Stakeholders in the edtech community met in London in July to celebrate the “creativity and innovation” of their sector as part of the 2021 BETT Awards.
The awards were held in the Hurlingham Club in Fulham, and sought to showcase the world’s leading education technology solutions.
“The UK Is home to more than a thousand edtech companies, making us a global hub for the industry”
The winner of the company of the year award (more than £3m turnover) was the National Education Group, which provides remote, expert-led continuing professional development, with a “mission to empower schools in the UK and overseas to drive up standards”.
“The UK is home to more than 1,000 edtech companies, making us a global hub for the industry… London is the only European city to feature in the industry’s global top 10 best destinations,” Graham Stuart, parliamentary under-secretary of state at the Department for International Trade told delegates during an opening plenary.
The winner for the best collaboration with a school award was LGfL for ReadingZone Live with Cheam Common Junior Academy and the LEO Academy Trust.
“A wonderful afternoon at a stunning venue celebrating everyone’s hard work and contribution in the education sector with an epic crowd. Couldn’t be any better!” said Bob Usher, LGfL’s content manager.
“We are delighted to receive the award for our collaboration with two fantastic partners, ReadingZone and the Leo Academy Trust. The outcome of which has been the production of a truly inclusive and inspiring set of resources for both teachers and children which we hope will be of value to the whole schools sector,” he added.
Earth Cubs, a learning app for children, was the winner of the free digital content or open education resources award.
“We were all so proud already just getting to the final, but to win a Bett award feels incredible. It recognises all of the hard work and dedication from our amazing team, who are hell bent on inspiring kids and supporting teachers and parents. Thank you to all the team at Bett, and besa, and of course the judges for saying such lovely things about Earth Cubs!,” said Toby Hunt, CEO of Earth Cubs.
The awards were held in association with the British Educational Suppliers Association.
“It’s been fantastic to see everybody back together in the flesh. I think people really enjoyed meeting in person and we had some very worthy winners. It’s always a really good event to celebrate the great and the good of edtech,” Julie McCarthy, deputy director general at BESA, told The PIE News.
