The roadhouse schoolhouse: The future of online schooling

From an office at an outback roadhouse, this 11-year-old attends a one-of-a-kind online private school. Here’s a day in her life.

Each day at dawn, Charli Fulton leaves her family’s watermelon farm at Mataranka in the Northern Territory, and travels with her mother Kate to the local roadhouse.

Here, Kate readies herself for a day of work at Mataranka Roadhouse and Cabins, while 11-year-old Charli logs in on her computer to begin her day as the only Northern Territory student of Haileybury’s Pangea online school.

From her ‘roadhouse schoolhouse’, Charli learns how to speak Chinese, how to cook with her peers as part of the school’s Mini MasterChef program, and submits stories for the school’s magazine.

The Fultons’ move from Echuca to their farm an hour southeast of Katherine made parents Kate and Mark assess education options for their child.

And while Kate has no objection to boarding school, at 11 years old she wanted Charli to be closer to home.

“It’s given her more opportunities, and challenged her a lot more,” Kate said.

“Education is important. And having another option means she doesn’t need to move schools now.”

Northern Territory's Charli Fulton, 11, is a Haileybury Pangea online student. Picture: Supplied

Distance education for kids living in outback Australia isn’t a new concept: in fact it’s been a rite of passage for many generations of students.

The difference with Pangea’s online campus, Kate said, is the role of teacher isn’t placed on parents.

Instead, students learn from a variety of teachers dedicated to different subjects, with focused one-on-one assistance if required.

“The teachers are very proactive,” Mark said.

“If you’re going to be a teacher at Pangea, you need to be.”

And remaining connected with her peers is no issue: on a family holiday to Victoria, Charli went to the Victorian Haileybury campus, while a campus based in Darwin is another port of call for online students.

“We can take it with us,” Kate said.

“She doesn’t miss out on a lot, unless we’re on holidays. The computer and everything comes with us.”

Northern Territory's Charli Fulton, 11, with parents Mark and Kate at their watermelon farm. Picture: Supplied

Life in remote Australia can isolating, the Fultons admit – but rewarding. While Kate struggled to buy a lettuce in her local regional supermarket, Charli caught “a big barramundi” while on school holidays with her parents.

“There are challenges up here, but it’s been good,” Mark said.