An Update from Pathways: Where We Are, and What Comes Next
A moment to take stock, share recent momentum, and begin the next chapter
Over the past few months, I’ve noticed a growing number of new readers finding their way to Pathways. Some are families curious about alternative secondary education. Others are educators, advisors, or simply people interested in how learning might evolve in a rapidly changing world.
So it feels like a good moment to pause, take stock, and share where Pathways is right now — and where it’s heading.
What Pathways Is (and Why It Exists)
Pathways is a small, project-based secondary learning hub being developed in southern Spain, designed for young people who thrive when learning is meaningful, connected, and grounded in the real world.
It’s the school I was looking for as a parent — and, in many ways, the school I needed as a student myself.
After more than twenty years working in education — as a teacher, school leader, and curriculum designer across Europe and Asia — a consistent theme kept surfacing in conversations with families and students: the traditional secondary model works well for some, but leaves many young people disengaged, anxious, or disconnected from the purpose of their learning.
Pathways is a response to those lived conversations, not to a trend. It’s intentionally small, slow-growing, and human in scale.
What’s Been Unfolding Recently
While Pathways is planned to open as a full secondary programme in September 2027, a great deal is already happening on the ground.
This year, I’ve been working closely with middle school students at Alma Forest School, piloting project-based approaches that mirror the Pathways philosophy. Recently, a small group of students began long-term, real-world projects at a local finca — designing chicken tractors, studying egg production and soil health, planning irrigation systems, building raised garden beds, and developing composting solutions.
What’s been striking isn’t just what they’re learning, but how: curiosity leading the way, subjects integrating naturally, and students developing confidence as problem-solvers rather than passive recipients of information.
Alongside this, Pathways has been quietly gaining momentum:
Growing interest from families locally and internationally
Ongoing conversations around land, legal structures, and accreditation pathways
A recent feature in Euro Weekly News, which helped articulate the vision to a wider audience
None of this feels rushed — and that’s intentional.
The Phase We’re In Now
Pathways is currently in a crucial bridge phase: moving from vision and pilot work into infrastructure.
This includes:
Legal and regulatory groundwork
Accreditation planning
Securing and shaping long-term learning spaces
Building the right team, not a large one
Ensuring the model is financially sustainable without compromising its values
This is the less visible work, but it’s the work that determines whether a school can truly last.
We’re prioritising care over speed, and coherence over scale.
Beginning the Fundraising Conversation
As Pathways moves into this next phase, it also marks the beginning of a broader fundraising conversation — not in the sense of a campaign, but as an invitation.
Schools like Pathways don’t emerge fully formed. They’re built through relationships: with families, educators, advisors, mentors, and early supporters who believe that secondary education can be both rigorous and humane.
Over the coming months, I’ll be sharing more openly about:
what it takes to build a small, values-led school well
the kinds of support that matter most at this stage
and the people and partnerships that will help Pathways grow responsibly
For now, my aim is simply transparency — and gratitude for the many conversations, questions, and quiet encouragement that have helped bring Pathways to where it is today.
If you’re new here, welcome.
If you’ve been following along for a while, thank you.
More soon.
— Rob
About Rob & The Pathways School
Rob Wilson is an educator, writer, and father of two with over 20 years of experience in international, progressive, and experiential education. From rural Maine to Hong Kong, and now Spain, his journey has always revolved around one question: how can we help young people learn in ways that are meaningful, joyful, and truly prepare them for the future?
Born out of this question, The Pathways School is Rob’s answer. Launching in Southern Spain in 2027, Pathways is a high school that blends personalized, project-based learning with real-world readiness and ecological living. At Pathways, students design their own educational journeys—with the guidance of mentors, experts, and peers—rooted in curiosity, purpose, and deep connection to the world around them.
To follow the journey or get involved, subscribe to the blog or reach out. Let’s build something better—together.
