A new school of thought
No shoes and no homework, a timetable of treeclimbing and rock-hopping and a scholarship granted for kindness … welcome to the Gold Coast’s newest and smallest school
THEY call her the barefoot principal.
Bianca Nuss, her staff and her students wear no shoes and do no homework.
Her school’s weekly timetable includes tree climbing, playing in the ocean fully clothed and walking in the rain.
Her teachers are called coaches and the school employs an art therapist and trauma counsellor for its mixed-age classrooms. There is even a scholarship granted for kindness.
But The Village School in Coolangatta is also fully accredited, follows the Australian Curriculum and is completely Covid compliant. Bianca herself taught at a number of elite private schools on the Gold Coast and Brisbane before founding this unconventional labour of love. And while her Coolangatta campus, housed on the second floor of an office building on Griffith St, has been
open only six months, its brand-new vision of education is seeing students and staff alike line up to join its way of thinking – and feeling. This bid to make education more engaging is certainly seeing results. The enrolment waitlist already extends to 2027, while Bianca has been inundated by applications from teachers seeking a seachange from traditional schooling. Perhaps it’s little wonder, with students and educators spending parts of their days outside school grounds, exploring local parks and beaches and interacting with the community. They even have reading and math lessons on the beach.
Of course, as the school’s popularity grows, so too does
its reputation … as does its principal’s.
“The latest rumour I’ve heard is that they call me the barefoot principal,” laughs Bianca, whose nondenominational institution is the smallest independent school on the Coast.
“I’m not sure if that’s meant to be a compliment or a joke … but it is true.
“To me, it symbolises that what we’re doing here is different. But it’s different in a good way, and I think a lot of other schools are starting to realise that.
“We’re now getting phone calls from other principals asking if they can tour the school, we have teachers wanting to see what methods they can take back to their classroom … it’s fantastic to see our style so embraced.”
Defining its style isn’t so easy, however, since
The Village School isn’t a fan of labels.
She says while the school ensures it teaches all required minutes of English, maths, science and more, it also focuses on emotional intelligence, resilience and kindness.
Bianca describes it as being inspired by a mix of Steiner, Montessori and Reggio Emilio schooling, but says that ultimately it’s about leading with the heart.
“We have a drama/play/art therapist and trauma counsellor that comes in twice a week to check in with children,” says Bianca.
“Nobody can learn if their heart hurts, but that is not always acknowledged with the ‘she’ll be right mate’ attitude. We work hard to ensure our students thrive, but first they need to feel safe, valued and heard in our space.
“We also offer a kindness scholarship for a term. It’s wonderful because all students are eligible and people being kind is what the world needs. We want to help our Villagers grow up to be kind and epic human beings.
“That’s why we climb trees, we go boulder and rock poolhopping, we swim in our clothes and we walk a lot. To us, resilience is being uncomfortable but knowing you are safe … and then being able to do something about it.
“We sometimes walk to school a little cold and very sandy. It makes you appreciate that celebratory feeling when you get to put dry clothes on and eat your lunch.
“We head out in the rain – safety is considered of course – dressed in reef shoes and rain jackets. Why? Because rain can be fun and artistic and quiet. Nobody is out. We need to teach students that life is not always sunshine, there is magic in clouds, rain and puddles.
“Experience and enjoy life and the world around you in the rain and in the sunshine –
both are important. There are no umbrellas here, you can’t climb a boulder if you have something in your hands.”
Bianca says the school day also includes practical lessons, whether that’s teaching table manners or how to succeed in losing.
She says the school’s ethos is not that every child wins a trophy, but that every child knows they are worthy.
“We believe in failing forward. It’s not about perfection but excellence – and excellence is only achieved by trying again and again,” she says.
“Excellence applies to manners as well. Every meal we sit at a table, filled with fresh flowers, and the children must ask to be excused. They cannot have their knees or feet on the table, they clean up after themselves and they have conversations with differentaged peers around the table.
