Cognita

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Cognita Schools
Type Privately held company
Industry Independent schools
Founded 2004
Headquarters Milton Keynes, England
Number of locations 64 schools (2013)
Area served Worldwide
Key people Rees Withers
Owner(s) Bregal Fund and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts L.P.
Website Cognita

Cognita is a private company which owns and operates independent schools throughout the United Kingdom. In addition, Cognita operates a number of international schools in Singapore, Spain, Thailand, Vietnam, Brazil and Chile with a vision to expand across Asia.[1][2] Currently Cognita has a portfolio of sixty-four schools. The company is based in Milton Keynes, Buckinghamshire, and is the largest independent schools business in the UK.[3]

Currently the company employs almost 4,000 teachers and educates around 27,500 children in a variety of pre-preparatory, preparatory and senior schools.[4]

The former chairman of Cognita is Sir Chris Woodhead, the former Chief Inspector of Schools in England.[5]

In 2010 revenue was £151 million, of which £102 million was in the UK.[1]

Cognita operates an ongoing programme of investment into its schools including making investments to materially upgrade the facilities and infrastructure of its schools.[6][7][8][9]

History

Cognita was formed in October 2004 by its management and Englefield Capital, a private equity firm, now called Bregal Capital.[10] From 2004 Cognita started operating its first school, Quinton House School in Northampton. Later in 2004 Cognita acquired the Asquith Court Group, bringing a further eighteen schools into the group. From 2004 until 2007, they continued to buy independent schools within the UK.

In 2007, Cognita spread internationally, acquiring schools from Spain and Asia. Cognita established its first school from inception in 2009, Stamford American International School in Singapore. Also in this year, a group of three international schools were purchased in Thailand. Schools in Vietnam joined Cognita in 2011 and in 2012; Cognita bought their first school in South America in Brazil.[11]

On May, 6th, 2013 the formerly majority British-owned company Cognita agreed to be invested in by the American private equity firms Kohlberg Kravis Roberts L.P.[12]

In June 2013, Cognita expanded its network of Latin American schools through a partnership with Chilean private schools group Desarrollos Educacionales (DDEE). DDEE is a private schools group Chile, operating nine national curricular day schools under the Pumahue and Manquecura brands.[13]

Criticisms

Cognita has been accused of pension irregularities, but the allegations were not substantiated.[14]

In 2012, Cognita staff were instructed to impersonate parents and take tours of competing schools in Wales. This conduct was defended on the basis that it was a perfectly normal way of assessing the competition.[15]

Geraint Jones, Cognita's Director of Education since September 2012 and a former police officer has publically criticised the inefficiency in state schools, stating that it "makes him sick".[16]

List of Cognita schools

Schools in the United Kingdom

Schools in Spain

Schools in Singapore

Schools in Thailand

  • St. Andrews International School, Rayong, Rayong
  • St. Andrews International School, Sathorn, Bangkok
  • St. Andrews International School, Sukhumvit, Bangkok

Schools in Vietnam

Schools in Brazil

  • Escola Cidade Jardim (Playpen), São Paulo

Schools in Chile

  • Red de colegios Pumahue y Manquecura, Santiago

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Alistair Gray (12 March 2011). "Cognita looks abroad to expand". Financial Times. Retrieved 17 April 2011. 
  2. ↑ David Turner (20 May 2009). "Gloom-hit schools see chances overseas". Financial Times. Retrieved 17 April 2011. 
  3. ↑
  4. ↑ Our Background
  5. ↑ Chris Woodhead
  6. ↑ "£3.5m scheme to improve Huddersfield Grammar School". Huddersfield Daily Examiner. Retrieved 28 May 2013. 
  7. ↑ Straits Times. "American school plans big with new Upper Serangoon campus". Retrieved 20 October 2012. 
  8. ↑ Gates, James. "Smiles as Clifton Lodge School gets upgrade cash". Ealing Gazette. Retrieved 16 August 2012. 
  9. ↑ James, Deneslow. "Charteris to Remain a Sports Centre". Retrieved 28 May 2013. 
  10. ↑ "Current Investment - Cognita". Bregal Capital. Retrieved 17 April 2011. 
  11. ↑ "Cognita History". Cognitaschools.com. 
  12. ↑ "Article: Breaking: Cognita’s backers sell stake to KKR". EducationInvestor. 
  13. ↑ Written by: Cognita (20 June 2013). "Cognita expands its Latin American network of schools through a partnership with Chilean private schools group". Cognitaschools.com. 
  14. ↑ Daniel Boffey (10 June 2012). "Woodhead Schools Pension Probe". The Observer. Retrieved 10 June 2012. 
  15. ↑ Lucy Sherrif (13 June 2012). "Woodhead Private schools expulsions". Huffington Post. Retrieved 13 June 201. 
  16. ↑ Irena Barker (19 October 2012). "State School Inefficiency Makes Me Sick". Times Educational Supplement. Retrieved 19 October 2012. 

External links

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