Cognita is a global

private schools An independent school is independent in its finances and governance. Also known as private schools, non-governmental, privately funded, or non-state schools, they are not administered by local, state or national governments. In British En ...

group which owns and operates schools throughout the United Kingdom, Hong Kong, Singapore, Spain, Switzerland, Thailand, Vietnam, Brazil, India and Chile. Between them, Cognita schools deliver eight different curricula: National,

International Baccalaureate The International Baccalaureate (IB), formerly known as the International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO), is a nonprofit foundation headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, and founded in 1968. It offers four educational programmes: the IB D ...

, American (including American Education Reaches Out - Common Core Plus),

Advanced Placement Advanced Placement (AP) is a program in the United States and Canada created by the College Board which offers college-level curricula and examinations to high school students. American colleges and universities may grant placement and course ...

, Australian, Spanish, Chilean and Brazilian. Cognita was founded by the late

Chris Woodhead Sir Christopher Anthony Woodhead (20 October 1946 – 23 June 2015) was a British educationalist. He was Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Schools in England from 1994 to 2000, and was one of the most controversial figures in debates on the d ...

, previously Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Schools in England. It employs over 7,500 teachers and educates over 50,000 children.

Jacobs Holding Jacobs Holding AG is an investment firm based in Zürich founded in 1994 by Klaus Johann Jacobs which developed from Jacobs Suchard AG. Following the sale of 10.1% of Adecco in 2014, the focus is on the 50.1% stake in Barry Callebaut AG. In addi ...

is the majority owner and it is the sole economic beneficiary of the firm’s investments. The Group Chief Executive Officer of Cognita is Frank Maassen.

History

Cognita was formed in October 2004 by its founder management team and Englefield Capital, a

private equity In the field of finance, the term private equity (PE) refers to investment funds, usually limited partnerships (LP), which buy and restructure financially weak companies that produce goods and provide services. A private-equity fund is both a t ...

firm, now called Bregal Capital, and its former chairman, Sir Chris Woodhead, the former Chief Inspector of Schools in England. From 2004 Cognita started operating its first school, Quinton House School in

Northampton Northampton () is a market town and civil parish in the East Midlands of England, on the River Nene, north-west of London and south-east of Birmingham. The county town of Northamptonshire, Northampton is one of the largest towns in England ...

. Later in 2004, Cognita acquired the Asquith Court Group, bringing a further 18 schools into the group. From 2004 until 2007, they continued to buy independent schools within the UK. In 2007, Cognita spread internationally acquiring schools in Spain and Singapore. Cognita established its first school from inception in 2009,

Stamford American International School Stamford American International School (SAIS) is a co-educational international school in Singapore. The school is owned and operated by Cognita and enrolled its first students in August 2009. Stamford American offers multiple graduating pathway ...

in Singapore. Also in this year, a group of three international schools were purchased in Thailand. Schools in Vietnam joined Cognita in 2011, and in 2012, Cognita bought their first school in South America, in Brazil. In August 2012, Cognita questioned the financial viability of its

Ffynone House School Ffynone House School is an independent co-educational secondary Secondary may refer to: Science and nature * Secondary emission, of particles ** Secondary electrons, electrons generated as ionization products * The secondary winding, or the ...

in Swansea. Following lobbying and negotiation by parents and staff of the school, Cognita agreed to surrender the school to its lessor, Ffynone House School charitable trust, from which Cognita had leased the school. Cognita paid the trust £535,000 as a surrender sum and 10 years rent in advance of £270,000 and the school continues to operate with an operating surplus. On 6 May 2013, the formerly majority British-owned company Cognita agreed to be invested in by the American private equity firm KKR

Kohlberg Kravis Roberts KKR & Co. Inc., also known as Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., is an American global investment company that manages multiple alternative asset classes, including private equity, energy, infrastructure, real estate, credit, and, through its strate ...

