Estate Living Digital Publication Issue 3 March 2015 | Seite 42

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Hazeldean Campus
the 75 iconic figures were Harvard
graduates, whilst only 13 – a dismal
17% – had no university degree at
all. Some might see this as a strong
argument that, as a society, we seem
to be placing less and less emphasis
on the importance of education,
especially when you consider that
Bill Gates, unquestionably one of the
world’s wealthiest icons, possesses
everything other than a degree. Of
course, this overlooks the fact that
Gates actually did gain admission
to Harvard University, as a result of
a sound high school education, but
chose to drop out after two years.
There will always be that small
group, that 17%, who achieve
iconic status despite a lack of
formal education (business leaders
like Richard Branson and Mark
Zuckerberg, and celebrity icons
such as footballers, singers and
actors, to name but a few). Whilst
it would be extremely unfair for us
to either detract from their success

or disparage them for their lack of
education, the fact remains that a
good education remains one of the
most valuable assets a parent can
gift their children.
After all, the the old and wise saying
is extremely relevant today, as it
has been for many years: ‘there
are many people who can read, but
don’t; there are very few who can’t
read who don’t want to’. When
the founders of the Curro Holdings
opened their first school some 16
years ago, in the vestry of a church
and with a handful of children, they
had in mind only one icon: the pupil.
Curro wanted to honour the child
who would become the adult who,
perhaps others would one day,
celebrate as a ‘most influential
person’. We have never lost sight
of the fact that the true purpose of
educating a child is to make minds,
not careers, and is the reason our
learners are taught how to think

Aurora Campus

rather than what to think. We believe
that each school is a community
where learners figure out how to
work and play together.
Through formal knowledge acquired
through firm study and informal
social graces of empathy and
kindness gleaned from the school
community, our learners are fully
prepared for one of the biggest roles
they will ever take: that of becoming
good citizens. This is the minimum
that we, as educators, can expect
from our pupils. Curro is not based
on ‘a wish and a prayer’ ideology, but
instead implements practical steps
to ensure that we make a difference.
We certainly don’t believe education
happens only within the four walls of
a classroom; as a wise philosopher