Maths-Whizz
Adviser / Board Role
Whizz Education is an established EdTech company specialising in adaptive online mathematics tutoring through its Maths-Whizz platform. Founded in 2004 by Richard Marett, the company works with schools and governments to improve learning outcomes through intelligent, data-driven teaching tools.
In most classrooms, a single teacher must balance the needs of pupils working at very different levels. Maths-Whizz helps to bridge that gap by using adaptive algorithms that adjust the speed, depth, and difficulty of lessons for each child. Faster learners can move ahead without being held back, while those who need more time receive additional support and practice. The result is steadier progress across the class and clearer insight into each pupil’s development.
Independent research has shown that pupils using Maths-Whizz for 45–60 minutes per week achieve learning gains equivalent to roughly one and a half times the expected annual progress, at a fraction of the cost of traditional one-to-one tutoring.
International Impact and Evaluation
In Kenya, Whizz Education was a key partner in Project iMlango, where students achieved learning improvements of nearly threefold. Building on that success, the company is now working with government partners on an ambitious plan to bring digital maths education to more than 11 million children nationwide over the next five years.
In the UK, Whizz Education was selected by the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF) for a major independent impact study — a significant recognition and opportunity for the company. The study, conducted throughout 2024, evaluated the effectiveness of Maths-Whizz in improving maths attainment within state schools. The results will be published shortly and are expected to inform future education policy and digital learning strategy within the Department for Education.
I am a member of the board and am actively engaged in supporting Whizz Education’s long-term development. In particular, I have worked closely with the team on analysing and presenting the findings of the EEF-supported study to government and policy stakeholders, helping translate the evidence base into clear, decision-relevant insights.
Advisory focus
Whizz Education’s core commercial model has historically centred on partnerships with schools, multi-academy trusts, and education ministries — a business-to-education (B2E) approach, typically delivered via annual per-student subscriptions in the £30–£40 range.
During my time on the board, I have taken responsibility for supporting the development of a complementary growth strategy that broadens this model to include business-to-business (B2B) and business-to-consumer (B2C) channels. The objective is to enhance financial resilience, expand reach, and lower adoption barriers for schools and families, while remaining fully aligned with Whizz Education’s mission.
One strand of this work focuses on corporate partnerships and sponsorships, creating commercially attractive opportunities for companies to engage meaningfully with families, educators, and education leaders. These partnerships are designed to combine measurable educational outcomes with responsible brand engagement and demonstrable social impact.
In parallel, we are exploring the integration of Maths-Whizz into corporate employee benefit programmes, enabling employers to offer high-quality, personalised maths tutoring for their employees’ children as a valued family benefit. A further initiative involves making the platform available directly to parents, providing a flexible route to access adaptive tutoring outside the school environment.
Taken together, these initiatives extend Whizz Education’s reach beyond a purely institutional model, creating a more balanced and sustainable mix of B2E, B2B, and B2C engagement. This diversified approach helps ensure that more children can benefit from high-quality, personalised learning, regardless of geography, school funding, or family circumstances.
Whizz Education’s mission remains clear and compelling: to make individualised, high-quality maths tutoring accessible to every child. I am pleased to support that mission at both a strategic and practical level.