The Secondary Project was born from a collaboration with the primary project. Designed for students aged 11–17, the project combines self-directed learning with the Portuguese curriculum. It provides a supportive framework where students can follow their interests, grow personally, and work toward recognised qualifications in a safe, engaging educational environment.
What we do
The Secondary Project, based in central Portugal, offers a holistic education that supports academic, emotional, creative, physical, and spiritual growth. Working closely with families, we provide a warm, supportive environment where students engage with international perspectives, creativity, nature, and hands-on learning.
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Connecting with nature is central to our philosophy, and we are lucky to be based in such a beautiful environment. Physical activity is also a key part of our program, with students enjoying weekly sessions at a sports ground, where they can take part in football, basketball, rugby, and circus skills. We have students from around the world learning in both English and Portuguese, supported by native-speaking educators. We also engage with the local community through various cultural events as part of an initiative to integrate families and children.
Our staff not only teach core subjects but also share expertise in music, drama, art, permaculture, dance, literacy, finance, and human rights. This diversity enriches learning, fostering creativity, critical thinking, and a deeper connection to the world.
preparing students for life beyond school, equipping them with the skills, confidence, and outlook to thrive. Our aim is to nurture change-makers, innovators, and compassionate individuals who are ready to make a positive impact in their communities and beyond.
Meet our educators
Adam Bushell-Jones
Maths, History, Music, Drama & Bushcraft
Adam has been immersed in education, music, and the arts since childhood. Inspired by workshops, performances, and creative events, he discovered a deep passion for teaching as a vital contribution to the world. After earning a First-Class Music Degree in Bristol, his curiosity about life, learning, and human connection led him through years of travel and exploration. He later taught music at a holistic international school in Hampshire before moving to Portugal in 2022.
Adam brings his diverse background in music, movement, woodworking, photography, and the arts to the curriculum. He currently leads the Secondary Project and teaches across multiple subjects.
Naomi Foxcroft
​Geography & Maths
Naomi holds a first-class degree with Qualified Teacher Status from Lancaster University, UK. She has taught in primary schools throughout the UK and is also a literacy trainer with expertise in phonics and storytelling. As well as teaching, she has co-founded charities and non-for profit organisations that support street children and trained more than 100,000 teachers in sub Saharan Africa.
She has a strong interest in alternative education and holds a Montessori Teaching diploma as well as certificates in Waldorf education, including puppetry, painting and human development. As a mother of three girls, her passion is to find ways to achieve joyful and purposeful learning experiences for children to enable them to feel confident and free in adulthood.
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John Winter
Drama
John studied education at Durham and Penn State after a Gap Year in Kenya. After returning to the UK, he was a buyer for a leisure company and then did a post grad at the LSE in Personnel Management. He worked in the City, then delivered a 35 ft sloop to the West Indies before setting off for post-Independent Zimbabwe in 1982. After trading, teaching and bringing up a family in Africa, he ran a hotel in Central Edinburgh before working in a Prep School outside Cambridge. He came, looking for new adventures, to Portugal in 2017.
John has found the Waldorf approach to education refreshing and exciting as well as being a great vehicle to build confidence in young people. He studied in the United States and UK always trying to see life from as many angles as possible. He has a passion for choral music, trains, education and Africa.
English Language
Anna Kershaw
​Anna recently moved to Portugal with her husband and two German Shepherd dogs. She has grown-up sons and two granddaughters. With over 20 years of teaching experience in schools across the UK and a BA (Hons) in Primary Studies with Qualified Teacher Status, Anna has also written stories and play-scripts, which she continues to work on in her spare time.
She speaks English and Welsh and is currently learning Portuguese, Hebrew, and Dutch. In addition to her teaching, she plays guitar and is learning the ukulele. Anna is proud to be part of the learning community and looks forward to progressing with the students throughout the year.
Sciences
Thetis Drewelus
Thetis Drewelus (also known as T) is a teacher and artist from the UK. She studied Neuroscience (BSc) at University College London, where she particularly enjoyed the cognitive and developmental neuroscience modules. Her dissertation focused on how neuroscience can be used to improve education for children, especially those with neurodiversity and neurodevelopmental disorders.
With experience tutoring biology and chemistry to GCSE and A-level students, Thetis’s passion for teaching has flourished since joining Waterfall Valley. Her enthusiasm and dynamic approach to teaching are evident in her interactive and creative methods. She actively incorporates teaching techniques developed during her neuroscience studies and is skilled at adapting her approach to suit each student’s individual learning style, whether visual, verbal, or kinesthetic.
Thetis is excited to continue her teaching career, with the aim of educating, inspiring, and sharing her passion for both science and art.
Portuguese & Maths
Inês Amado Antunes
Inês is a qualified Educational Technician and studied Economics at the University of Coimbra. Over the past few years, she has deepened her interest in various educational approaches, such as Montessori and Waldorf, always focusing on children’s personal development and the importance of connecting with nature.
She works with children and young people of different ages and has experience teaching Portuguese as a foreign language, supporting the integration of the international community in Espinhal.
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She is involved in several educational and cultural projects in the parish, where she enjoys building connections, encouraging creativity, and contributing to the community’s well-being.