Could you imagine going to school on a mountaintop or even a train platform?
Far beyond squat buildings and assembly halls, these unique school settings around the world are sure to fascinate – and educate!
Train Platform School, India
Seeing children begging for money on train station platforms was enough for Inderjit Khurana, a compassionate schoolteacher, to create her own train platform school.
While initial education here included flash cards, excursions and entertainment, the school soon extended into vocational training and now provides children with the skills they need to obtain jobs and support themselves in environments of poverty.
Cave School, China
In the region of Guizhou, residents decided to address the lack of education for local children by opening a school in a cave back in 1984. They named it the Mid-Cave Primary School and it sat on the side of a mountain.
With wooden desks inside and even a basketball court, the school thrived for many years until the Chinese Government forced it to close down in 2011.
Elf School, Iceland
For those who believe there’s more to Middle Earth than meets the eye, this elf school is the place to be! In Reykjavik, studying the 13 elf races is offered, along with their behaviours and habitats. Some education is also dedicated to the study of fairies, trolls and dwarves.
Gulu Village Primary School, China
High in the mountains in the Sichuan Province of China is this primary school, which is likely the most remote on the planet. It takes around 5 hours from the base of the mountain to get to this school, and the journey is wrought with mind-boggling drops and dangerous mountainside pathways.
Witch School, USA
Move over, Hogwarts! For those of you craving a real-life magical education, this Witch School – with a campus in Salem, Massachusetts – offers the chance to study everything witchy, from Paganism to Divinatory Arts.
Floating School, Bangladesh
In Bangladesh, children often have to travel for hours to get to school, and during the monsoon season, floods can make this impossible.
The solution? A Bangladeshi architect decided to create floating ‘boat’ schools – so that education could come to the children, rather than the other way around. Amazingly, some of the boats also feature rooftop playgrounds.
Walt Disney Elementary School, USA
Contrary to what you 05/think, this isn’t a school for cartoon characters! This cool elementary school in Pennsylvania was built in 1954 and the kids requested they name it after Walt Disney. Disney himself visited the school, much to everyone’s joy, in 1955.