L.P. In June 2013, Cognita expanded its network of Latin American schools through a partnership with Desarrollos Educacionales (DDEE), a Chilean private schools group operating nine national curriculum day schools under the Pumahue and Manquecura brands. In April 2014, Cognita transferred ownership of Ferndale Preparatory School, Faringdon, Oxfordshire, to Ferndale Preparatory School Limited, a parent-led consortium. This filed for administration on 22 July 2016 due to lack of pupil numbers and funding issues, leaving staff redundant. In December 2014, Cognita acquired Instituto GayLussac in Niteroi, Brazil. In March 2016, Cognita started a school from inception in Chile with the opening of Colegio Pumahue Chicauma. Also in 2016, International School of Barcelona, the English Montessori School in Spain, and St. Andrews International School, Dusit in Thailand joined Cognita: . In September 2017, Cognita opened Stamford American School in Hong Kong. In the same month it opened the Early Learning Village in Singapore with more than 2,000 places. In November 2017, Cognita announced it would be expanding Downsend School in Leatherhead, UK to include a Senior School from September 2020. In January 2018, Cognita opened a second campus for International School Ho Chi Minh City in Vietnam. In March 2018, The American British School in Chile joined Cognita. In May 2018, Cognita opened BSB Nexus in Spain, a new pre-university campus which is part of The British School of Barcelona. In the same month, Woodland Pre-Schools in Hong Kong joined the Cognita group. On 3 September 2018, global investment firms Bregal Investments and

KKR KKR & Co. Inc., also known as Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co., is an American global investment company that manages multiple alternative asset classes, including private equity, energy, infrastructure, real estate, credit, and, through its strateg ...

announced the signing of a binding agreement for the sale of Cognita to

of Switzerland, due to complete in the fourth quarter of 2018, subject to customary regulatory approvals. Also in September 2018, Santo Tomás School, in Ñuñoa, Metropolitan Region, Santiago de Chile, joined Cognita. In November 2018 and January 2019 respectively, Colegio Europeo de Madrid (CEM) and the British School of Valencia in Spain joined Cognita and became the group's sixth and seventh schools in Spain. In January 2019, BDT Capital Partners and Sofina became minority owners of Cognita, with Jacobs remaining as majority owner. In February 2019, Colegio San Francisco Javier Huechuraba became Cognita's 13th school in Chile. In July 2019, International School Zurich North joined Cognita, becoming its first school in Switzerland and 74th school globally. In September 2019, Colegio Maxi became Cognita's third school in Brazil. In November 2019, Chirec International School in Hyderabad became Cognita's 1st school in India, and 76th school globally. In December 2019, Centro Educacional Pingo de Gente & Laviniense joined Cognita. UK independent school Brighton College opened an international school in Singapore with Cognita in August 2020. In September 2020, Mirasur International School in Spain became a Cognita school. Cognita acquired The Greenland School in Santiago, Chile, in January 2021 and Escola Villare in Brazil in February 2021. In March 2021, Horizon English School became part of Cognita. Obersee Bilingual School in Switzerland and Kindergarten Bilingual School of Florence became part of Cognita in May 2021.

Controversies

Cognita was accused of pension irregularities in 2012. In 2012, Cognita staff were instructed to impersonate parents and take tours of competing schools in Wales. This conduct was defended as a "normal" way of assessing the competition. In 2012, Judge Robert Reid QC ruled that the Cognita-owned Milbourne Lodge in Esher, Surrey, had acted unfairly in removing two children, aged eight and six, without warning after the children's parents criticized the school's parents' association, the Friends of Milbourne Lodge, for lack of transparency in its fundraising and spending. The judge said that the parents' association was "somewhat shadowy" and a "shambles". Cognita's management of Southbank International School was criticised in 2011, with parents groups claiming it had "no serious interest in maximising the educational experience of ... children if it impacts on their bottom line". Then Chairman Chris Woodhead denied the allegations, claiming that its profits were in line with others in the sector. In 2014, the same school was accused of inadequately vetting staff after a former teacher, William Vahey, was found to have abused pupils over several years. In an article in

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers '' The Observer'' and '' The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the ...

