Study Technology

I have personally found that Study Technology is truly one of the most helpful things a child, or an adult for that matter, can learn. It offers the tools to sharpen one’s ability to read,write and communicate well. At Greenfields, a child isn’t left to flounder when they find themselves up against educational or personal problems– an individual programme helps them through their difficulties until both teacher and student are satisfied

The most important point in this is that Greenfields helps people help themselves. No child is deemed stupid or backward or dyslexic at Greenfields, or less than perfectly capable of understanding and applying what they have learnt if put at the right level and given the right tools. This is more than a technique – it is a whole attitude towards learning.

Classes

The student/teacher ratio at Greenfields where even in the biggest classes one teacher will have only 18, is one of the things that makes this school so unique. As you drift up through the senior school they talk to you more and more as an adult. By the time you get into the Sixth Form lessons have become relaxed, interesting conversations between friends about intellectual and practical ideas. Teachers encourage independent thought, honing their students ability to challenge, discuss and reason.

Greenfields Theatre Company

Greenfields rightly places a high value on the Arts, from acting to painting to dance. This is realised particularly during the last three intensive weeks of the summer term known as GTC – Greenfields Theatre Company. It is a fantastic thing to witness an average day of this – noisy acting rehearsals, period dancing, stage fighting, prop making, lots of girls sewing beautiful costumes, lots of boys being very manly and making swords, while the director somehow co-ordinates everything. It’s really a place where students tap into talents that later shape their careers. One Greenfieldian discovered a love for costume making and she is now designing costumes for the Opera House. Another student found he enjoyed doing lights and sounds during GTC, and proceeded to secure a place at the prestigious Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts.

Staff

Our new Headmaster Mr. Grant Hudson seems to embody the spirit of the school. In him unite creativity, clear-sightedness, aesthetic appreciation, humour and above all an abiding love for the natural goodness, big or small, within people. He genuinely finds something good in everyone, seeking every day to encourage it. He has a joke, a smile, or a word of advice for everyone.

My two unexpected years in the Sixth Form have given me the space, the time and the people I needed to forge a path I never would have dreamt of three years ago. If you’d told me then that I would be going to study English Literature and Language at Oxford University I probably would have just laughed. My intellect has been challenged, my discipline tested and improved, and my goals as an actress, a director, a writer and a singer/songwriter developed alongside it all. A Levels at Greenfields never seemed less like a waste of time! The school’s flexibility, patience and encouragement while I trekked up to London for auditions has really been something. Only this school would put their trust in me to remain academically sound.

At Greenfields children can learn and learn how to learn. Every student, teacher, member of staff and parent at Greenfields form a group that is connected by this simple guiding philosophy in a way that is really quite wonderful.

I’ve been at Greenfields for the past four years. I originally went to a private school in Leicestershire. The difference between the two schools is unreal. I found myself very lost in my studies there. When I came to look around Greenfields, I perceived this school was going to be very different.

The atmosphere was so lovely and I instantly felt welcome and safe here. I knew this was going to be a turning point in my education.

I have always, since the time when I could first pick up a paint brush,wanted to do something with art. In my first art lesson I had here, I suddenly had a realisation that I wanted to become an artist, and from then on I haven’t stopped painting. Since coming to Greenfields I have been able to express myself artistically throughout most areas of my life, whether it is singing, acting, dancing, a simple sketch, picking out an outfit or even applying eye shadow. My confidence has grown dramatically and I now feel ready to go out into the world and be myself.

From Greenfields I wanted to go out and do something important with my life. What I have learnt from art is that it is a communication where someone will look at your work and be able to understand the meaning behind it or the communication it is trying to convey. I have applied this to my life and found I can achieve more and be more successful with this skill. I cannot imagine how my life would have turned out if I had not been able to express myself as I can now.

Study Technology plays an enormous role in the school. I have been fortunate to have had the honour to use Study Technology throughout my GCSEs. Without this I would have really struggled with my academic grades. I can’t imagine ever not using it now, it makes studying easy and you can read through a book having clarity on the whole context.

I’d like to thank my parents for giving me this education, I truly appreciate this and am very grateful.

It’s very hard to sum up my stay at Greenfields. What I can say is that is has been most enjoyable and I have come out with confidence and most importantly understanding.

I have now been a Greenfields for the grand total of 14 years. Having never been to another school, I find it very hard to imagine an environment with bullying or drugs, apathetic teachers or students unwilling to learn. That kind of behaviour just doesn’t exist at Greenfields – it’s a simple fact, it just doesn’t!

After being here for the majority of my life and trying to make sense of why this might be, I think my assumption must be correct: Study Technology. It is hard not to take it for granted after having it all my life, but, when reflecting back on my years past, I know that I would not have the knowledge and abilities I am leaving here with today without the use of this incredible technology.

One of the most significant things that makes Greenfields what it is is the relationship between staff and students. The respect and admiration that is given to us by all the staff at the school is like no other. They treat their students with the same respect as the adults that they are becoming and provide them with the amount of responsibility they deserve.

Mr. Hubbard once wrote, “You can be told what others have achieved in the way of results and what others have observed, but you cannot become truly educated until you have achieved the results for yourself.” I think this applies to what is achieved by any Greenfields student, the ability to see things for yourself rather than taking an authoritarian approach. This is an ability that should be treasured by every member of our society.

