Rebel Junior Academy encourages new talent

It goes without saying that all children should benefit from the same opportunities at school. But in practice, it doesn’t always work out that way. In the Netherlands – and not least in our home city of Rotterdam – not all schoolchildren get the chance to optimize their talents. This goes against everything we as Rebel believe in, so we developed a program in which we give students some extra support. So that they too have the opportunity to realize their full potential.

The challenge

How do you make sure that all children receive the same educational opportunities? By starting close to home. That’s where you can make a real impact. In September 2012, we set up the Rebel Junior Academy – a unique partnership with schools across Rotterdam.

At the Academy, Rebels tutor talented students to help them realize their full potential. The focus is on language skills, general knowledge and critical thinking. Every week, 20 talented students from grades 7 and 8 visit our office. With the guidance of six Rebels, they discuss books, build rockets and take part in debates, to name just a few activities. This gives them the extra insights they need to progress to the higher levels of secondary education and beyond. This initiative is our contribution to the education sector, and therefore to society as a whole. And it works both ways.

As our young Rebels learn and grow, teaching them is an invaluable source of inspiration that helps us stay truly in touch with what is going on in our local community. We hope other companies will also start Junior Academies, and we’d be more than happy to help them on their way.

Team:
Luuc van Tiel
Edzard Scherpbier
Samuel Abraham
Pepijn Maassen
Tim van Walen

Impact

Since 2012, we have tutored 88 students.

Rebel Junior Academy encourages new talent