“We’ve even had a few opportunities to try out our manners at the Rockleigh Cafe across the road from us.
“We gave each child a dollar – and then realised some didn’t know what a dollar coin was. It’s amazing how much ‘tap-and-go’ is taking away from our students’ financial knowledge.
“We taught each child how to line up and wait patiently for their turn. They placed their order, paid for their babycino, then had to find a seat and wait.
“There were so many lessons learned … patience as they watched other babycinos arrive before theirs, learning how to keep themselves busy by exploring what is in the newspaper or magazines, chatting to their elbow buddy, enjoying their babycino, then packing up and saying thank you.
“It was magical for all of us.” In fact, one of the biggest characters at The Village School is the village of Coolangatta itself.
Bianca and her students have become something of a mascot for the community, which struggled under the border shutdown of 2021.
The Village School suffered as well, with a snap lockdown called at the end of only their third week of existence.
“In the fourth week, the border walls went up and it was very difficult. Our parents struggled at the border crossing because the officers had not heard of us.
“Some of our families moved just so their children could keep attending in person.
“The community of Coolangatta really suffered, and we tried to be a light in that darkness.
“Since we purposely have no playground in the school, the suburb is our playground – and the locals love it.
“Every day when we go out on our excursions, the children start singing when they get to Cafe Scooterini. This was something they started during lockdown, all on their own. They sing for the staff and the customers – Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree is their favourite.
“Now when we go out, we see some of the older residents at the cafe waving at us and saying ‘here they come!’. It’s precious.
“Our parents have started a coffee fund for the staff at the local cafe – it was a beautiful surprise and a wonderful way for them to show their appreciation while supporting our local businesses. This is what place-based education is all about. You’re not just in the community, you are part of it.”
When it comes to why she decided to open a school, Bianca’s answer is obvious – it was personal.
As a teacher for years, she says she was inspired by becoming a mother – and watching how much her daughter enjoyed kindergarten.
“They say you should teach your students as if the next prime minister was in your class. For me, you should teach as if your children are in your class.
“What do you want them to know? How do you want them to treat people? After becoming a mum, I taught like my daughter was in my class … and my teaching completely changed.
“Then my daughter started at Broadbeach Waters Kindergarten and it was beautiful. I began asking why schools couldn’t be more like kindy … why can’t children wear tutus to school? Or take their shoes off in the classroom?
“Finally, I had another parent that asked if I had ever thought of opening a school.
“I thought, let’s do it. Let’s change education in Australia.”
But Bianca says the dream was far easier than the reality.
She says it took more than three years to become “an overnight success”.
“Who opens a school?” She laughs.
“There were so many hoops that needed to jumped: zoning requirements, traffic requirements, noise requirements, bathroom and waste requirements, building codes, fire hazards and more.
“We inspected hundreds of sites from Tweed Heads to Coomera and I lost count at the number of investors and builders approached, town planners and architects engaged and sites rejected or that fell through.
“In the end it was my family, our amazing landlord, the Village School Board of Directors, Independent Schools Queensland and our growing Village community that helped make it all happen.
“I’ve cried so many times on this journey, but now it’s tears of joy. We really did it.”
While the demand is already there for further expansion, Bianca is not sure she’s up for that challenge just yet, with her focus firmly set on the school’s first full year.
However it is always on her radar.
“Since opening, we have had interest to start Village Schools from people on the northern Gold Coast, Melbourne, Northern Rivers, Perth and even India.
“I have dreams of opening the Gold Coast’s first selfsustainable kindergarten/ forest school to year 12, however there are many hoops and hurdles and red tape to get around and through before achieving this goal … and our vision is not to grow our brand beyond its current leaders for now.
“This journey has been challenging to say the least. However, I strongly encourage anyone who wants to follow a similar path to chase that dream, it is well worth the effort.”
It seems like the perfect expression for this Village that raises children: keep your head in the clouds, and your bare feet on the ground.