This book reports the former headteacher James Wetz’s attempt to answer the problem of school dropout in the UK. Drawing on the stories of disaffected young people, international examples of human scale education, and the psychological and developmental factors that make for a successful childhood, he develops principles for rethinking the way secondary education is designed and organized in the UK. A visually as well as ideationally stimulating book, Wetz proposes the Urban Village School as a practical, coherent, cost-effective model that could replace the current provision of large secondary schools, complete with plans and visualizations of a school from award-winning architects, Feilden Clegg Bradley Studios.