Being a graduate of Greenfields School I can honestly say I am ready to tackle the responsibilities of the outside world. I am ready to take on challenges and know I will succeed.

The moment I stepped into the school I knew I wanted to come here. I let my mum know this. She said I could possibly come the following January. But I didn’t ‘possibly want’ to come, I wanted to start that day and not go back to my home in France. I again informed my mother of my decision to start that day, and she laughed and said it was cute.

We got into the taxi and drove off to the airport to go back to France. As we were entering Gatwick airport, my mum swung round in the front seat and asked,“Do you really want to go to Greenfields?” and I said, “Yes!” She ordered the taxi to turn around.

Boarding was an amazing experience. As a boarder I learned to get along with others five to six years older than me and five to six years younger as well. This proved to be very useful in life and still does to this day.

For the first time in my life, I would be excited in the morning when I woke up to go to school. I fell in love with Greenfields and decided that this was where I wanted to continue my education. As I progressed into the Senior School my interest in different subjects increased and I began really enjoying subjects I never thought I would like physics and chemistry, as well as literature and history.

Mr. Hudson is a wonderful Head Teacher. Insouciance could be one word to describe him, but kindness, support and refined know-how in almost every aspect of life is another way.

I really want to thank Mr. L. Ron Hubbard, founder of not only Study Technology but of ethics technology and management tools, which are so key in keeping the school drug-free and bully-free and the resultant peace of mind allows you to be who you truly are.

Hi, my name is Maria. I am Spanish and I’ve been at Greenfields for three years. I was only fourteen years old when I came and I couldn’t speak any English. I heard about the school through a friend who had decided to come here to do A Levels.

When she first told me about it, I thought it was not the place for me. I was scared of living far away from my family and friends. I then started doing worse and worse at school until my mum decided to take me out.

I always thought I just couldn’t study anymore – it felt like it had become pointless for me to work at school. It took me two weeks at Greenfields to realise that I did want to study – but only if it was here.

I was amazed by the way the teachers and students applied Study Technology; I couldn’t believe they had taught me English in two and a half months! I told my mum that I wanted to take GCSEs here. I felt like that was the right decision to make. I can now say I have learnt a lot in every subject I took, and didn’t just pass exams. I can apply it and know it. I also gained self confidence as a person; I feel I can go out there and be successful. I can say Greenfields has changed me completely. Apart from helping me academically, I feel like it has helped me as a person. My responsibility level has gone up dramatically in the last three years. This school is more than a school because of the way the staff work together towards the same goal, and I would like to thank all of them for making it possible for me to have had this experience.

Finally I would like to thank all my family for making it possible for me to come to Greenfields, especially my mum for working so hard to give me a good education, and my dad and sister for having believed in me since I first came. I hope you all feel proud of me for having finished my education in such a great environment.

I have been at Greenfields for the past four years. As soon as I came to the school I felt something different. The teachers actually care about you and your progress. They treat you like a student, a friend, and some even treat you like son, and this feeling is what makes the school so special to me.

I have had lots of good times in the school but I have also had one bad time. When I came to Greenfields the definition of ethics wasn’t properly in my dictionary. I did some things I’m not proud of and was sent back to Spain to do a programme of steps to address my personal ethics.

Whilst I was doing the programme I realised how I missed the school. This reason kept me going and I didn’t give up. The programme really got me in shape and I was ready to start again without any sort of problem. As well as being a student I was a boarder. The Boarding House for me was very special but more special was the experience of being a prefect. Being a prefect gave me a lot more opportunities to be responsible. Also being able to help people around you gives you a great feeling.

I would like to thank all the Boarding Supervisors who always do their utmost to ensure the boarders have an enjoyable time. Thank you to the boarders for making this house like a family. I will deeply miss you all. I want to thank L Ron Hubbard who is the founder of Study Technology, and without this I don’t think I would have gotten through my GCSEs.

When I was younger I thought I would never study and that I was going to quit school at the age of fourteen, but I came to this school and now I’m set to get a career. I’d like to thank my mum, the most valuable person in the world. I will always be thankful for the support you’ve given me.

It was a short time ago that I had given up on education. I had learnt to think of school as something every teen has to suffer through – a place where teachers drone on for hours and one shuffles from class to class and tries to memorise just enough facts and figures to pass their exams. That was my idea of school before I came to Greenfields.

My first day at Greenfields was a day I will not soon forget. I was astonished by the clear sense of purpose the students here had, which was simply – to learn. I found myself eager to attend class and to fully understand the material.

The teachers as a whole were unshakeable in their aim to ensure that every student was reaching their full potential academically and as individuals. I quickly learnt that there was no one you couldn’t talk to, no group you didn’t fit into. To sum up, I had finally learnt that one could really just be themselves and be comfortable as an individual.

Academically, Greenfields turns out students who can rise straight to the top, whether entering the trades or continuing their study at some of the most prestigious institutions of the world. This academic success is of course due to the commitment and passion of the teachers here at Greenfields and the Study Technology they apply written by L. Ron Hubbard.

Having been at a school previously where one rarely encountered a dictionary, let alone any sort of real study aids, I can see the difference Mr. Hubbard’s technology makes. There is an unwavering result in the correct application of his work: it is a child who is absolutely certain of the material he or she is studying. I would like to thank Mr. Hubbard for making it easier to truly learn and understand.

I dedicate my success and my achievements to my parents and I hope I’ve made you proud. In closing I can only hope that I have.