Learning on the road: Stonehenge, Skool Bus, and the development of alternative pedagogies in the new age traveller movement of the 1980s

This work examines the pedagogic origins, formation, and practice of Skool Bus, a charity formed in the late 1980s to provide educational and pastoral support toward a growing number of young children who were living alongside parents and guardians in the new age traveller movement. The chapter begins with a brief overview/history of the new age traveller movement. For simplicity, this summary will be set against the backdrop of the Stonehenge Free Festival, the “Battle of the Beanfield” in 1985, and the demise of the traveller scene in the 1990s. The second part of this chapter will draw upon ethnographic fieldwork, in particular interviews with Richie Cotterill and Celia Kibblewhite, the founders of the Skool Bus, and Elizabeth J. Walker, a volunteer key to curriculum delivery and design for the Bus. Here, the emphasis will be placed upon establishing the pedagogic influences of Skool Bus, not least unpacking Cotterill’s and Kibblewhite’s educational and cultural journeys before the formation of the Skool Bus in the late 1980s.