Outdoors to find a love of learning

A rural facility at Tamborine is providing a second chance for students who have struggled to fit into the traditional education model.

Woodstock Farm in Plunkett Road is run by the charity Youth Enterprise Trust (YET), which aims to improve the lives of young people through engagement with the environment, education and entrepreneurship.

YET has launched a groundbreaking Education Queensland (EQ) program that takes a more flexible approach to secondary school learning.

Participants engage in more outdoor, physical and environmental activities to learn elements within the EQ literacy and numeracy curriculum.

YET chief executive officer Ian Frame says 15 students from years 7 to 9 have entered the program. They are from schools in Flagstone, Park Ridge, Yarrabilba and Beaudesert.

‘We see students who previously had very high rates of truancy now logging 100 per cent attendance,’ Ian says.

Division 4 Councillor Nathan St Ledger says YET and the students deserve praise for their efforts.

‘I visited Woodstock and saw the fantastic work being put in,’ he says.

‘Not only are these kids getting a second chance to develop their education, but they are also learning skills that will help them later in life.’

For more information go to www.yet.org.au 

Photo at top: Cr St Ledger (left) inspects Woodstock Farm in Tamborine with YET CEO Ian Frame.