, the school's incoming chairman of governors, Sir Chris Woodhead was interviewed: "The school said it had carried out checks dating back 17 years on Vahey, who had taught in international schools in eight countries. But they did not pick up on a 1969 conviction for child molestation in California. Vahey's CV showed he had been registered as a teacher in the state of New Jersey in 1986, and Woodhead said it was reasonable to have assumed that would not have been the case if he had been convicted of child molestation. 'The system in America broke down,' he said." Regulatory and statutory bodies have since praised the transformation of safeguarding practices and processes in the school as "comprehensive and robust". Parents at Cognita's Saint Andrews Sukhumvit 107 School in Bangkok, Thailand, prepared a petition containing an open email to Sir Chris Woodhead in 2012, alleging lack of transparency and a disdain for parental views following a decision by Brian Rogove, Cognita's former Asia Pacific CEO, to change the leadership of the school. In 2012, Cognita's director of education, Geraint Jones, was quoted as saying "13 weeks' paid holiday is enough compensation for hard work during term time" and that "teachers have a duty to go beyond their classroom duties", indicating that putting up wall displays, collecting dinner money, performing lunch duties and providing cover are vital tasks of the teaching job and should not be delegated to assistants. Jones also criticised the inefficiency of state schools, saying "it makes me sick".

List of schools

United Kingdom

* Akeley Wood Senior School,

Buckingham Buckingham ( ) is a market town in north Buckinghamshire, England, close to the borders of Northamptonshire and Oxfordshire, which had a population of 12,890 at the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 Census. The town lies approximately west of ...

, Buckinghamshire * Akeley Wood Junior School,

Milton Keynes Milton Keynes ( ) is a city and the largest settlement in Buckinghamshire, England, about north-west of London. At the 2021 Census, the population of its urban area was over . The River Great Ouse forms its northern boundary; a tributary ...

, Buckinghamshire *

Breaside Preparatory School Bromley is a large town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. It is south-east of Charing Cross, and had an estimated population of 87,889 as of 2011. Originally part of Kent, Bromley became a market town, char ...

Bromley Bromley is a large town in Greater London, England, within the London Borough of Bromley. It is south-east of Charing Cross, and had an estimated population of 87,889 as of 2011. Originally part of Kent, Bromley became a market town, c ...

, London *

Charterhouse Square School Charterhouse Square School is an independent, non-selective, co-educational day school with 250 children aged 3 to 11, situated in the Barbican area of the City of London. It occupies a five-story Victorian building overlooking Charterhouse Squar ...

Islington Islington () is a district in the north of Greater London, England, and part of the London Borough of Islington. It is a mainly residential district of Inner London, extending from Islington's High Street to Highbury Fields, encompassing the ...

, London * Clifton Lodge School,

Ealing Ealing () is a district in West London, England, west of Charing Cross in the London Borough of Ealing. Ealing is the administrative centre of the borough and is identified as a major metropolitan centre in the London Plan. Ealing was his ...

, London * Colchester High School,

Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in Essex, in the East of England. It had a population of 122,000 in 2011. The demonym is Colcestrian. Colchester occupies the site of Camulodunum, the first major city in Roman Britain and its first capital. Colch ...

, Essex * Cumnor House School for Boys,

South Croydon South Croydon in south London is the area surrounding the valley south of central Croydon and running as far south as the former Red Deer public house on the Brighton Road. It is bounded by Waddon to the West and Selsdon and Sanderstead to the ...

, London * Cumnor House School for Girls,

Purley, London Purley is an area of the London Borough of Croydon in London, England, south of Charing Cross, with a history going back at least 800 years. It was originally granted as an estate from holdings at Sanderstead and until as a district of Surrey a ...

