A campus not squeezed between four walls, its doors opening straight onto the soil and the sky…
Spreading among pine, oak, olive and carob trees at the foot of the Taurus Mountains, our campus is a living learning space whose boundaries are not drawn by walls.
Here, classrooms are not squeezed into the corridors of a single closed building; they are scattered in the shade of the trees, along the natural slope of the land and across different corners of the campus. Classrooms open straight onto the garden, and the garden opens onto the vast forest. Moving from one lesson to the next not through closed corridors but along pine-scented paths in the open air, our students walk, breathe and move as a natural part of their day.
Living stone architectureand main living spaces
The Stone School (Primary & Middle School)
Our primary and middle school building was built with natural Nevşehir stone, which carries Anatolia’s 600-year architectural heritage. This stone structure, which lets the space breathe and protects children’s health, rose through four months of handwork and sweat by six stonemasons.
The thick Nevşehir tuff stones work in perfect harmony with the natural air circulation in our classrooms. The natural stone walls give the classrooms a balanced climate all day long; our stone building stays sheltered in winter and as cool as a Taurus highland in summer.
Horizontal Architecture and the Safety of Natural Stone
Our children’s safety comes before everything. Designed entirely as a single-storey horizontal building, far from the risks of multi-storey structures, our school offers a high level of earthquake safety with a solid structure that is one with the ground. The non-flammable solid stone mass provides natural protection against fire, while wide exits opening straight onto the garden give our children a safe and free living space at every moment.
Breathing Lime Ceilings
For the ceilings of our classrooms we chose natural lime prepared with traditional methods. This porous surface, which does not harbour mould or bacteria, lets the space breathe together with the stone walls and keeps the indoor air clean at all times.
The Signature of Light and Labour: The Hummingbird Stained Glass
Like every corner of our stone building, this stained-glass work is a reflection of handcraft and skill. Hummingbirds, among nature’s most remarkable creatures, symbolise our founder Serpil Öğretmen, her family and the whole learning community that shares this roof.
Able to fly backwards, hover in the air to watch the moment and beat their wings with courage, these birds remind our children of diligence, free thinking, pausing to rest when needed and facing life with courage. For us, every child who steps into Serpil Orman Okulları is part of this big family that brings soul to everything it touches, the most precious treasure entrusted to the future.
A Door Opening from Roots to the Future
The hand-carved eight-pointed Seljuk star and crescent-and-star motif at our main entrance was shaped by the hands of stonemason Hayrettin Kalkan. Each point of the star stands for a virtue: compassion, tenderness, patience, honesty, keeping a confidence, loyalty, generosity and gratitude.
For us, this door is not just an entrance; it is a living wish that every child who steps through it grows up rooted, conscientious and clothed in these virtues.
With Grace and Reverence: The National Anthem in Calligraphy
The İstiklal Marşı (National Anthem) in our school corridor is a handmade work of calligraphy, crafted with patience and care by a master calligrapher. Reading these lines, the symbol of our independence and freedom, every day through the grace of a traditional art passes on to our children both the depth of our national values and respect for craft and labour.
A School Living to the Rhythm of Nature
Since 2017 we have taken our energy straight from the sun; with 16 tonnes less carbon emitted each year, we leave the future a clean breath equal to planting 204 adult trees. With our energy-saving underfloor heating, built into the structure of our stone building, and our water infrastructure, we save more than 230 tonnes of water a year, showing our children that protecting nature is not just something to be told, but an awareness to be lived.
A Nest in the Heart of Nature: Kindergarten Classrooms
Our four separate kindergarten classrooms on the campus, filled with daylight, give children a spacious place intertwined with nature. Each classroom has its own kitchen, toilet and a wide veranda that makes outdoor lessons possible. In winter, the crackle and warmth of the wood stove give our classrooms a cosy feeling of home.
Art, discoveryand inspiration studios
Art in the Shade of Roots: The Goat-Hair Tent Visual Arts Studio
Set in a spot all of its own, our traditional nomad tent is a unique art space where children touch natural and recyclable materials with their imagination. Under the dome of this giant tent woven from goat hair, our children create new works with paint, clay and fabric; in summer, they take their work out into the open air, painting in the shade of the Murt Classroom right beside the tent.
