HQPBL Case Study: School21

Download the School21 case study

Head, hands and heart: students in London’s School21 are learning that academic success, character, personal well-being and an impact on others all matter within their K-12 careers.

Each pupil is viewed holistically, which might seem intuitive at first glance—yet it can indeed be a rarity in primary and secondary education. At School21, social and emotional learning factors prominently into students’ learning experiences.

Through high quality Project Based Learning (HQPBL), students are developing robust and deep subject knowledge that is both cross-curricular in nature and can easily be applied to real-world problems and challenges. They’re learning how to work well in teams, to consider challenging problems from an array of angles, and to secure feedback from experts and members of the community.

Anna Kyrk, the school’s head of curriculum and PBL, strongly believes in the approach. “More than deepening understanding, project based learning helps students to develop the ability to work productively and be inquisitive and excited about learning. They follow lines of inquiry. It inherently supports social and emotional learning through its collaborative nature. Our children work independently, but we have critiquing drafts built in where work can be interactive and solicit and offer feedback that is kind, specific and helpful.”

In this small learning community, everyone knows one another—and newly admitted students are quickly brought into the fold by their peers, who help them to gain a shared language of PBL. School21 has involved its students in its development from its earliest days, encouraging them to be active participants in their academic journey, and their projects are no exception.

Find out how School21 has employed HQ PBL across all of its grade levels in this case study.

Download the Case Study

This blog is a part of the HQPBL Campaign supported by the Buck Institute for Education and sponsored by Project Management Institute Educational Foundation and The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. For more, visit hqpbl.org and follow @hqpbl #hqpbl on Twitter and Instagram.

For more, see:

• HQPBL Thriving in San Diego’s Most Diverse School: A Case Study
• Napa Junction: Deeper Learning for All
• The Keys to High Quality PBL: Public Products and Presentations of Work
• How Does Project-Based Learning Prepare Generation Z for the Future?

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