A school on the Croatian island of Kaprije has reopened to teach a single pupil. It’s a stroke of luck for first-grader Val as otherwise his family would have had to leave the island.
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00:00It's time for Val Mudronja to head to school, but first the proud first grader must trek
00:09across the island.
00:11He can take his time because Val's only teacher hasn't arrived yet.
00:20It takes about an hour and a half to reach the small island of Kaprije from mainland
00:25Croatia.
00:27But Val's teacher, Lucia Laca, isn't bothered by the commute.
00:33I have accepted it.
00:34I even see it as a good thing.
00:36An island like this really is something special.
00:41Kaprije is one of over a thousand Croatian islands.
00:45In summer the region is overrun with tourists.
00:48Now only a hundred people live here at most.
00:56Recently the island has made headlines because after 52 years it has a school once again.
01:03And seven-year-old Val is its only pupil.
01:07It's perfect.
01:08If there were more students here, they'd just run around and make a mess.
01:12But I'm alone here.
01:13It's quiet.
01:15That's great.
01:20On today's agenda, arithmetic.
01:21What does that mean?
01:23A blue one.
01:24A blue one, yes.
01:26What else?
01:28Two red ones.
01:30And what does this symbol mean?
01:32A triangle.
01:35But Val says his favorite subject is English.
01:44What I like most about the school is the teacher.
01:50The curriculum is the same everywhere, but there is something else special here.
01:55We make the most of it.
01:57For example, we take field trips for subjects like music or sport.
02:05For physical education, the duo mount their trusty steeds for a cycle along the waterfront.
02:12After a priest from a neighboring island campaigned for a school here, the authorities
02:16gave their support.
02:17It was the only way Val and his family could continue living there.
02:22It's a little miracle, says Livia, Val's mother.
02:26Here in the island's only cafe, she catches up with neighbors while waiting for her son.
02:32She and her husband have lived in Capria, his grandparents' hometown, for 16 years now.
02:37And the family is growing.
02:39Val has two little brothers and a sister on the way.
02:44They say it takes a whole village to raise a child.
02:48And it's true.
02:51We are at home here.
02:52Our children are also the whole island's children.
02:56Here they learn what life is all about.
03:03Most of Capria's residents are elderly.
03:05And thanks to the school, their island has a future once again.
03:13It's important to us here.
03:15Without a school, the island is lost, our culture, everything.
03:18A school means everything.
03:20The island won't die out.
03:25I hope other young women decide to have children too.
03:28Then life will return once more.
03:36Val is back home playing with his siblings.
03:39But he's most excited for his father to come home.
03:43He's been out since early morning on his fishing boat.
03:46Val takes over the mooring like a pro before inspecting the catch.
03:50It's been a good day.
03:58But it gets even better for Val.
04:01His father, Borko Mudrojnja, is about to head out again and will take Val with him.
04:08It's fall, squid fishing season, and it's best to catch them in the evening.
04:14I love it.
04:15I've been doing it all my life.
04:17I come from a line of fishermen, 300 years.
04:21I loved it as a child.
04:22I've always wanted to be a fisherman.
04:30Me too.
04:32It's really great.
04:35You can catch a little or a lot, but it's a good business.
04:42The little school allows Val and his family to live their dream on this tiny island in
04:47the sea.