Nant-y-Cwm Alumni

Otto Carlisle

Renewable Energy Engineering Director

“What I loved about NyC were the lessons. Main lessons were very engaging as you get fully immersed in the subject, which made it very interesting. The emphasis was on the subject as opposed to an exam.“

NyC provided the opportunity to be in nature, to grow up playing in streams, and gave me a practical sense of building things from wood, metal, and through crafts. I learned practical skills that provided me with a strong foundation in life. These days, everything comes in a box, we’ve lost a connection to real life; sustainable living, growing, making and fixing. 

My favourite memory? Two things stick out, the nature walks that we did through the woodland whilst walking up and down streams. Secondly, the deep bond with my classmates. It was more like a family than a class. 

After NyC I went on to do GCSE’s, college, then a mechanical engineering degree at Brunel University leading to a Masters in renewable energy. I specialised in hydrogen and hybrid vehicles and now work on solar, wind and battery storage projects as an Engineering Director.

Joe Hoyle

Founder of ‘Human-Made’ Tech Company

“Steiner education provided the thinking skills that have shaped my success in tech, such as having the persistence to solve problems creatively and seeing the bigger picture. I can draw a lot of lines between what I learnt at NyC and my success in this career.“

Human Made is a remote tech company with 100 distributed employees working all over the world. I co-founded the company with my brother who also attended Nant y Cwm and my sister, our VP of finance, also went to NYC.

At 17 I really delved into tech and was the whizz kid that knew everything about computers. Once I became interested, I progressed rapidly. You don’t need a childhood using computers to develop the skills to excel with them.

I didn’t have tech at home when I was a child, we didn’t have a computer until I was 14, and no television. After finishing school I really got interested in programming and it was an advantage that it wasn’t normalised for me in childhood.

Anna Hargreaves

Oxford University Alumnus and Environmental Educator

“The topic of my University thesis was the importance of play during early years education. This is one of the main reasons I moved back to Pembrokeshire, to send my own children to Nant-y-Cwm school. I felt I left NyC with curiosity and the confidence to ask if I didn’t understand. We were encouraged to
ask questions not only for clarification, but also to get greater depth on areas you were interested in.”

After NyC I went on to do A-levels at Pembrokeshire College followed
by a degree in Human Sciences at Oxford. Since then I’ve always been
involved with connecting people with the environment, through outdoor
adventure, expeditions and various educational programmes.

I love that they start formal academic learning later, in line with other European countries and plenty of research that backs up the importance of focussing on emotional, social and physical development, before academic development.

NyC is offers exceptional care and warmth to children. The teachers and the staff have the child’s best interest at heart.

My favourite memories were on the fantastic class trips and, going to Switzerland in our last year. We had to raise the funds for the trip as a class, and it was a great learning opportunity.

NYC helped me foster my connection to, and love of nature, something every child needs now, more than ever.