What if physics suddenly meant building a catapult? What if financial literacy wasn’t a dry chapter in a textbook, but a game in which you had to make ends meet for six months on a single salary? That was exactly the point of “Beyond School: The Missing Lessons, ” an Erasmus+ youth exchange (KA152) in which Tredu Club participated as an Austrian partner organization.
From August 19 to 27, 2026, 36 young people and 12 group leaders from Lithuania, Cyprus, Hungary, Romania, Poland, and Austria gathered at a location near Vilnius. The exchange was organized by Meraki LT. The idea behind it was simple: to experience school subjects in a completely different way—outdoors, hands-on, and together.
Arrive, get to know each other, get started
The first day was all about getting to know each other. The teens collected the letters of their names from people from other countries, drew silly portraits together, and played Human Bingo. They also learned about the Youthpass, the certificate that shows what they’ve learned at the end of the program. The “Nature Detectives Challenge” then took them out into nature to search for clues while completing biology tasks.
Schoolwork, but with a twist
The next few days showed just how engaging learning can be:
- Money Matters: In a simulation game, the group worked together to manage a salary, choose bank accounts, and handle unexpected expenses. Incidentally, during their preparations, nearly all countries had identified the same topic as the biggest gap in their school curricula: financial literacy.
- Catapult Building: Hands-On Physics. Which catapult shoots the farthest, which is the most accurate, and which team communicates the best?
- Three Ways to Learn: The topic of bullying was addressed once through formal education, once through non-formal education, and once through informal education. This allowed the young people to experience how differently these forms of learning work.
- Spotting Fake News: Using fictional newspaper articles, participants learned to verify sources, watch out for sensationalist language, and critically evaluate images.
- Environmental Pentathlon: Five small STEM challenges, such as building a water filter using only natural materials or a boat made from a pizza box that’s supposed to sail across the lake powered by a balloon.
- Identity Flower: A calm, deeply moving exercise about one’s own identity. It demonstrated how quickly stereotypical thinking can take hold.
Teens Become Teachers Themselves
One highlight was the “Make Your Own Activity” session. Divided into six mixed-gender teams, the teens developed their own 20- to 30-minute workshops—for example, on job interviews combined with stress management, on debates for public speaking, or on role-playing exercises for healthy relationships. Afterward, they led these workshops for everyone else. The group leaders provided feedback on how the ideas could be further developed.
Vilnius as a Stage
On the day of the field trip, we first went to Trakai Water Castle, then to Vilnius. In front of the cathedral, the groups performed five short theatrical scenes based on the city’s legends and history, from the Iron Wolf to the Hill of Three Crosses. At first, everyone was very nervous about performing in front of strangers. In the end, though, everyone got involved, and the city became a living stage.
And Austria? Frittaten soup and waltzes!
Of course, our Austrian group also brought a little piece of home with them. At the cooking evening, we had Frittatensuppe, Eiernockerl, and Buchteln with vanilla sauce. Although our cultural evening was postponed due to a storm and a power outage, it turned out to be all the more enjoyable: with a quiz, information on Austrian traditions, and a crash course in the Viennese waltz and galop. The energizer sessions featuring Austrian dances also drew plenty of laughs.
What Remains
At the closing ceremony, all the young people received their Youthpass, and together they discussed how to share what they had learned with their home communities. They also learned about many other opportunities offered by Erasmus+ and DiscoverEU and what these programs have in store for them.
For us at Tredu Club, this exchange has once again shown why we love doing this work so much: Learning works best when you experience it together.
Curious? Would you like to participate in an Erasmus+ project or simply become part of our community? Get in touch with us at www.tredu.club. We look forward to hearing from you!
All information and videos about the project: beyond-school–a21295.webnode.page. Co-funded by the European Union.
