Project: Weekendschool
Organisation: Stichting IMC Weekendschool
Mission
Since 1998, the IMC Weekendschool has been providing supplementary education for youth in the poorest districts of the Netherlands. They prepare young people for the most important step after their school life and help them to make motivated choices for the future. They are committed that young people at all school levels and of all social backgrounds can take a place in society that matches their interests and capabilities.
Program
At the Weekendschool, young people from the age of ten attend classes every week for three years. In the classes enthusiastic professionals introduce them to their professional domains. This approach to education has demonstrated positive long-term effects on the lives of participants: on their future perspectives, self-confidence, social cohesion, and motivation. The successful educational concept is a supplement to regular education. It is offered in schools on Sundays as a 3-year curriculum or as a 2-year curriculum for half a day each week, during school hours in primary schools. Children experience what it is like to be a journalist, philosopher, or surgeon, and experience it by working with (real) examples from actual practice. They learn skills such as conducting conversations, asking questions, presenting, and working together. And they start to believe in themselves and start to dream about the future.
Impact
The IMC Weekendschool has ten-weekend schools in seven major cities, forty primary education locations, twelve schools for newcomer children, and a flourishing alumni network with 4,000 former students.