Sydney’s alternative school goes mainstream – and gets a new name

The experiment is over. Lindfield Learning Village – once sold as Sydney’s public school of the future, with no uniforms, report cards or bells – is undergoing a major rebrand.

Under principal Ben Rekic, the school is introducing a new compulsory uniform, traditional report cards for all students and a new name: Lindfield College.

Nestled in the backstreets of Sydney’s upper north shore, the school was opened in 2019 by the former Coalition government as a radical alternative to the traditional classroom. Students were taught through “project-based, multidisciplinary learning”, addressed teachers by their first names, and advanced through a “stage not age” approach based on progress rather than year level.

But Rekic, who took over in December 2024 after the founding leadership team was moved on, is adamant the era of experimentation is finished.

When asked if the school still sees itself as alternative, he says: “Absolutely not. We are proudly public comprehensive.”

The school of the future

When Lindfield Learning Village opened, it attracted students from all over the world, with more than 3000 on its waiting list. But in the five years since, enthusiasm has cooled.

A proposed rezoning that would have funnelled parts of Killara and Lindfield into the school’s catchment was pushed back to 2028 after opposition from parents who had bought into the area for Killara High. Both are among the top comprehensive schools in the HSC.

A recent school community survey of more than 1000 people revealed a divide between existing families who chose Lindfield, and the prospective in‑zone parents who soon may have no choice.

While current families are comfortable with the casual “multiform”, prospective parents cited the lack of a uniform as a primary reason for hesitating.

“We see our catchment families as genuine stakeholders,” Rekic said. “We want to give them a voice.”

The school’s academic profile is rising. Last year, a quarter of its HSC cohort achieved Band 6 results, and its NAPLAN outcomes sit above the state average across all year levels.

Rekic believes the school’s “experimental” label has overshadowed its academic strength.

“I was expecting alternative, experimental, very unstructured; what I got was a very clearly systemised and structured approach, particularly to explicit teaching.”

Parent Verena Conti said these perceptions were misguided. “What is now called explicit teaching is something our school has been doing for years,” she said.

What is changing and why

Nonetheless, the school is overhauling its public image. The change in name to Lindfield College was driven by students and staff.

Senior student Matthew Harman said he avoids using the school’s full name, arguing the word “village” sounds “odd” and fuels public misconceptions that they attend an alternative “special school”.

Twice-yearly parent-teacher nights will be introduced, and all students will receive report cards, not just those in year 11 and 12.

Lunchtime and recess will no longer be called KitKat and Picnic, which students found to be childish. To the displeasure of most students, the school will design new uniforms.

Perryn Herran and Matthew called for the incoming uniform to be comfortable, more akin to a sports uniform than traditional shirt and blazer.

But the vestiges of its unorthodox past are difficult to shake, in part due to the school’s design. The heritage-listed former University of Technology campus is a labyrinth of hallways and staircases leading to high-quality facilities that rival many private schools.

There’s the fully functioning theatrette, indoor squash courts, professional recording studios, fully equipped rooms dedicated ceramics, photography and textiles. These resources are currently underutilised.

Rekic sees the school’s sprawling amenities as one of its “natural advantages,” and plans to introduce a new high-potential and gifted education program focused on the performing arts as well as a specialist STEM program delivered in partnership with local primary schools.

The school will gain a central library as well as a dedicated Year 12 study space – one of the key demands of senior students, according to inaugural school captains Matthew and Perryn.

Some founding features will remain. Students will still address teachers by their first names, a practice Rekic says fosters a university-style rapport. “I really believe those relationships, alongside explicit teaching, are a big factor in our HSC results,” he said.

The school will also remain bell-free – “we found that it helps kids with their self‑organisation,” said Rekic – but more clocks will be installed, at the request of kindergarten students.

Transdisciplinary “quest” projects, where students tackle a single question across multiple subjects, remain central to the timetable. The school will keep its live, continuous reporting system and student‑led conferences, but these will now sit alongside more traditional report cards and parent–teacher nights.

Matthew has high hopes for the school’s future: “I haven’t been to any other school … but I’d say this has prepared me pretty well.”

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CORRECTION

This article has been updated to correct a misspelling of Perryn’s surname from Herron to Herran.