Rising Academy Waterloo, announced in the top 10 shortlist for T4 Education’s World’s Best School Prizes!
Rising Academy Waterloo in Sierra Leone has today been shortlisted for the World’s Best School Prizes. Organised by T4 Education, the World’s Best School Prizes are the world’s most prestigious education awards, which recognise and celebrate the pivotal role schools play in our world.
Rising Academy Waterloo, an independent pre-school through secondary school on the outskirts of Freetown Sierra Leone and part of the Rising Academy Network, has been nominated in the “Overcoming Adversity” category. It is the first school in the country to have been shortlisted for an award. Founded in 2016 in the wake of the Ebola crisis, the school has defied the odds: doubling enrollment during periods of significant economic hardship and earning top marks in public exams while keeping fees below $1 per day.
Hon. Mr Conrad Sackey, Sierra Leone’s Minister of Basic and Senior Secondary Education commented, “I’m delighted to be able to congratulate you for being shortlisted for the prestigious World’s Best School Prize in the Overcoming Adversity Category. This recognition is a testament to your incredible work innovating and transforming Sierra Leone’s educational outcomes. Your commitment to overcoming challenges and fostering a thriving student environment is truly commendable. Your innovative use of technology and unwavering pursuit of excellence have not only set a benchmark for educational institutions in Sierra Leone but have also inspired others to follow suit. In Sierra Leone, the government has committed to using technology to improve educational outcomes and ensure that every child has access to quality education. Your achievements serve as a shining example of what can be accomplished through perseverance, creativity and a focus on student success. I am proud to be part of the journey with you, congratulations again on a remarkable achievement and I wish you the very best in your future endeavours.”
David Lammy MP, UK Shadow Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs commented, “Congratulations to Head Teacher, Alpha Kamara and to all of the students, teachers and parents, as you become the first school in Sierra Leone to receive this accolade. I first visited Sierra Leone back in 2001 and, despite the many challenges the country has had to navigate since then, it continues to make progress. Congratulations once again to Rising Academy Waterloo and the educational reformers across Sierra Leone who have made this all possible.”
The impact of Rising Academy Waterloo has been felt far beyond its local community. Innovations developed and tested in the school have now reached over a quarter of a million students across Sierra Leone and beyond. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the school helped pioneer “Rising-on-Air”, a radio education programme to keep children kept out of school engaged and learning. This 20-week programme of radio lessons for all grade levels was selected by the government in Sierra Leone to be broadcast not only to parents in Freetown but to the whole nation and was also adopted by neighbouring West African countries.
The school has also become an innovation centre for Rising’s free-to-use, multi-award-winning AI-powered virtual maths tutor, Rori, which has already reached over 90,000 children via WhatsApp. Furthermore, the “RisingFaster” programme, designed and tested at Rising Waterloo to help children who had fallen behind catch up, has now been adopted by 700 public schools across Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ghana and Rwanda.
Paul Skidmore, CEO, said, “As Rising Academies celebrates our 10th anniversary, this is an incredibly proud moment not only for our exceptional team at Rising Academy Waterloo, but for our whole organisation. When we began this journey in 2014 it was hard to imagine that 10 years on, we would be supporting more than 250,000 students in 900 schools across Sierra Leone, Liberia, Rwanda and Ghana. This has only been possible because of the incredible support of parents, teachers, school leaders and government partners. This is just the start. Our ambition is to work hand in hand with governments, local communities and education partners to raise the quality of learning and schooling for millions of children across the continent in the next 10 years.”
Vikas Pota, Founder of T4 Education and the World’s Best School Prizes, said, “Unless we solve the urgent challenges global education faces – from learning gaps exacerbated by COVID to chronic underfunding and the growing teacher wellbeing, recruitment and retention crisis – we will have failed the next generation. Trailblazing Sierra Leone schools like Rising Academy Waterloo, which have cultivated a strong culture and aren’t afraid to innovate, show the difference that can be made to so many lives. Schools everywhere can now learn from their solutions, and it’s time governments do so as well.”
The winners of the five Prizes will be chosen by an expert Judging Academy based on rigorous criteria. In addition, all 50 shortlisted schools across the five Prizes will also take part in a Public Vote, which opened today. The school which receives the most public votes will receive the Community Choice Award and membership to T4 Education’s Best School to Work programme to help them support teacher wellbeing.
To place your vote for Rising Academy Waterloo click here.
