Westbourne WINS at the Independent Schools of the Year Awards

Consolidating our ranking as a top UK independent school

Westbourne School is honoured to have won the prestigious title of Independent School of the Year for Best Use of Education Technology at the 2025 Independent Schools of the Year Awards.

This amazing accolade not only compounds our status as a top independent school, but also recognises our pioneering approach to integrating cutting-edge technology into education at a national level, putting students at the heart of their learning journey every step of the way.

Meet KnowVie, our AI revision buddy

At the heart of Westbourne’s innovation is KnowVa Coach – or KnowVie, as we affectionately call him! Developed in partnership with Cardiff University’s Neuroscience Department and Qinect, founded by INSEAD Associate Professor Adrian Johnson, KnowVa Coach is Westbourne’s proprietary AI exam tutor transforming how students prepare for the IB Diploma.

Delivering infinite practice questions, instant feedback, and deeper learning through Socratic questioning, early trials have already shown an impressive 30%+ improvement in grades.

The journey began in 2023, when Westbourne’s Vice Principal, Stuart Ayres – named Innovator of the Year by Pearson in 2024 – partnered with Cardiff University to explore the most effective methods for learning. Their research identified three key drivers of academic success: 1:1 tutoring, Mastery Learning, and the Testing Effect.

Building on this foundation, Adrian Johnson at Qinect introduced a custom-built AI simulation originally designed for business students at INSEAD – the world’s #1 global business school. Westbourne’s team then adapted and evolved this technology into KnowVa Coach, an intelligent learning companion that guides students through targeted exam questions, uses Socratic prompts to deepen understanding, and delivers model answers aligned with IB assessment objectives.

Launching first with Computer Science and Business Management, KnowVa Coach has now expanded to more than 10 IB Diploma courses, with even more in development – including upcoming support for A-Level, GCSE, and our Prep School programmes.

The pioneering Global Classroom

Beyond bespoke AI tutoring, we have been busy finessing our “Global Classroom,” connecting students and teachers across campuses in Penarth, Singapore and Sydney. This cutting-edge technology brings the world’s finest subject specialists to our UK students and vice versa. Through real-time virtual link-ups and holographic-style lessons, students can access the very best subject specialists regardless of location or time zone.

But what else sets us apart?

• A sector-leading curriculum across all age groups, with critical thinking at its core.

• The latest EdTech means we seamlessly share resources and expertise between teachers and students across the entire world, driving global innovation and collaboration across core subjects.

• Through our Global Staffroom, teachers across our global schools can collaborate and share research and methodology, supporting them to develop and further diversify teaching practice and curriculum.

• Google Classroom allows teachers to share their materials with students, giving feedback through direct annotation; Forms give automated feedback; and Century provides AI-assisted feedback to give students three ‘frequencies’ of assessment feedback.

• Classes are equipped with primary and secondary displays, including thoughtfully positioned cameras to allow absent students to experience the classroom naturally even when not physically present.

• Robotics are used at each key stage to aid computational thinking: Sphero at KS1 and 2, Sphero Bolt at KS3 and Fable for KS4 and 5.

• 3D Printing Labs develop advanced STEM skills, and through 3D modelling students make characters for games, 3D models of geographical features for Geography and mechanical parts for Physics.

• Our Greenpower Electric Racing car has been modelled by students from scratch.

And so much more!

For more information about innovation at Westbourne School, visit www.knowvacoach.ai or read our blog.