About

Citischool was not a traditional school building. Instead of students moving between classrooms, they moved from workplace to workplace across the city, especially in the city centre. Learning took place at various sites and involved adults other than teachers.

Overview

Citischool prioritised relationships, focusing on motivation and how learners felt about themselves and others. The program encouraged positive learning relationships where adults listened and respected values like honesty, fairness, and self-control. Young adults were expected to build and maintain these relationships.

Vision

Citischool’s vision was that all young people were active learners and citizens, with students seen as learners and citizens, and citizens seen as teachers. Their values included believing in everyone’s intelligence and desire to succeed, developing emotional intelligence to motivate learning, learning through experience, and maintaining professional relationships.

Involvement

Citischool provided equal learning opportunities to all students regardless of gender, race, or appearance. The Centre for New Media (CNM) supported Citischool by providing an administrative backbone written in ColdFusion, based on the CLUTCH project. CNM’s system helped scheme administrators track students, their locations, and schedules, while also providing attendance data to local authorities.

Students could post news stories about their tasks using Citischool’s news system. Citischool was supported by BT, JHP Training, Milton Keynes Council, and the Open University, and was funded by the Learning & Skills Council for Milton Keynes, Oxfordshire, and Buckinghamshire.