Sophia Technologies Ltd, an education, tuition and technology start-up which began in London 2018, by Founder and CEO Melissa McBride, recently exceeded its investment target. With a round of funding from Seedrs, the target achieved almost twice its original goal – a significant signal of achievement in the current climate of remote learning during an international pandemic which points to an increased hunger for remote schooling apps and platforms.
Sophia originally aimed for £300,000 – however a surge in excitement and interest from investors allowed to target to be beaten by nearly 80%. In total, Sophia reached a total of more than £560,000 through Seedrs, with more than 360 investors adding to the pot.
Sophia Technologies is currently worth just over £2.5 million, succeeding after just 2 years in business.
With a self-styled motto to support their value proposition, ‘Education Reimagined,’ Sophia Technologies Ltd provides high quality, personalised educational provision, both for clients who are seeking full time online British schooling options following the UK National Curriculum for students from age 5 – 15 (classed as Year 1 – Year 9 in the UK schooling system) Sophia High School (sophiahigh.school), and also for those who require supplementary support for their children through private tuition and through our SophiaX co-curricular programme of online courses and camps – SophiaX (sophia.app).
Sophia is a UK-based EdTech startup, providing on-demand online British education and on-demand private tuition options to the £191bn global EdTech sector.
Sophia Technologies is helping children and tutors stay safe online while learning
Sophia helps parents and tutors on either side of the equation to formalise and conveniently, digitally ensure safety, DBS checks and assertion of the qualification of private tutors on the platform – all in a few mouse clicks.
“Ensuring child safety and protection through our rigorous safeguarding and safer recruitment practices, and through high quality, effective, learning outcomes for our students are the key drivers for every aspect of our business,” noted McBride.
Where online tutoring can be tough to navigate – particularly for internationally-based platforms that don’t do safety checks – Sophia offers a safer, smart tutoring solution for busy parents.
Melissa continued: “As an educational leadership team which shares over 48 years of headship [headteacher] and teaching experience at outstanding schools in the UK and abroad, what concerned us most when we began to investigate both the online schooling and private tuition sectors was the lack of regulation and quality assurance checks in place for parents who try to navigate the new world of education, which is presenting itself.”
SophiaX’s tutoring is covering the whole schooling journey in the UK Curriculum
Sophia students experience a highly engaging and interactive learning environment, which is rooted in recognising every student’s individual learning journey; supported by what they say is an expert team of educational leaders, teachers, tutors and mentors:
“While the sector is filled with players and new entrants focusing on provision for students aged 16+ (GCCE / A-Level and beyond), Sophia stands out as the only UK online education provider which offers children as young as Year 1 (Ages 5–6) upwards the opportunity to join and benefit from our exceptional online education provision at Sophia High School.”
Co-Founder and CEO, Melissa McBride
A platform for remote tutoring and flexible private tuition
Sophia offers on-demand flexible private tuition targeted at the rising gig economy workforce, and clients who want flexibility and convenience but won’t compromise on quality, an exciting programme of online courses for kids with , as well as a full-time online school which launched in August 2020.
According to Melissa McBride, CEO and Co-Founder, the investment will be used to grow the business by investing in customer acquisition and retention, through both UK and global expansion opportunities and partnerships, and through enhancing the learning experience with increased technology capabilities and innovation.
Sophia is riding the wave of interest in remote blended learning opportunities, the continued rise of private tuition and the digital transformation of the education industry. The value of this sector of the tech industry has been highlighted in the 2019 – 2020 period, as the numbers of $1 billion+ valuations by VC backed investments in global EdTech start-ups continues to grow beyond expectations. Research and Markets forecasts the online education market – including eLearning platforms as well as immerseive VR, AR and XR education and interactive platforms – as part of the wider EdTech Industry as worth a projected $350 Billion by 2025.
“We must not compromise the opportunity to use the digital learning revolution that we are currently experiencing to provide students with an exceptional learning experience, whether in a global online school setting or when working with tutors in a 1:1 environment. This is an incredibly exciting time to be an educational leader, leading from the front and defining the course of the EdTech sector as we unlock new opportunities for a generation of future leaders. This is Education Reimagined,” said Melissa McBride.
For more information about Sophia Technologies education offerings for students, parents and children, visit www.sophia.app / www.sophiahigh.school . Sophia Press Release also sourced on PRFire.
About Sophia Technologies Ltd.
Sophia is an EdTech company, which provides a number of educational provision services including full time online education, SophiaX Camps & Courses and Private tuition via the Sophia on-demand mobile app.
The company was founded by a group of senior education professionals who together have over 48 years of experience teaching in the Independent Sector.
They developed Sophia to meet the needs of progressive clients and students living in a highly competitive, changing world.
Sophia offers best practice in the safer recruitment of our online education teachers and private tutors, within a largely unregulated industry. As part of its commitment to safeguarding, Sophia follows the guidelines outlined by the Safer Recruitment in Education for our Teachers campaign and by The Tutors’ Association, and ensures that all of its teachers / tutors are DBS checked, and their qualifications are verified. It also provides Professional Indemnity and Public Liability insurance cover for all sessions, to protect both students and teachers/ tutors.