The Red Balloon
by Guilhem Alandry
The Red Balloon, Cambridge, UK, is a very special school. Here Carrie Herbert, a long life educator, has been welcoming for 11 years now, girls and boys victims of bullying. 10 to 12 of them (from the age of 11 to 16) study in a cosy Victorian house, in the heart of Cambridge. The school is probably unique in the world, a surprising record considering that in Great Britain bullism is an emergency (France and Italy immediately follow). At the Red Balloon, 30 up to 40 percent of the lessons focus on personal education and the difficult task of socializing. The pupils follow the standard national program but can chose the subjects as well – from Japanese to history of religions – and they have one to one lessons. Every day they also have sports, reading and chat/tea-coffee breaks, but the most important moment is lunch time: "Crucial to socialize", point out Carrie Herbert.
To be accepted at the Red Balloon children must have been severely bullied; then there are some rules to stay there: "You must want to come here", explain Carrie, "and be willing to learn. You must respect the other students, the teachers, the dogs (Nushie and Lucy, Carrie’s poodles) and the property". Carrie started the Red Balloon 11 years ago, in her family house: "I kept meeting teachers with awful stories about children forced to leave school because they couldn’t bear to be bullied anymore. At a certain point, even my niece became a victim of bullism. I’ve been working as a counselor in schools for many years and I perfectly knew you don’t become bullied or a victim at 18, you grow up like that. I had to do something". Her children, confident, happy, very bright, are the best witness of her success.
Text by Chiara Alpago-Novello
