Juliet Robertson

It is with great sadness that we share the news of the death of our friend and Associate Juliet Robertson.

Some of you may have heard of Juliet from her groundbreaking work in the field of outdoor education.

Perhaps it was hearing her speak or being part of a workshop she ran?

Or watching her in action outside with children in the UK and all across the world?

Or through her award-winning blog under the Creative Star name?

Or as a result of her best-selling books Dirty Teaching or Messy Maths?

However you heard of her, you will have been among millions of educators around the world who were influenced by Juliet’s pioneering approach to education outside the classroom.

Or maybe it was through hearing about her story ‘living with’ (never ‘battling with’) Acute Myeloid Leukaemia, a ‘brute of an illness’ she was diagnosed with five year ago almost to the day she died?

Or perhaps it was knowing her as a wonderful human being and friend – generous, funny, unexpected (spending time with her chasing Pokémon Go characters in Hong Kong counts here for me), principled and kind?

However you knew her, I’m sure you will join with all of us in the Independent Thinking family in acknowledging her life and her passing at this sad time.

Her educational legacy lives on through her website, her books and the many children and young people whose lives she touched.

The creativity and courage with which she faced her illness live on through her last book, Blood Lines: Living and Dying with Cancer - A Lyrical Journey – a creative, uplifting and honest account of her journey with AML.

And her life as a loving family member live on through her husband Mark, her son Joe, her sister Polly and her other family members, to whom we offer our sincere condolences.

In 2024 I called into Juliet’s home in Aberdeenshire to talk to her about her approach to education and also her illness.

I share that inspirational interview again below.

It was the last time I met up with Juliet face to face and it is a meeting I will treasure.

In her last message on the Caring Bridge website, where friends and followers tracked her journey of recent years, she and Mark posted the following just a few days before Christmas, just a few days before she died.

It sums up her approach to life perfectly.

"We hope that what ever you are doing, it is a time of joy and love. And if it's not, that you find time to dance wildly to your favourite music and other ways of getting through the day."

RIP Juliet.

Juliet Robertson in her garden in June 2024