---
title: How BGA Learners Make Space for Their Passions
description: Discover how BGA empowers Learners to balance academics with passions, showcasing personal stories of creativity, independence, and flexibility in education.
---

[Brave Generation Academy](https://blog.bravegenerationacademy.com)

# [How BGA Learners Make Space for Their Passions](https://blog.bravegenerationacademy.com/how-bga-learners-make-space)

 Written by [bgacademy](https://blog.bravegenerationacademy.com/author/bgacademy) | Sep 28, 2026, 2:18:39 PM

BGA was built on the principle that education should adapt around the Learner, not the other way around.

At the heart of this approach is the freedom and flexibility for Learners to perfect their craft, pursue hobbies, explore their interests, and embrace new opportunities, all while maintaining a healthy and fulfilling academic life. When given the space to grow, Learners have the opportunity to flourish into dedicated, motivated, creative individuals who are driven to achieve their goals.

BGA takes pride in fostering a community of Learners who are brave enough to follow their dreams and pursue their passions. From athletes to engineers, and sometimes both, our community is home to talented individuals who have truly redefined what it means to multitask.

We invited some of our Learners to share a glimpse into their personal lives, their passions, and the ways they navigate their busy schedules while balancing academics with everything they love.

Alba Rogers - Dancer

Hi, I’m Alba, and I’m 12 years old. I joined BGA in late January. I started in Year 7 and I’m now in Year 8. At first, it was hard to get used to the new system, but now it feels natural and like a really good way for me to learn. I love that BGA lets me study at my own pace and take control of my learning.

I love dancing and train about twelve hours a week, so BGA’s flexibility is perfect for me. Sometimes I have dance practice from nine to eleven in the morning, and after that I can come to BGA and study. Other days, I start school at nine and finish around two‑thirty so I have time to get ready for dance. In the summer, I used to go to school, then dance, and come back to study after. Now I can plan my day in a way that keeps me balanced. I also love that we can choose our own holidays, because my dance competitions are often on Thursdays or Fridays. BGA makes it easy to fit everything in. Being part of BGA has helped me grow both as a student and a dancer.

Lior Zarchi - Musician

My name is Lior, and I am 17 years old. I moved to Portugal from Israel about three years ago, and when I started school here, I experienced a big culture shock. Adjusting to a new country was already difficult, but having to study in a language I was not very familiar with, while also getting used to a completely different school system, was overwhelming. After experiencing this for about a year, my parents suggested that I try BGA. They had actually considered BGA before we even moved to Portugal, but at the time, they thought that a non-traditional approach to academics might be too difficult for me and that it might not be the right fit.

Eventually, my parents decided to give BGA a chance, and it turned out to be the right choice for me. The way BGA works gave me much more independence and allowed me to take responsibility for my own education. Being able to manage my own schedule and organize my time taught me how to be more independent and responsible, while also making school feel less overwhelming. Instead of having every part of my day planned for me, I learned how to decide what I needed to focus on and how to manage my time effectively.

Another thing I really appreciate about BGA is the amount of free time it gives me to focus on things outside of school. I have been playing guitar for 6 years now and making original music for about 2 years. Having more control over my schedule has allowed me to spend more time composing, producing music, and playing guitar. Looking back, I think my parents were right to reconsider their first impression of BGA and give it a chance, because it ended up being a much better fit for me than the traditional school system I had experienced before.

Matilde Silva - Athlete

I am 17 years old and have been a student at Brave Generation Academy for the past four years. Outside of school, I am a tennis player and spend a lot of my time training and competing in tournaments. Tennis is a very important part of my life, but I also have many other interests. I enjoy studying, reading, painting and listening to music, so I like having different activities that allow me to learn, be creative and relax.

BGA has helped me find a balance between my studies and tennis. Because of the flexibility of the learning system, I am able to organise my schoolwork around my training and tournaments, rather than having to choose between my education and my sport. This has allowed me to continue working hard academically while also dedicating time to tennis and competing in tournaments. Over the past four years, BGA has taught me how to manage my time, be independent and take responsibility for my own work, which has helped me develop both as a student and as an athlete.

Nikita Tambiev - Photographer

My name is Nikita. I am 16 years old and originally from Armenia, although I spent most of my life living in Moscow, Russia. At the beginning of 2023, I moved to Portugal. I didn't enjoy my first school in Portugal at all, but that feeling completely changed when I transferred to BGA. The flexibility of BGA gave me much more freedom to organize my own schedule, allowing me to balance school with my interests and spend more time developing my hobbies.

I first started photography when I was 14, and since then I have become fascinated by almost everything related to cameras. I mainly specialize in motorsport and automotive photography as it combines two of my biggest interests: cars and photography. Since 2024, I have professionally covered events at Circuito do Estoril and Autodromo Internacional do Algarve. Along the way, I have improved significantly, gained valuable experience, and met many people who share the same interests as me. More recently, I have also started learning videography. Although I have only been practicing it for a few weeks, I have already realized how different it is from photography. It has been extremely challenging, but I have really enjoyed learning a completely new way of creating visual content.

Overall, the thing I appreciate most about BGA is the independence and flexibility it gives me. Having way more control over my schedule than in a traditional school has allowed me to take my interests more seriously and develop photography from a hobby into something I am genuinely passionate about. BGA has also been an enjoyable and welcoming community, and I feel that being here has helped me grow both academically and personally while giving me the freedom to pursue the things I enjoy.

Ella Rihs - Artist

Hello, my name is Ella and I’m 17 years old. I was homeschooled before coming to BGA and have been part of this community for 3 years already. I’m a creative person. I love drawing and writing and my dream is to become an author while improving my art skills. BGA allows me to have that free time to pursue these interests more, which I really appreciate.

I would call myself a slow learner, so balancing studies and interests has always been hard for me. But since being part of BGA I have managed to do just that.

Julius Rang - Entrepreneur

I am 15 years old and I have been at BGA for about 1 year now. In my free time I box, and one of my main interests is building my own business. I build personal brands on social media for entrepreneurs. BGA has helped me balance school with my interests mainly through 2 things: first, is that my schedule is much more flexible. If I have a spontaneous call with a client, I can come to school later and still finish all of my hours in school. Another thing that helps me is that I can finish all my schoolwork and study for exams while I am at school. This means I do not have to be stressed about homework or studying when I am at home like I used to be. Instead, I can use my free time at home to focus on my business and other passions while still keeping up in school.

[View full post](https://blog.bravegenerationacademy.com/how-bga-learners-make-space)

```json
{
  "@context" : "http://schema.org",
  "@type" : "BlogPosting",
  "author" : {
    "@type" : "Person",
    "name" : "bgacademy"
  },
  "dateModified" : "2026-09-28T14:33:07.217Z",
  "datePublished" : "2026-09-28T14:18:39Z",
  "headline" : "How BGA Learners Make Space for Their Passions",
  "image" : {
    "@type" : "ImageObject",
    "height" : 1067,
    "url" : "https://8673691.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/8673691/WhatsApp%20Image%202026-09-28%20at%2015.17.07.jpeg",
    "width" : 1600
  },
  "mainEntityOfPage" : "https://blog.bravegenerationacademy.com/how-bga-learners-make-space",
  "publisher" : {
    "@type" : "Organization",
    "logo" : {
      "@type" : "ImageObject",
      "height" : 60.0,
      "url" : "https://8673691.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/8673691/Brave-Generation-Academy_Logo_Black_01-768x390-1.png",
      "width" : 118.153854
    },
    "name" : "Brave Generation Academy"
  }
}
```