Wey Education’s InterHigh student makes headlines in the US
A student of (WEY ) educational wing, InterHigh, made headlines last week after being hand-picked by US President Joe Biden to aid him with his climate initiative.
Anna Hursley, a 14-year-old table tennis prodigy who became the youngest athlete to compete in the Commonwealth Games, received a message from the US embassy asking if she would help tackle what it said was the “most urgent priority” of his administration.
‘The UK Cadet No.1 table tennis player who already has a role as UNFCCC Young Champion and is now set to have global recognition for her work asking for action on climate change,’ CNN wrote. She is also ranked No 1 in Wales for under-15s and No 2 among the seniors.
In order to fit her education around her training schedule, Hursley attends Wey’s online secondary school, InterHigh, and has been taking video lessons since before the pandemic.
InterHigh’s Anna Hursey gets the call up from Biden to support climate efforts
(Source:CNN)
Due to a new reality of distance learning in the age of the COVID-19 pandemic, the edtech space has surged with analysts reporting an average increase in revenue of 335% according to an industry impact analysis by Rootstrap. And the market is set to grow even further.
The demand has been so strong that Wey Education has continued to surpass market forecasts in turnover and profitability. In a recent update, the Group reported the first four months of FY21 as being ‘significantly ahead’ of budget and market expectations.
(Source: Wey Education)
In particular, the Group’s two established educational divisions, InterHigh, a non-selective fee paying online secondary school and Academy21 its B2B educational division, have seen continued strong demand since the onset of the pandemic. This is largely driven by parents and students who now see online education as a genuine alternative to traditional methods.
In its FY20 results published in November 2020, Wey Education said turnover had risen by nearly 40% to £8.4m (FY19: £6m) after witnessing ‘significant growth’ in student enrolment across all year groups. To date, over 3,000 students receive an education from the group.
A survey from FutureLearn in conjunction with YouGov pointed to the younger generation accelerating change in this space. In ‘The Future of Learning Report’, 21% of those asked strongly agreed that online education provides similar benefits to traditional education.
“Online learning grew in popularity during the pandemic and will continue as technology advances (like virtual reality) and as access becomes universal - especially given world issues that people want to know more about – climate, inclusivity and diversity,” said Matt Jenner, Director of Learning at , FutureLearn, a UK-based global digital education platform.
According to recent data, the Online Education Market size is projected to reach USD $53.13 Bn by 2027, from USD$8.4 Bn in 2020, growing at a CAGR of 30.15% during 2021-2027.
Outlook for Wey
Commenting on Wey’s positive forecast for FY21, Barrie Whipp, Chairman of WEY, said: "We are very pleased with the Company's performance in the early part of the financial year which we envisage continuing during the rest of the year. The Board intends to continue investing in growth; this is not the time to consolidate, but to continue to push forward."
Its cash position was also ‘very strong’ at year end at £6.5m (FY 19: £5.0m), which it said will enable a solid basis for future investment considerations in new materials and technology.
Barrie has described its outlook as ‘unequivocally optimistic’ following its previous 1H20 market consolidation with a robust strategy for accelerated growth. He added that growth and subsequent changes in human behaviour have presented ‘yet further opportunities.’
Shares in Wey Education have increased by 25% since the beginning of December 2020 and have doubled in value since March 2020. The stock ticked up 1.14% this morning to 35.4p.
With a rapidly growing track record of success, Wey clearly represents a true, and in many cases a preferred, alternative to traditional education in a bricks and mortar environment.
For investors, WEY is strongly positioned to navigate the challenges faced by today’s educators, and as indicated by its forecasts, it goes into FY21 with significant confidence.
Reasons to Follow WEY
Wey Education operates two established divisions – InterHigh, a non-selective fee paying online secondary school, established in 2005 and Academy21, B2B division serving other educational providers, schools, local authorities and other public bodies.
Structural Change in the Education System
Due to a new reality of distance learning in the age of the COVID-19 pandemic, the edtech space has surged with analysts reporting an average increase in revenue of 335% according to an industry impact analysis by Rootstrap. And the market is set to grow even further.
According to market data published by MarketsandMarkets, the EdTech and Smart Classroom Market size is expected to grow globally from $85.8 billion in 2020 to $181.3 billion by 2025.
Rapid Growth
The online educational specialist previously told investors in July 2020 that group turnover was expected to be in excess of £8 million for the financial year ended 31 August 31 2020.
As part of the company’s wider business strategy adopted in November 2019, Dr Sara de Freitas was appointed in January 2020 in order to provide Leadership of the Education Strategy ‘to enhance quality, improve student engagement and scale for growth.’
'Best-In-Class'
Since 2019, Wey said its education provision has been restructured to ensure the best individual learning experience across the Wey group for an increasing number of students.
Currently, Wey said its technology architecture successfully delivers the needs of today's business, however it has been preparing to scale to the next level growth for its business.
With the appointment of a CTO, the company’s division has been planning the new technology strategy and investment into the target Wey technology architecture which has commenced with new platforms planned for delivery in 2021 and beyond.
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