For many, the first step into working with the school is the Introduction (3 days) or Online Introduction + Mentoring. These are designed to give a rich experience and taste of the many ways we work, as well as opportunities to meet us, ask questions and explore possible paths forwards. For those ready to dive into a training there is the possiblity of going straight into the Foundation from these, though many people benefit from joining the Immersion in early July (when the herb garden is at its peak) to drop a little deeper into this work. All of these introductory level courses are stand-alone without any commitment to continue training, though increasingly the vast majory of those coming have a full training in mind.
We open for applications each year between the 1st – 14th January and offer out as many spaces as we are able for the year between 14th January and the end of March. If we don’t have space the year you apply, you are welcome to renew your application and it will be amongst the first to be considered the following year.
This tends to run in May each year, with a second one sometimes in November. They are held by Nathaniel and a final year student assisting and are a little over 3 days at Stroud Slad Farm. We encourage people to camp and stay on site as much as possible (and all switch phones off for the whole time if you can!)
Online Introduction + Mentoring
The online intro class can be taken without mentoring, but if you wish to join the school we ask people to have between 3-5 mentoring sessions with a graduate alongside the online class.
This is a natural follow on from the Intro classes and allows a deep residential immersion in the work at the point of the year when the garden is at its peak. This is always a deep, rich and profoundly catalytic course. Most people who come have done one of the Intro pathways, but – subject to interview – some with appropriate prior experience take this as their first step with the school.