Established 1996 Phone +44 1603 622288 | Headteacher Carrie Herbert Founded 1996 | |
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Location Cambridge, Norwich
North London
England Website www.redballoonlearner.com Address 76 Earlham Rd, Norwich NR2 3DF, UK Similar Daynes Sports Centre, The Sir Isaac Newton S, Magdalen Gates Primary S, Sewell Park Academy, Edith Cavell Academy Profiles | ||
Red Balloon Learner Centres, often referred to as Red Balloons, are UK specialist learner centres providing a safe, full-time learning environment for children aged eleven to sixteen who have self excluded from mainstream school for reasons of being the victim of bullying, assault or trauma. The first centre, in Cambridge, was set up in 1996. There are now five centres: Cambridge, Norwich, northwest London at Harrow, Merseyside and Reading. There is also a 'virtual centre' called "Red Balloon of the Air" whose aim is to provide a recovery programme online to children who live too far from one of the physical centres. The Red Balloon Learner Centre Group is a registered charity, as are the individual centres.
General information
The main aims of the Red Balloon are to:
The staff and students at a centre work together as a community. The centres provide a range of activities such as textiles, clay-work, painting, African drumming, electric guitar and piano. Typical facilities include a purpose-made science lab, a technology studio, a landscaped garden and a therapy room. There are only fifteen students at any one time, and most of the teaching is done on a one-to-one or small group basis, with the exception of sports, drama and PSHE activities.
Notable donors to the Cambridge Red Balloon include the Freemasons' Grand Charity and Cambridge University Press football club.