An Inviting Stop at the Heart of the Campus: The Reed-Roofed Library
Set at the centre of our campus, where children can reach it easily at any time, our library is a warm and inviting space that calls everyone in with thousands of carefully chosen books. Its sunlit windows and thatched roof, woven by hand by reed craftsmen, give children a bright, airy setting where they can spend peaceful time among the pages.
From an Old Lime Pit to Art: The Music Classroom
Standing on its own in our campus garden, our music classroom came to life when a historic stone structure, once used as a lime pit, was restored true to its original form. Its high stone walls and hand-woven thatched roof provide clear natural acoustics without any artificial insulation. This airy space, where our children discover their first instruments, keep rhythm and sing, is an inspiring home of melody where notes echo through nature.
The Stage of Dreams: The Costume and Drama Room
This is a living space where children turn their dreams into reality with hundreds of costumes and accessories. Topics covered in class do not stay on paper here; children put on the clothes of the period, take on their roles and live, act out and tell the stories themselves.
A World of Light and Discovery: The Light Table Studio
Inspired by the Reggio Emilia approach, our studio is a shared space for experiments where every level, from our youngest children to middle school, makes discoveries through light, shadow and transparency. As they study the veins of leaves they have gathered or the structure of rocks, our children follow the traces of science in nature; working with geometric forms, patterns and layers of colour, they make abstract concepts concrete by touching and seeing.
Minds That Create, Not Consume: The Information Technologies Classroom
In the heart of nature, we treat technology not as a screen-only tool for consumption but as a tool of the mind that solves problems, thinks algorithmically and creates value. Our children grasp coding logic, basic mechanisms and digital tools by connecting them to the mathematical order in nature; they become conscious creators of technology, not passive viewers.
Learning under the skyOutdoor and forest classrooms
In the Shade of the Trees: Open-Air Classrooms
Each named after the tree that shades it, our open-air classrooms stand in the campus garden with a blackboard and wooden desks for 20. With the sky as their roof, these spaces host lessons held directly in the open air during the day.
A School of Life: The Forest Without Borders
The untouched woodland stretching right next to our school is an inseparable part of our weekly timetable, from kindergarten to middle school. In forest hours, where the learning outcomes of the national curriculum are taken straight into nature, our children walk the trails, observe the cycle of the seasons, and learn to use hand tools and build shelters. In this natural setting, where the four walls disappear and all the senses come alive, what is learned turns into lasting life skills.
The Cycle of the Soil: The Vegetable Garden and Food Forest
This part of our garden is a living, self-sustaining space with seasonal vegetable beds, fruit trees and berry bushes. Our children dig, sow and follow the cycle of the seasons, picking produce fresh, straight from the branch.
A Natural Habitat: Our Open Coop and Garden Residents
Right beside the vegetable garden, in the shade of the trees, our wooden coop is not a closed space behind wire fences but a sheltered night refuge where our chickens and ducks retreat only when it gets dark. Its doors stay open all day, and the garden residents that come out of it wander freely among the children. During the day the children feed them, and in the mornings they collect fresh eggs straight from the coop’s nests.
Natural Meeting Corners: Fire Circle, Story House and Tree House
These three corners of our garden are the children’s natural meeting places during the day. Lessons are held around the fire circle, and teas from gathered herbs are brewed over its embers. The Story House, which feels like another world as soon as you step through its door, hosts storytelling, while the miniature wooden Tree House, rising in the branches of a centuries-old pine, is the children’s play and rest space closest to the sky.
Sports andmovement spaces
Indoor Sports Hall
With a floor laid out to professional dimensions, our hall hosts basketball, volleyball and tennis training and gets plenty of natural light through its wide windows. On rainy days it is a sheltered space where every level continues its PE lessons safely and without interruption.
Outdoor Sports Ground
Set beneath the pine trees, our ground has a surface suited to outdoor conditions and hosts team sports, PE lessons and the children’s lively games in good weather.
Mini Artificial-Turf Pitch
Our mini artificial-turf pitch in the garden hosts PE lessons, football matches and the children’s team games.