Sail Away

As the world’s oldest active fully rigged tall ship prepares for her next journey around the Atlantic, a privileged crew of students are privy to an invaluable life experience, as Julia Millen discovers

Sail across the world and live a life of adventure, sailing, and exploring exotic cultures while completing grade 11, 12, or a gap year. A + World Academy provides students with the opportunity to undertake an elite global educational endeavor. Students embark on a 10-month journey that takes them to over 15 ports of call across the Atlantic Ocean as they attend a fully accredited high school on the world’s oldest active fully rigged tall ship. Dr Kevin Kessler explains “We equip our students with maritime training, allowing them to take on the responsibilities required to sail and maintain our beautiful ship, the Sørlandet. Our students’ lives are transformed as the program creates an atmosphere of self-actualisation. Ship life is structured in a way that allows for the discovery of self and the world. Aboard the ship, students enter into a close-knit community of peers that experience the world rather than looking at photos on social media or reading about cultures from a textbook. This experience creates resilient, globalised, and con dent young adults who are ready to become the global leaders they are meant to be.”

Students can choose from standard classes, Pre-AP®, or AP® courses taught by on-ship teachers as they sail from port to port. Once in port, students will participate in one of the most unique educational experiences on Earth. e service-learning opportunities will bring students into contact with diverse topics such as the effects of tourism on the ecological environment, loss of biodiversity, water crisis in urban cities, and social issues shared around the world. Students can then venture into these affected areas and take part in providing sustainable solutions. These types of problem-solving service-learning experiences are replicated in a number of ports around the world. A+ World Academy’s educational philosophy promotes an abundance of curiosity and wonder as our students tackle real-world problems. Throughout the voyage, global education also includes unique cultural activities like camel riding in Morocco and unforgettable adventures like climbing volcanoes on secluded islands. Dr Kessler concludes: “These robust growth opportunities coupled with our unique learning environment lead to elite graduates who stand apart from the rest in their university applications. In fact, our alumni attend top universities in countries across Europe and North America. There are still limited enrollment opportunities left for the 2021 school year and we are currently taking applications for the 2022-2023 school year.”

www.aplusworldacademy.org