AGE’s purpose
“To create schools where we love to learn and dare to dream” is fast becoming a mantra we are all inspired by. This doesn’t only exist within AGE Learning Environments it is the core of our existence. A concept that encompasses students, families, tutors, property and to the wider community.
We have been lucky enough to secure a permanent home in the heart of Takapuna on Auckland’s North Shore. A project mentored and Inspired by school Co-founder / Designer Katherine Allsopp-Smith and Award-winning architect Phil Smith ‘Collingridge and Smith Architects’ The development of this property will take place over the next year with current students having the ability to transform their dreams of school into reality. Just one example of AGE learning in real life.
Both Phil and I believe Architecture can be genuinely transformative. We both strive to reconcile people and their natural ecosystems. No more is the garden placed by the side of the building; it is the building! The AGE project for us is a opportunity to move away from the isolated-cluster building and incorporate a network of living, social and learning spaces integrated with the natural environment”
- Katherine Allsopp-Smith
Understanding what engages a student to learn is perhaps one of the most important tasks a parent and educator can undergo while schooling. Another is discovering how to provide opportunities for learning through the use of these identified motivations.
How a child thinks and the way they sense and perceive their surroundings often affects the way they learn. The connections to memory are also associated with our senses and perceptions creating a complex and often individualized process of learning and memory.
Collaborative Learning Spaces are just one of the many reasons that learning at AGE is so unique. Our learning spaces are designed with a deep understanding of spatial psychology and human interaction. These are learning environments that… inspire, provoke interaction, learning and thought. They create emotional response, connectedness between pairs and tutors, a sense of purpose and belonging, individual expression and environmental awareness.
Our environment at AGE is a reflection our philosophy; one of community, creativity and compassion. Ultimately our learning environments reflect the way we live, making AGE our “school home” as we like to call it.