Gathered Time
Peace School is a community of learning; the residentials are the gathered times of the community.
The summer school is a time of building relationships as much as a time of learning and discussion, and the weekends bring the community back together again to reflect on, learn from, and support one another on our own journeys.
The residentials provide a balance of structured time, socialising/community building time, and the opportunity for personal time if desired.
Food, and the celebration of eating together, is an integral part of Peace School. The residentials include all food. In order to keep costs down to a minimum, and also as an important part of community building, all participants and facilitators play a part in preparing the food and cleaning up after meals! (time is allocated for this so no-one misses any sessions). The food is (as much as possible) organic, locally sourced and fairly traded. The menu varies each day with some days having a focus on simplicity and others on feasting! Any dietary requirements can be catered for, please let us know when booking.
Accommodation is included too, and is in dormitories of two to six people sharing. Rooms are separated into male and female dorms; however we will do our best to accommodate any requests for sharing if made in advance.
The programme for the weekend residentials starts on the Friday night and finishes on the Sunday afternoon (Friday evening to the following Friday morning for the summer school). Timetables for the programme structure on residentials are available here.
Summer School
The Peace School year begins with an introductory summer school that runs for a week in August. The dates for the 2010/11 year are:
Friday 13th August – Friday 20th August 2010
The summer school is held at the West End Outdoor Centre near Harrogate in North Yorkshire.
Participants
arrive for the summer school on the Friday night to register, settle in
and share a meal together. Programmed activity begins on the Saturday morning
and runs through until the following Friday morning. The days will usually
include eight hours of structured time including discussion, reflection
time, small
group
work and teaching. Evenings are less structured though optional activities
such as extended Q&A sessions, film showings and discussions, or trips
to the pub, are arranged. One afternoon during the week is also designated ‘free-time’ and
a relaxing group activity is arranged for those who wish to take part. Time
is also set aside each day for prayer and worship for those who wish to join
in.
A timetable of the programme for the summer school is on the following page.
Directions and details of the venue are available on the West End Outdoor Centre website. Lifts will be available from the bus and railway station in Harrogate to the centre.
Weekend Residentials
The weekend residentials begin on the Friday evening with the first session taking place after dinner. The Saturday runs the same as a day during the Summer School, and the weekend finishes mid-afternoon on the Sunday.
The dates for 2009/10 are:
Friday 22nd - Sunday 24th October 2010
Friday 21st - Sunday 23rd January 2011
Friday 8th - Sunday 10th April 2011
Friday 17th June - Sunday 19th June 2011
Weekend residentials take place at a residential centre/ bunkbarn. The weekend venue for this year has yet to be confirmed but will be in a location with national bus and train links.
A timetable of the programme for the weekend residentials is available on the following pages, though these programmes will be open to change as the community gather during the summer school and discuss areas to focus on during the weekends.
