ESS Sees An Increase In Whole Families Overseas Seeking a Waldorf Education With A Kilt

December 16 2024

Visiting students aged 16+ from one of over a thousand Waldorf schools worldwide visit our school to immerse in campus life, stay with a family and sit the Cambridge English Exam, joining Class 10, 11 or 12 for a term or two. In recent years, this ever-evolving pool of international new blood is being energised still further by a growing demographic of visiting students whose whole family are joining our school community for a term or more, as an increasing number of parents take up a sabbatical, secondment or are reaping the benefits of flexible employment abroad and are choosing a Waldorf education in Scotland’s capital as part of the overseas experience.

ESS is the bastion of Waldorf education in Scotland, favoured with families seeking a hiatus from screens in the younger years, an experiential teaching approach that recognises the intellects of a child beyond the lonely academic one – harmonising it with a child’s social, emotional, physical and spiritual needs; and those hoping to gift their young adult a learning environment that strives to be much more than an exams factory, giving space to explore subjects that are not typical of a senior’s timetable.

Freelancer, Molly Clarke, whose two daughters joined present Class 5 and 7 last year from America reflects:

Our two daughters attended ESS for a term as international students and the experience was nothing short of life-changing. Every part, from the inspiring teachers to the joyful festivals and celebrations, the incredible lunches and the warm and welcoming community, was a gift to our family. We would stay forever if we could!

The Edinburgh Steiner School approach to education recognized my children as the unique and wonderful individuals they are while providing an environment that allowed them to blossom and thrive. It instilled a curiosity and love of learning in a beautiful and serene setting. Yet their sense of adventure and excitement was cultivated as well. The school is truly creating well-rounded, compassionate, confident, and community-minded citizens. We all made lifelong friends at ESS and will forever be grateful for our time there.

 

Elsie, Class 5 (above, centre) and sister Maisie, Class 7 now attend a Waldorf school in Maine, keeping in regular contact with their former ESS classmates, who have also visited them in the US.

Our global Waldorf connection with over a thousand schools in some eighty countries offers many a smooth transition into a familiar curriculum and educational ethos that transcends international borders. This is because ‘it follows a series of curriculum themes that meet children and young people’s learning needs in a developmentally appropriate way as they grow and change, offering them opportunities also to develop their inherent qualities and character, knowledge and skills across all fields of learning’ (Waldorf UK).

Sisters Lucy and Sukie joined the Lower and Upper School respectively this Autumn Term whilst their father, Dr Benjamin Tilghman, returned to his Visiting Research Fellow position at Edinburgh University that was cut short due to Covid in 2020. Mother, Darran Tilghman, shared her family’s experience as they soak up their last week of term:

It has been such an amazing experience for both of our girls. The deep, transformative education our children have gotten this term will be with them (and us) for a lifetime. Our family has felt so welcome. You all are the best!”

Darran Tilghman

The Tilghmans at the School’s most recent sold-out ‘Day of the Dead’ Halloween ceilidh, hosted by Class 12 families.

Sarah Schwerzmann joined the NHS as a staff nurse in the Acute Medical Unit at the Royal Infirmary Edinburgh from Switzerland and daughters Anouk and Jaël enrolled into Class 4 and 3 last year. Father Michael Wagner, a Waldorf graduate himself, appreciated the ‘school family’ immensely as they relocated, finding accommodation, changing schools and jobs:

We moved from Switzerland to Edinburgh for one year and got in touch with Edinburgh Steiner School in advance. The Class Teachers contacted us for a video call with our girls when we were still abroad to get to know each other and assess them. Once it was clear which class they would be in, they were announced among the pupils and their parents.

We already received the school newsletter and we were added to the Class parents’ WhatsApp groups, where we were warmly welcomed and all the parents introduced themselves. One family even invited us to a playdate with their daughter before school term started, so that our girls would already know someone on their first day at school. In these WhatsApp groups we were able to ask all school and class-related questions. Information for the classes was either sent directly by the teachers or passed on by the Class Convenors.

Our girls were welcomed by their classes with open arms and they loved to go to school from day one. Although they didn’t speak English by then, they were fully integrated from the very beginning.

Our daughters made huge progress and started correcting our English after three months at school! 😉

They soon made friends and the number of playdates and invitations increased rapidly. Meanwhile, we got to know more and more parents and teachers personally at Parents’ Evenings and school events and by organizing events together such as the Christmas Market or the Spring Fair.

We really felt as part of the “school family” and it was so hard to leave this wonderful community after one year. We definitely made friends for life and will come back to visit this beautiful place again. Our daughters would have loved to spend more years at ESS.