Serving the Teesside Business Community | 43
Flying high: Katy Parkinson (right)
with Claire Preston.
A Teesside
businesswoman who has
been clocking up the air
miles as her education
firm takes its pioneering
services to the USA and
the United Arab Emirates
is set to catch a more
unusual one-way flight –
before leaping out.
K
KATY’S
FLYING
HIGH
WITH
aty Parkinson is the founder director
of award-winning Middlesbrough
firm Sound Training, a unique
teaching programme that rapidly
improves literacy levels.
Raising reading ages by an average of
27 months in just six weeks, the ground-
breaking programme is making a huge
difference to student achievement and
employment opportunities as well as their
general life chances.
After a series of successes with primary
and secondary schools across the UK,
Sound Training is now generating significant
international interest following recent
breakthroughs in America, Dubai and Oman.
Since forming the company in
Middlesbrough’s Boho Zone six years ago,
Katy has become more accustomed to
travel while promoting the use of the unique
teaching programme she created.
Katy, who was previously employed
as senior learning and language team
coordinator for Middlesbrough Council,
recalled: “We had a plan as to where we
would work in the early stages of the
business, but then soon realised we just had
to go wherever the demand was, to generate
data and credibility and to survive.
“We’ve certainly ended up going further
than I thought we would!”
Katy launched the business as she was
determined to address the literacy needs of
young people in the area that were not being
met by existing provision.
Over a number of years, research and
trials were carried out until the teaching
programme - recently rebranded Lexonik -
was born.
LEXONIK
It wasn’t long before entrepreneur Katy
realised she had a product that would work
for mainstream students everywhere,
especially those who were underachieving
as a result of low literacy levels and limited
vocabulary.
Along with the firm’s CEO Claire Preston,
she set her sights on global opportunities,
starting with the US. A number of pilot
projects followed - substantial developments
are currently underway in Texas, Florida and
Maine, where she says feedback and results
have been “incredible”.
Over the last year, Lexonik has also been
introduced in schools in the UAE.
Claire said: “We’re really excited by the
initial response to Lexonik in the Middle East
and we’re optimistic about potential growth
within the international schools sector
worldwide.”
Katy added: “I am unbelievably thrilled by
the way things have developed.
“To see and hear the positivity with which
Lexonik is received around the world is
amazing. We just want as many people as
possible to benefit from what we have – it
really does make a difference.”
And the Lexonik effect isn’t restricted to
school-aged students. It is being used to
develop literacy in a range of adult education
settings, including within the secure estate in
a number of prisons in the UK.
Since last year, Lexonik has also been
introduced to help offenders in Florida, with
Claire and Katy confident this new outlet will
continue to grow both in the USA and closer
to home.
For now, Katy is resorting to jumping out
of a plane, rather than travelling on one, with
the tandem skydive moving her right out of
her comfort zone.
Raising funds in aid of Teesside
Philanthropic Foundation, Katy will bravely
take on a challenge that neither she nor her
family ever thought she would.
Proud and inspired by her “wonderful
team” at Sound Training - who completed the
New York Marathon in 2016 to raise funds
for the same cause - Katy said: “I supported
the team in their efforts, both in fundraising
and throughout the training and event, but I
wanted to do something personally for the
people who are most in need in our area.”
If you would like to know more about Lexonik or sponsor Katy, please visit www.soundtraining.co.uk