Robert Lobatto leaves The King Alfred School at the end of summer term and retires to his home in Crouch End after 35 years in education.
The 700-pupil school between Golders Green and Hampstead Garden Suburb has many parents hailing from the world of the film, media, books and music.
The King Alfred School is known for its creativity with strong art, drama and music provision. (Image: The King Alfred School.)
Founded with a non-traditional ethos of “no rewards, no punishments,” it was long ago dubbed ‘the treehouse school’ for the play space in the grounds where lessons are sometimes taught.
Many of the four to 18-year-old students excel in art, music and photography – they have their own theatre, and a forge where they learn blacksmithing.
But under Mr Lobatto’s watchful eye, academic results have also risen – without the stress-inducing pressure of other schools.
The King Alfred School has a treehouse, a forge and a fully functioning theatre. (Image: Levi Lily Photography)
The former history teacher started in the state system but left in 2015 to join King Alfred’s.
He was drawn to its strong child-centred ethos that he felt increasingly unable to deliver in the results-obsessed state system.
“I knew it had a strong philosophy to bring out the best in every individual kid rather than fitting them into a system,” he told the Ham&High.
“It was a time when the state system had changed a lot and become very narrow in its vision of what education should be. I wanted to get back to the reason I had become a teacher in the first place. I was fortunate to find that at King Alfred.”
The King Alfred School works by trusting the pupils and growing their confidence. (Image: Lily Levy Photography)
His vision was “to support a child to grow and develop in all their aspects; intellect, skills, emotions and confidence and make the best of what they have”.
He added: “The state system became very focused on exam results which creates pressures for individual children and can work against mental health and wellbeing.
“I wanted something much more holistic. Often it’s presented as one or the other, but since I have been here you can see these things are not a choice – you can have strong academic success and a holistic education.”
He cites educational philosopher Ken Robinson who compared some schools to factories, prizing conformity over creativity and outputs over everything.
By contrast some schools are gardens where Mr Lobatto says “you create and nurture an environment, plant the seeds, and they grow”.
He insists “it’s not rewilding or random chaos” but a thoughtful philosophy that fosters mutual respect and trust.
“Yes there’s no school uniform, it’s informal relationships, first name terms, there’s a lot of freedom, but that comes with expectations about how the kids behave, what they want to achieve.”
While state school punishments train children to be “compliant” at King Alfred’s he has found “lovely relationships between teachers and students”.
“People think we are a bit free range, and we do give the kids a lot of control, but the real key is trusting the kids within a structured environment.
“You can’t just give a kid agency and expect creativity, that’s a recipe for disaster you need a lot of structures to support it.”
At King Alfred there are clear boundaries around behaviour and if pupils cross them it will be addressed.
But he says: “When I worked in a tough inner city state school I could exclude five kids a week, here if I excluded one a year it would be a lot and only after trying everything else.”
One of the keys is King Alfred’s tight knit, supportive community, between parents and pupils and staff.
“People often say there is a really strong heart to the place. The teachers ‘see’ every child and know what makes them tick.”
Creativity he says runs throughout the school in maths, science or design technology as well as in the arts.
Past pupils built their own boat – now current pupils sail in East Anglia or on The Welsh Harp.
As for challenges he says special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and neurodiversity are on the rise, and some pupils arrive from other schools highly anxious.
“We work hard not to create stress or anxiety – competition creates anxiety and we are not a competitive school. Kids from other schools often come to us quite anxious but after a time in the right environment we see them unwind.”
He has loved working with adolescents who he says are sometimes complicated and confused but always interesting.
He sees his mission as enabling them to blossom with “self confidence and self-belief to find their own paths” and to “prepare them to navigate the world as it’s going to take shape”.
He will most miss being part of a community.
“I will miss the staff, and the parents who understand that the skills and qualities their children need to be successful are not always delivered by a more conventional education.
“What I am proud of is we have defined our vision put it into practice – and it works.”
