A school where your child actually learns something.
We're building a school in Munich where children learn at their own pace, work on real things, and walk out the door having actually learned something. Children who understand the world, can make things happen in it, take their own decisions — and know what they care about fighting for. The 2026 summer camp is our first public step.
Whether you're a parent, teacher, investor, or builder: we'd love to hear from you.
What children actually learn at Agens
Understand the world
Understand how things actually hang together — from the receipt at the supermarket to what's in the news tonight. Knowledge that holds up, because the child has really thought it through. Not facts memorised for a test and gone by next week.
Make things happen
Have an idea — and be able to carry it out. Write, build, talk to people, use a tool, run a small project from start to finish. The point where knowing turns into doing something in the world.
Take their own decisions
Not wait for someone else to say what to do. That disposition only grows when children genuinely get to decide things in their daily life — and feel the consequences. Inside a protected frame, with clear rules: responsibility for small things first, scope widening with age. Not "do whatever you want" — but being taken seriously, step by step.
Know what they care about
Children should find something that really means something to them — not just what other people expect of them. We expose them to a lot, try things with them, and pay close attention to what they themselves light up for.
Truly learn things
At Agens, a child moves on when they've truly mastered something — not when the class moves on. Knowledge builds piece by piece, without the gaps that come back to bite later. Effort is part of the deal — and to have truly learned something is one of the best experiences a child can have.
Why this matters
Children spend 13 years in school — the most formative years of their lives. That time should be worth it. Parents want more for their children than school today often delivers: that they stay curious, learn with real interest, and actually understand what they're doing by the end. That's the school we're building. Yes, learning takes real effort. But a child should be able to see the point of that effort: what it's for, where it's going, and what they're actually learning along the way. When that works, school itself is good enough — and families get the evenings and weekends back to simply be a family again.
What a school day at Agens actually looks like
Mornings are for the foundations: reading, writing, maths, vocabulary, facts. Each child works at their own pace on an e-ink tablet — easy on the eyes, almost like paper. Learning guides are in the room, step in when something gets stuck, and see clearly where each child actually stands. Afternoons move into the workshops: art, music, craft, experiments, discussion of cases from history and ethics, projects with a real outcome. Every day also includes time the children themselves decide what to do with — reading, being outside, building on something of their own. We deliberately keep the three parts separate: learning facts is not the same thing as learning to draw, and drawing is not the same thing as seeing a project through. Each kind of learning gets the time and the teaching form it actually needs.
Paths to Agens
Three patterns in which families recognise Agens for themselves — many see themselves in more than one. If one of these is you, talk to us.
When your child wants more than the class can hold
At Agens, every child learns at the speed they can — and to the depth they want. They move on the moment they have actually mastered something. No waiting for the rest, no half-understood gaps, no make-work worksheets — and a peer environment where being fast and curious is the norm, not the exception.
When you want Montessori carried further
We share the Montessori idea that children are learners in their own right, not vessels to be filled — and we carry it further: a clear curriculum that can take every child reliably to Abitur level; real responsibility that grows with age; software that handles the practice so the workshop can become the essential thing. For families who value progressive pedagogy — and believe a child deserves both freedom and substance.
When you want global pedagogy with German depth
Agens brings together what elsewhere stays apart: mastery learning from Austin, the prepared environment from the Montessori tradition, responsibility-as-curriculum from Berlin — and the German tradition of Bildung that insists on real substance behind it: a clear curriculum that takes every child to Abitur level, rooted in Bavaria, with English as an equal working language from day one. For families who have seen the world — and believe something worthwhile can be built from what they have seen.
Different from a regular school, different from a classical Montessori
Regular school structures the morning and neglects the afternoon. Classical Montessori does the reverse — beautiful afternoons, soft mornings. Agens does both with conviction: in the morning every child works at their own pace on what they need to learn; in the afternoon, workshops, projects, real responsibility, real conversation. The morning makes the afternoon possible. The afternoon makes the morning worth it.
Where you may be better served elsewhere: If what matters most is the highest possible Abitur grade, a strong Munich Gymnasium is built for that. If you want a school with no curriculum and no structured practice, democratic schools or unschooling are closer. Both are good answers — they are simply not ours. So that Agens isn't reduced to a question of money, we fund a stipend pool from day one; so that what we build carries beyond our own school, our curriculum and platform are open source.
Our goal: Found a school
We are building a school in Munich that meets every child where they actually are — not where a curriculum assumes them to be. No child should be moved on with gaps, and none should be stuck being bored because the rest of the class isn't there yet. What every child needs to learn reliably, they learn here; what goes beyond that, each child chooses for themselves. We think of school more like a good garden than a factory: we provide the soil, the light, the attention — but we don't pull on the stems. A child's drive to engage is built from many small sources: a trusted adult who sees them; visible personal progress; real responsibility in the daily life of the school; earned free time. That way, effort becomes something a child is glad to come to school for.
The 2026 summer camp is our first public step: two weeks in August, twelve children, led by two experienced educators (Montessori + primary school), with recurring workshops (art, music, experiments), organic full catering, and a weekly day at the Pädagogische Farm München-Ost. A genuinely good holiday week for the children, a first live test for us, and the common starting point for the families who are with us from the beginning.
Name and ambition
"Agens" comes from the Latin verb agere: to do, to act. The name states the core idea. We do not ask first how much a child knows at the end, but whether they can look at the world, form their own judgement, want something, and begin. Among our inspirations is Alpha School in Austin — a model that takes individualised learning and motivation architecture seriously and shows impressive results. We're bringing those ideas to Munich and adapting them to the Bavarian system.
Current Developments
Summer Camp 2026: dates and venue are confirmed — 10–21 August 2026 in Munich (Self Defense Germany, Usambarastraße 10), for about 12 children. More on the camp page.
We are hosting a session at the ACX Weekend in Munich on Saturday, March 21st at 12:00h. Come learn about the project and join the discussion!
Founder's Note: Beyond the Shadow Curriculum – Can Schools Actually Change? – our first published founder's note on Substack.
Get involved
Agens is being built right now — and you don't build a school on your own. We're looking for parents who have already been looking for something else for their child. Teachers and educators who want to rethink school from the ground up. Craftspeople, artists, and experts who want to pass on what they can do to children. People who can support the project financially or with expertise. If any of that sounds like you: get in touch. Every good school begins as a small group of people who decided it could be done differently.
Ready to get involved?
Write us a few lines: who you are, what moves you, how you'd like to be part of this. We reply personally.
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