A Moment with
Who was your favourite
teacher? Why?
I had two favourite teachers: Miss
Delves, who taught me physics, and
Mrs. Searle, who taught Chemistry.
Not only were they really passionate
about teaching their subject and
really inspiring, both of them came to
me one-to-one and told me I could
achieve anything that I wanted to
achieve if I put my mind to it. While
other teachers would tell me I wasn’t
bright enough, they’d tell me I was.
I needed to persevere and not give
up. I had that input from my parents
at home as well, which was really
powerful for me, but it also really
helped to hear it from my teachers.
They gave me confidence and belief
in myself. They were exactly the role
models that teachers can be - this is
what all children should have.
What or who inspires you
most?
I’m inspired by the people I meet on a
daily basis, those who I’ve heard speak
or I’ve read their stories, I’m inspired by
the lessons they’ve learned. My family
inspire me, both my children and my
parents. I’m inspired by anyone who
has been faced with adversity but
continues to persevere to achieve what
they believe will change the world in a
positive way. My parents are the best
example of that. And my kids. Kids are
incredible when they set their minds
to things - in a positively stubborn way.
They have that raw innocence and
curiosity that makes them so good at
asking questions.
I’m continually inspired by teachers.
I’m fortunate that my work has allowed
me to meet thousands of teachers and
work with many closely. They don’t
do what they do for money, they work
to create positive change, and they
manage to do so even without the
proper tools. I’m also inspired by my
team, this amazing group of people
who share the same vision as I do. The
common trait in all these people is
that they’re authentic, they’re problem
solvers, they don’t give up - and
they work for a purpose beyond the
betterment of themselves.
Share two major challenges
that you faced. How did you
overcome them?
I feel like I face different challenges
every day but I’m not sure I overcome
every challenge in a remarkable way.
We all make mistakes and we all fail. I
can’t say there’s a certain way to tackle
every problem, but what I do know is
that my team and I approach problems
with a certain set of values and a sense
of positive culture. We always ensure
we’re authentic, resilient, and that we
maintain the focus on social impact.
The reason why CENTURY is so unique
and special is that we’re always working
for what’s best for our stakeholders.
What Is Century Tech?
CENTURY is a learning platform
that learns how every brain learns,
to give each student a completely
personalised path to mastery in any
subject. CENTURY uses artificial
intelligence to instantly learn each
child’s unique learning needs or
areas for stretch and offers them a
constantly adapting, individualised
path to mastery.
At the same time, CENTURY uses the
data it is collecting on every student’s
interaction with the system to give
teachers instant deep insight into
each student’s progress, attainment
and interventions so the teacher can
avoid spending hours gathering and
analysing this data, but can instead
spend time teaching.
It gives students the individualised
learning they need to progress
and gives teachers back crucial
time wasted on micro-marking and
assessment. The platform is built and
run by teachers, data engineers, and
neuroscientists who ensure it’s loaded
with top-tier content, and operates in a
way that is most effective for students’
learning and reducing teachers’
workload.
Share two ways in which the
work that you are currently
doing at Century Tech
positively impacts young
people.
CENTURY has had a remarkable
impact on learners. Students on
CENTURY improve their scores by an
average of thirty percentage points.
That improvement, along with the
anecdotal feedback we get about
students’ increased confidence and
positive attitude to learning, is why we
started this social enterprise and we
are delighted to see the results.
Also, teachers save nearly a day a
week on marking and assessment. It
has been amazing to see CENTURY
achieve these things, improving
student outcomes and effectively
reducing teacher workload.
What is one of your proudest
achievements to date?
The impact I mentioned above. The
positive change CENTURY has made
for both students and teachers. I come
into work every day wanting to be with
the people who work here. Everybody
dreams of these amazing teams but
not everyone achieves it. Our culture
is all about working beyond the
betterment of yourself, that we all
believe we can change the world. A
lot of people joined the challenge, to
build this platform, and they’re seeing
the impact it has on kids. If a student
tells them that CENTURY gave them
confidence in Maths, or a student
with special educational needs is
given material in a way that helps
them progress - that feedback is really
powerful.
What are three fun activities
that you do to relax and take
your mind off work?
Ha! I dream of them every day but,
honestly, I’m not at that stage. I wish
I was one of those entrepreneurs
that wakes up to meditate and run a
marathon before work, but I’m all in
with CENTURY. The most rewarding
thing I do is spend time with my
kids. Whether it’s playing Scrabble,
reenacting Star Wars, or embarrassing
them by singing in the car with their
friends, it’s fun being creative and
getting to act like a child with children.