Today’s show features a conversation with four inspirational women who have taken matters into their own hands and set up alternative schools in recent years - 3 in the UK and one in the Dominican Republic. Avid listeners of the Rethinking Education podcast will probably know that the one in the DR is my good friend, co-author and Learning to Learn copilot Kate McAllister, who featured in Episode 9. My other 3 guests today are people that I have come to know only very recently, as a result of having set up this podcast. They are Kath Pratt, who has set up an alternative school called Soweni, down on the cliffs of Cornwall; Hayley Peacock, who has set up a proudly progressive private school called Atelier 21, in Crawley; and Lucy Stephens, who has set up a democratic school in Croydon, known as the New School, which is free to attend because it is funded by private philanthropists, rather fascinatingly. Links: Soweni: https://www.soweni.com/landing-page Hive: https://thehive.school/about Atelier 21: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JP80Nt5ynps New School: https://www.thenewschool.org.uk/ Guardian article about the New School: https://www.theguardian.com/education/2021/mar/13/a-community-of-equals-the-private-school-with-no-fees-set-up-by-a-south-london-teacher First Follower: Leadership Lessons from Dancing Guy: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fW8amMCVAJQ Glossary of acronyms: AP: Alternative provision IB: International Baccalaureate PYP: Primary Years Programme PWC: PricewaterhouseCoopers SCITT: School-centred Initial Teacher Training The Rethinking Education podcast is hosted and produced by Dr James Mannion. You can contact him at rethinking-ed.org/contact, or via @RethinkingJames on Twitter. You can join the Rethinking Education Mighty Network here: rethinking-education.mn.co