Issue 2: A Briefing on the Business of Education and Creative Thinking
What Next For Independent Education? Also Featuring: This is What You Get Exhibition, BRILLIANT Festival & Creative Hut’s Multi-Million Pound Deal
ANALYSIS / Independent Education
What next for UK independent education?
I’ve not known a start to an academic term like this. The sector, once defined by stability, now feels anything but.
Over recent weeks, I’ve been tracking and quantifying activity across the independent education landscape (see images below). This work was prompted by a LinkedIn post from Dean White, Chief Operating Officer at Rugby School, questioning the accuracy of a figure in an Observer article by Barney Mcintyre.
The piece quoted research from Ecclesiastical Insurance, claiming “two in five independent schools were merged or acquired in the 12 months leading up to June 2024.”
The figure was inaccurate, as many colleagues pointed out in the comments. But regardless of the exact number, the scale of change right now is undeniable. The sector has been reshaped. Here are just some of the events I’ve tracked since September:
Market Events
Acquisition of Kitebrook, Mowden Hall, Cothill, Barfield, Beeston Hall, West Hill Park, Chandlings by Radley Schools Group
Acquisition of Old Buckenham Hall by Rugby School Group
Merger of Dumpton School into the Canford Schools Group
Orwell Park School to join Benenden Family of Schools
Merger of St Neot’s Prep School and Lord Wandsworth College
Affinitas Education appoints Thomas Rajzbaum as its new chief executive
MyEdSpace has raised £11.15m in a Series A funding round
Ryan Group partners with RGS Guildford
Acquisition of Royal Hospital School by Inspired Learning Group
CVC takes 20% stake in International Schools Partnership at triple 2021 valuation.
Merger of Prestfelde School and Shrewsbury School
RM plc: £13.5m equity placing to fund restructuring, product development, and marketing expansion.
Founders Private Capital (FPC) makes first investment in CreativeHut
Oxbridge Online College enters administration
By Class Futures. Credits: ISM, School Management Plus, Independent Schools Council (ISC), Department for Education (DfE), Neil Mosley
Viewpoint
Robust independent school groups like Radley, Shrewsbury and Rugby have made decisive moves. A key challenge ahead will be integrating newly acquired schools and determining whether cost efficiencies can be passed on to parents, especially those new to independent education. With shifting demographics and rising costs, how will these groups grow pupil numbers sustainably?
A key challenge ahead will be integrating newly acquired schools and determining whether cost efficiencies can be passed on to parents, especially those new to independent education.
Meanwhile, private companies such as Inspired Learning Group continue to expand aggressively, with ILG’s acquisition of Royal Hospital School marking a significant step in its strategy. CVC’s investment in International Schools Partnership underscores education’s appeal as a secure and exciting asset category. It will be interesting to see how the sector evolves and what this means for parents, pupils and educators.
I recently shared the first edition of the updated Class Futures Briefing and previewed it on LinkedIn. If you’ve subscribed there too, thank you. Your support is genuinely appreciated. This newsletter looks at how education, technology, and business are changing, and how creative thinking helps us make sense of it.
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THE PLANNER
✏️ Pencil it in: events for the term
ART / This is What You Get
The man behind Radiohead’s iconic album covers, Stanley Donwood, said in an interview with Pitchfork: “Computers don’t seem real to me because there’s a sheet of glass between you and whatever is happening. You never really get to touch anything that you’re doing unless you print it out. I don’t really enjoy making artwork on a computer because it doesn’t seem like I’ve done anything.”
Computers don’t seem real to me because there’s a sheet of glass between you and whatever is happening.
Produced in association with TIN MAN ART, This is What You Get is exhibiting the work of Stanley Donwood and the band’s singer songwriter Thom Yorke.
It caught my attention because it looks at the relationship between art, music and technology. Over 180 objects are on display including the original paintings, digital compositions, etchings, drawings, and lyrics in their sketchbooks. I think it is a fascinating glimpse into how the artists experimented with early technology and how their work formed. It also gives us perspective on the use of technology in the creative process.
This Is What You Get: Stanley Donwood | Radiohead | Thom Yorke at the Ashmolean Museum Oxford until 11th January 2026.
EVENT / BRILLIANT Festival
BRILLIANT Festival opens on November 11, 2025 from 8.30am until 5pm in Liverpool and it is free to attend. Johnny Vegas will join Alan Thompson, the event founder, Emma Rodgers, and Kate Cotterell for a panel on Putting the A in STEAM. It’s a refreshing way to bring art and creativity into education events, moving the focus away from edtech and influencers, and back towards connection.
INVESTMENT / Creative Hut and FPC
Founders Private Capital (FPC) has made its first investment, backing Creative Hut, a Warrington based STEM education provider known for partnerships with Amazon, Sphero and LEGO. Set up by Gareth Boldsworth in 2017 I have really enjoyed following the progress of the company. In particular I have enjoyed reading about their community and charity work such as Everton in the Community and Tottenham Hotspur Foundation. The multimillion pound deal will support Creative Hut’s “buy and build” strategy and expand its STEM programmes. This will make it easier for organisations to purchase the kits they need for both inhouse and outreach activities, either directly or through e-commerce.
FPC, led by Ravi Sharma, is a North East based private equity firm with £87m to invest in founder led UK businesses. It launched earlier this year.
“We don’t know where we get our ideas from. What we do know is that we do not get them from our laptops.”
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