Staff Reporter
For the second year, SPARK Schools was again named one of Africa’s Fastest Growing Companies in the 2024 Financial Times (FT) and Statista annual ranking.
This comes shortly after the school group was named one of Time Magazine’s top 250 EdTech companies worldwide in May 2024.
The FT ranking, now in its third year, identifies companies with the strongest revenue growth between 2019 and 2022. SPARK Schools is one of 41 of South Africa’s fastest-growing companies for 2024, ranking in the 118th spot of Africa’s 125 overall. In the Education and Social Services sector, SPARK Schools is one of only five companies that made the ranking.
“In the last six months, we have had fantastic international acknowledgement of our work. Besides the FT and Time accolades, SPARK Schools has been recognised as a 2023 T4 Education World’s Best School winner and named by Global Brands Magazine as the most innovative education provider in South Africa,” says Stacey Brewer, co-founder and CEO of SPARK Schools.
“The FT ranking is a testament to the work we have put into developing a sustainable, low-cost private school model offering world-class education outcomes,” she says.
Brewer says the recent global accolades prove that the education sector remains critically important and noteworthy. “We are so incredibly proud to be recognised in South Africa.
“This award particularly also underscores the appetite for quality education in Africa. Our continued growth means that the model we have developed to challenge the education status quo is working,” Brewer says.
Brewer says the foundations of SPARK Schools’ successful education model are blended learning, the importance of the teaching and support staff, and the core values central to the school’s culture.
“We implemented Africa’s first blended learning model for primary school scholars. Way before the COVID-19 pandemic introduced scholars to online learning, we were already getting scholars to split time between digital content (that adapts in difficulty to their learning pace) and classroom interaction based on best practice tuition.
“We know that our success lies with our team. We work hard to recruit young teachers and invest seriously in their professional development. All teachers at SPARK Schools undergo 200 hours of professional training every year. This means that our teachers are constantly upskilling themselves about education innovations. We have also created our internal pipeline for promotions and leadership,” she says.
Brewer says the concept of values helps scholars become responsible global citizens who are aware of their opportunities and responsibilities. The five core values are Service, Persistence, Achievement, Responsibility, and Kindness. Each school has its unique sixth value.
“The work we do at SPARK Schools is a great example of what is possible in the education sector. Our vision is to make South Africa a global leader in education. The whole journey of SPARK Schools has been about not giving up; we believe we have a bigger role in pushing society into a different way of managing education – so that it lasts generations,” Brewer says.
INSIDE EDUCATION
