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I am always grateful when given the opportunity to share our story. Today, KEY academy is what many would call a modern day village, with our team, partners,  parents, and cheerleaders all actively playing a part in our story - but it didn't start this way.
 
I moved to Lagos, Nigeria in 2013, having grown up in London in the UK. After a career in Finance spanning more than 10 years, my husband and I decided to start a family in 2016, and I took a career break. This forced me to reflect on my own childhood and life choices, and it became clear to me that my story is in many ways the stereotypical first-generation immigrant story - a relentless focus on passing exams to get to the “next level” rather than pursuing passion, all with the ultimate goal of securing a good job. On deep reflection, I knew I did not want this for my children. I wanted them to have the opportunity to develop a love for lifelong learning, pursue their passion and talent and be socially-conscious global citizens right here in Nigeria. 

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This set me on a long journey of discovery into the world of transformative education, and I spent the next few years researching project based approaches to learning in Finland, Japan, Indonesia, and the US. I also researched pre-colonial forms of education in Nigeria, and was struck by the similarities between our traditional apprenticeship systems and modern project-based learning, realising that many of the principles of “real-world learning through doing” are the same in both. Excited about the possibilities, I began looking for schools in Lagos offering this style of learning, but unfortunately could not find any, and came to terms with the fact that home-schooling might be the only option for my family. 

I continued to study this area and connected with individuals in the global transformative/alternative education space to learn from their experiences. During this time I co-founded a pre-school and after-school learning centre focused on helping children develop 21st century skills. The experience gave me insight into the opportunities and benefits that a school model could provide. Speaking with a number of people in Lagos who seemed to have the same challenge, I began flirting with the idea of launching an educational think-tank that could help drive educational policy reform in Nigeria, and Africa more broadly. During the process of fleshing out the idea, I realised that it would be almost impossible to create the kind of impact I envisioned without a model school where I could not only demonstrate the theory to other educators and policy makers, but also learn what is involved in the day-to-day running of a world-class school.

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So, after countless debates and deliberation with family, friends, mentors (and myself!) I finally launched KEY (Keep Educating Yourself) academy in 2018, a social enterprise focused on revolutionising education in Nigeria. Our model school opened in September 2019, and we have been adding new learning groups each year, ahead of opening our new 15,000sqm secondary school and innovation campus in 2027. All of the above feed into KEY academy’s long-term mission to democratise access to 21st-century, project-based education in Nigeria through nationwide teacher training, events, books, digital content, and ultimately, policy reform.​​​

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At KEY academy, our approach to learning is play based in the early years which naturally transitions into project-based learning, with a focus on both core skills (e.g. numeracy and literacy) and higher-order skills (e.g. problem solving, critical thinking and teamwork). We currently enrol children from the age of 18 months, as we evolve to offer full primary and secondary education up to 18 years old. We are already leveraging our global network to form long lasting partnerships, and ensure we can provide the necessary bridge from KEY academy into Universities and other higher institutions across the world.

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As a fellow parent, I understand that many of you reading this might be new to the concept of 21st-century, project-based learning and it might sound too radical or “out there”, but I encourage you to keep an open mind. Please take some time to read our in-depth, research-backed report on project-based learning, browse through our blog posts, and visit our social media channels to see our learning in action.

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  The current global model of education was designed in the 1890s to address the challenges of the Industrial Revolution. Today, almost 150 years later, we have very different challenges in the form of new and emergent technology and AI changing the way we all work and live. I think we need an educational approach which helps arm our children with the skills they will need to thrive in this new world, and I look forward to partnering with you on this journey!

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