Around age 11, there is a new sense of awakening within the child as their feeling life emerges into more of a sense of individual identity. Over these years the child develops a hunger for developing their intellectual capacities, moving into an adolescence where they start to question and begin making critical judgements. 

At the start of these years, the child studies the Ancient Greeks and prepares to participate in an 'Olympics' event together with many other children of the same age from across the country. This forms a pivotal moment for the 11 year old, where they mark the 'end of childhood' and step into a new phase of enquiry and challenge. The following years themes focus on an experiential approach to history, whereby science, maths and the arts are brought in relation to the era studied, from the Celts and Romans, through the Middle Ages, Renaissance and Age of Exploration, to the Industrial and French Revolutions. Students gradually take on more responsibility in The Grove, as they begin to cook for the community, take on the running of a small business, and help support some of the younger students with reading and practical tasks. Alongside the theme sessions, children of this age are offered a programme which includes art, music, games, drama, handwork and cooking, and the development of a more practical and community orientated land programme (including looking after our herd of sheep), as well as continuing opportunities to develop their skills in nature observation.  

Students engage in an annual residential trip, which is carefully selected according to the stage of the group and the offerings available. Past trips for this age group include the Olympics - a 3 night camp with other home educators from the UK on a farm in Frome culminating in an Olympics event (age 10/11); the Lake District 'meeting edges': hiking, scrambling, swimming and sleeping on an island (age 12/13); Camas on the Isle of Mull - participating in community life on the 'edge of the land' with abseiling, kayaking, hiking, coasteering, swimming, gardening and cooking (age 13/14).

Home Ed Focus: This tends to be a busy time for home educating young people! Most engage in maths and English tuition, either online or one-to-one or in small tutor groups. Some also begin classes in experiential science, others in music tuition. Many attend recreational activities such as climbing, martial arts, swimming or other sports clubs, and our area is rich in offering a wide variety of craft groups for young people of this age to join, including woodwork, metalwork, jewellery-making, textiles and pottery. Some families follow a home education curriculum in particular subjects, and many develop their own individual projects. It is really good to give a growing sense of freedom and allow for as much time away from home as works for the young person.