here.
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MumAbroad was founded in 2007 as a resource for expat mums who struggled without the support of their extended family.
By 2014, the network had grown to include information on child-related services, schools, family activities, shops, family holidays and restaurants across Spain and three other European countries. The international network is proud to feature a Women in Business directory, giving home-country, expat and immigrant women a platform to reinvent themselves after maternity leave and serve the MumAbroad community.
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