* Downsend School,

Leatherhead Leatherhead is a town in the Mole Valley District of Surrey, England, about south of Central London. The settlement grew up beside a ford on the River Mole, from which its name is thought to derive. During the late Anglo-Saxon period, Leathe ...

, Surrey * Downsend Pre-Preparatory School

, Surrey * Downsend Pre-Preparatory School,

Ashtead Ashtead is a large village in the Mole Valley district of Surrey, England, approximately south of central London. Primarily a commuter settlement, Ashtead is on the single-carriageway A24 between Epsom and Leatherhead. The village is on ...

, Surrey * Downsend Pre-Preparatory School,

Epsom Epsom is the principal town of the Borough of Epsom and Ewell in Surrey, England, about south of central London. The town is first recorded as ''Ebesham'' in the 10th century and its name probably derives from that of a Saxon landowner. The ...

, Surrey * Duncombe School,

Hertford Hertford ( ) is the county town of Hertfordshire, England, and is also a civil parish in the East Hertfordshire district of the county. The parish had a population of 26,783 at the 2011 census. The town grew around a ford on the River Lea, n ...

, Hertfordshire * Glenesk School,

East Horsley East Horsley is a village and civil parish in Surrey, England, 21 miles southwest of London, on the A246 between Leatherhead and Guildford. Horsley and Effingham Junction railway stations are on the New Guildford line to London Waterloo. ...

, Surrey * Hendon Preparatory School,

Hendon Hendon is an urban area in the Borough of Barnet, North-West London northwest of Charing Cross. Hendon was an ancient manor and parish in the county of Middlesex and a former borough, the Municipal Borough of Hendon; it has been part of Gre ...

, London * Huddersfield Grammar School,

Huddersfield Huddersfield is a market town in the Kirklees district in West Yorkshire, England. It is the administrative centre and largest settlement in the Kirklees district. The town is in the foothills of the Pennines. The River Holme's confluence i ...

, West Yorkshire * Hydesville Tower School,

Walsall Walsall (, or ; locally ) is a market town and administrative centre in the West Midlands County, England. Historically part of Staffordshire, it is located north-west of Birmingham, east of Wolverhampton and from Lichfield. Walsall is th ...

, West Midlands * King's School, Plymouth,

Plymouth Plymouth () is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in South West England. It is located on the south coast of Devon, approximately south-west of Exeter and south-west of London. It is bordered by Cornwall to ...

, Devon * Kingscourt School,

Catherington Catherington is a village in the East Hampshire district of Hampshire, England. It is 1 mile (1.8 km) northwest of Horndean. The village is also close to Cowplain and Clanfield. It is situated about 10 miles north of Portsmouth and eight mi ...

, Hampshire *

Long Close School Long Close School is a coeducational Independent school located in Upton, Slough in Berkshire, England. The school is owned and operated by the Cognita Cognita is a global private schools group which owns and operates schools throughout the ...

Slough Slough () is a town and unparished area in the unitary authority of the same name in Berkshire, England, bordering west London. It lies in the Thames Valley, west of central London and north-east of Reading, at the intersection of the ...

, Berkshire * Meoncross School,

Fareham Fareham ( ) is a market town at the north-west tip of Portsmouth Harbour, between the cities of Portsmouth and Southampton in south east Hampshire, England. It gives its name to the Borough of Fareham. It was historically an important manufac ...

, Hampshire *

Milbourne Lodge School Milbourne Lodge School is a co-educational pre-prep and preparatory school for children aged four to thirteen. Located in Esher, Surrey, the school is housed in a Victorian mansion situated on of Surrey countryside. History Milbourne Lodge ...

Esher Esher ( ) is a town in Surrey, England, to the east of the River Mole. Esher is an outlying suburb of London near the London-Surrey Border, and with Esher Commons at its southern end, the town marks one limit of the Greater London Built-Up ...

