Integrated Units: Why We Create them at Coach House
At Coach House, one of the things we’re best known for is our integrated units — immersive, multidisciplinary projects that combine English, Mathematics, Science, History, Geography, Creative Arts, Technologies, PDHPE, Languages and more within a single, meaningful theme.
These units are not only aligned to syllabus outcomes but are tailored to the child’s interests, goals and personal learning journey.
Why? Because authentic learning happens when a child sees relevance, chooses to engage with the task, and works with their hands, their heart and their head — all at once.
The Problem with Traditional Subject Silos
In mainstream schools, learning is typically fragmented:
Subjects are taught in isolation
Facts are memorised in a rush
Real-world connections are rarely made
Testing dictates the pacing and content
As a result, students may learn a topic superficially, recall it just long enough to pass a test, and then forget it. Worse, they begin to believe:
“I’m not good at history”
“I’ve done that topic already”
“This is boring and pointless”
This kind of thinking robs children of their curiosity. It disconnects them from the wonder of knowledge, and it conditions them to believe that subjects like history, science or geography are static, closed boxes — instead of living disciplines rich with meaning.
What Integrated Learning Looks Like
At Coach House, our aim is to restore meaning and connection to learning.
Our integrated units are designed to:
Align with your child’s passions and interests
Bring disparate subject areas together into a cohesive narrative
Promote real-world thinking and cross-disciplinary exploration
Develop critical thinking, creativity and independence
For example, one of our popular units explores the Minoan civilisation of Bronze Age Crete. This is not a dry history lesson. It is a full immersion into culture, art, philosophy and more.
Within that single unit, students explore:
History: the lives and legends of figures like King Minos
Geography: the location and influence of Crete in the Mediterranean trade network
Visual Arts: marine motifs, pottery design, frescoes and textiles
Science & Medicine: ancient technologies and healing practices
Mathematics & Architecture: patterning, symmetry, spatial planning
Culture & Belief Systems: gods, goddesses, myths and philosophical origins
English: reading mythology, analysing narrative structures, comparing modern and ancient storytelling
To break this kind of learning up into artificial subject boxes would be absurd. It’s not just inefficient — it’s educationally unsound.
Connecting the Past to the Present
Even when topics don’t appear relevant at first — like ancient civilisations — our job as educators is to frame the learning in a way that shows its impact today.
How did ancient trade routes influence globalisation?
What can ancient building design teach us about engineering?
How do mythologies shape modern storytelling, belief and culture?
When students learn with that lens, they don’t just remember — they understand. And they don’t just consume information — they engage deeply with it.
The Coach House Difference
Our integrated units are more than just clever packaging. They’re built on a belief that:
Learning is not linear
Subjects are not silos
Children thrive on connection, purpose and context
We don’t ask students to memorise what they don’t care about. We ask them to explore what matters — and along the way, they master concepts from every discipline.
That’s the difference a Coach House program makes.