, Surrey * North Bridge House Nursery School, London * North Bridge House Pre-Preparatory School, London * North Bridge House Preparatory School, London * North Bridge House Senior School Hampstead, London * North Bridge House Senior School & Sixth Form, London * Oakfields Montessori School,

Upminster Upminster is a suburban town in East London, England, within the London Borough of Havering. Located east-northeast of Charing Cross, it is one of the district centres identified for development in the London Plan. Historically a rural vill ...

, London *

Oakleigh House School Oakleigh House School is a co-educational private primary school in Swansea, Wales. The school is owned and operated by the Cognita Group, and is situated in the Uplands area of the city. History Oakleigh House School was established in 191 ...

Swansea Swansea (; cy, Abertawe ) is a coastal city and the second-largest city of Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the C ...

, Wales * Oxford House School,

, Essex * Polam School,

Bedford Bedford is a market town in Bedfordshire, England. At the 2011 Census, the population of the Bedford built-up area (including Biddenham and Kempston) was 106,940, making it the second-largest settlement in Bedfordshire, behind Luton, whilst t ...

, Bedfordshire * Prince's Gardens Preparatory School,

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, B ...

, London * Quinton House School,

, Northamptonshire * St Clare's School, Porthcawl, St Clare's School,

Porthcawl Porthcawl (, ) is a town and community on the south coast of Wales in the county borough of Bridgend, west of the capital city, Cardiff and southeast of Swansea. Historically part of Glamorgan and situated on a low limestone headland on the S ...

, Wales * St Margaret's Preparatory School,

Gosfield Gosfield is a village in the Braintree district of Essex, England. It is located around two miles west of the town of Halstead. Places of note include the following: * Gosfield Hall: a country house and Grade I listed building, dating back to 15 ...

, Essex * St Mary's School,

Henley-on-Thames Henley-on-Thames ( ) is a town and civil parish on the River Thames in Oxfordshire, England, northeast of Reading, west of Maidenhead, southeast of Oxford and west of London (by road), near the tripoint of Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Buckin ...

, Oxfordshire * St Nicholas Preparatory School,

Kensington Kensington is a district in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea in the West of Central London. The district's commercial heart is Kensington High Street, running on an east–west axis. The north-east is taken up by Kensington Garden ...

, London * Salcombe Preparatory School, Southgate, London * Southbank International School Westminster, London * Southbank International School Kensington, London * Southbank International School Hampstead, London

Spain

* Colegio Europeo de Madrid,

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...

* Hastings School of Madrid, Madrid * The English Montessori School, Madrid *

British School of Barcelona The British School of Barcelona (BSB) is a private coeducational bilingual international school located in the Barcelona metropolitan area, Catalonia, Spain.

, Barcelona * El Limonar International School, Murcia,

Murcia Murcia (, , ) is a city in south-eastern Spain, the capital and most populous city of the autonomous community of the Region of Murcia, and the seventh largest city in the country. It has a population of 460,349 inhabitants in 2021 (about one ...

* El Limonar International School, Villamartin, Villamartin * British School of Valencia, Valencia * Mirasur International School,

Pinto, Madrid Pinto is a municipality in the Community of Madrid, Spain. It is located in the central area of the Iberian Peninsula at an altitude of 604 meters, 20 kilometers south of Madrid, and covers 62.7 square kilometers. In 2018, Pinto had a population ...

Switzerland

* International School – Zurich North, Zurich * Obersee Bilingual School, Wollerau

Singapore

* Australian International School,

Serangoon Gardens Serangoon Garden Estate is a residential estate in the Serangoon district of the North-East Region of Singapore. History Serangoon Garden is one of the oldest estates on the island, and was built during the 1950s. The estate was upgraded in ...

Serangoon Serangoon () is a planning area and residential town located in the North-East Region of Singapore. Serangoon is bordered by these planning areas – Sengkang to the north, Hougang to the east, Ang Mo Kio and Bishan to the west, as well as ...

Brighton College Brighton College is an independent, co-educational boarding and day school for boys and girls aged 3 to 18 in Brighton, England. The school has three sites: Brighton College (the senior school, ages 11 to 18); Brighton College Preparatory Sc ...

Singapore, co-located with Australian International School and Stamford American International School, opening in August 2020

Hong Kong

* Stamford American School,

Kowloon Kowloon () is an urban area in Hong Kong comprising the Kowloon Peninsula and New Kowloon. With a population of 2,019,533 and a population density of in 2006, it is the most populous area in Hong Kong, compared with Hong Kong Island and ...

* Woodland Pre-Schools

Thailand

* St. Andrews International School, Rayong,

Rayong Rayong ( th, ระยอง, ) is a city (''thesaban nakhon'') on the east coast of the Gulf of Thailand and the capital of Rayong province. It covers tambons Tha Pradu and Pak Nam and parts of ''tambons'' Choeng Noen and Noen Phra, all within ...

* St. Andrews International School, Sathorn,

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estimated populati ...

* St. Andrews International School, Sukhumvit 107,

* St. Andrews International School, Dusit,

Vietnam

* International School Ho Chi Minh City (ISHCMC),

Ho Chi Minh City , population_density_km2 = 4,292 , population_density_metro_km2 = 697.2 , population_demonym = Saigonese , blank_name = GRP (Nominal) , blank_info = 2019 , blank1_name = – Total , blank1_ ...

* International School Saigon Pearl (ISSP),

* International School Ho Chi Minh City - American Academy (ISHCMC-AA),

Brazil

* PlayPen Bilingual Education,

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for ' Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaW ...

* Instituto GayLussac, Niteroi,

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

* Centro Educacional Pingo de Gente & Laviniense, Manus * Colegio Maxi, Londrina, Paraná * Escola Villare, São Caetano do Sul, Brazil

Chile

* Colegio American British School,

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whos ...

* Colegio Manquecura Ciudad de Los Valles,

* Colegio Manquecura Ciudad del Este,

* Colegio Manquecura Valle lo Campino,

* Colegio Pumahue Chicauma,

* Colegio Pumahue Chicureo,

* Colegio Pumahue Curauma * Colegio Pumahue Huechuraba,

* Colegio Pumahue Peñalolén,

* Colegio Pumahue Puerto Montt, Puerto Montt * Colegio Pumahue Temuco, Temuco * Colegio San Francisco Javier Huechuraba * Colegio Manquecura de Ñuñoa, Santiago * Greenland School, Santiago

India

* CHIREC International,

Hyderabad Hyderabad ( ; , ) is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Telangana and the ''de jure'' capital of Andhra Pradesh. It occupies on the Deccan Plateau along the banks of the Musi River, in the northern part of Southern Indi ...

United Arab Emirates

* Horizon English School,

Dubai Dubai (, ; ar, wikt:دبي, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the List of cities in the United Arab Emirates#Major cities, most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 ...

* Horizon International School,

* Ranches Primary School,

* Royal Grammar School Guilford,

United States

York Preparatory School York Preparatory School commonly referred to as York Prep School, is an independent, university-preparatory school in the Upper West Side area of Manhattan, New York City, near Lincoln Square. The coeducational school provides instruction to app ...

, (New York), USA

Italy

* Kindergarten Bilingual School,

Florence Florence ( ; it, Firenze ) is a city in Central Italy and the capital city of the Tuscany region. It is the most populated city in Tuscany, with 383,083 inhabitants in 2016, and over 1,520,000 in its metropolitan area.Bilancio demografico ...

References

External links

Cognita official site
{{authority control Companies based in Milton Keynes Education in Milton Keynes Education in the United Kingdom Private and independent school organisations in England 2004 establishments in England Educational institutions established in 2004 Education companies of the United Kingdom