The Liverpool-based EdTech company is celebrating both its most significant growth year so far and its recognition as a finalist in the prestigious UK StartUp Awards 2024 for the North West region.

Established in 2019, Gaia Learning offers live, online instruction for neurodivergent children aged eight to sixteen with ADHD and Autism. The service is primarily utilised as a supplement to existing school provisions.

“We’re so proud to see all our hard work paying off and the interest in Gaia Learning has been phenomenal since opening up to investors three months ago. On top of that, we have tripled our learners this academic year, grown our team to 13 staff members and a prestigious award nomination celebrating the best start-up businesses from around the country. Now, more than ever, schools need flexible, digital solutions that can scale within budget supporting each neurodivergent child’s needs,” says Kate Longworth, CEO of Gaia Learning.

Kate is an experienced tech entrepreneur from Crewe and was selected in the 2023 Liverpool businesses accelerator programme Baltic Ventures for ‘game-changing’ tech start-ups. In 2021, she became the CEO of Gaia Learning after connecting with the company's Founder Kirstin Coughtrie on LinkedIn. Kirstin, a tech obsessed Geography teacher, founded the online learning platform due to the inadequacies she faced in mainstream school for her neurodivergent son who, like herself, has ADHD.

Together they’ve taken Gaia Learning from a small, specialist tuition business to an award-winning Cambridge Registered International School Online and national alternative education provider, partnering with schools, local authorities and families across the UK and beyond.

In December last year they set out to fundraise £500,000 to continue Gaia Learning’s expansion – with its latest angel investor making them reach £100,000 already.

“Gaia Learning is a fantastic solution to support all stakeholders with an increasing market need. And so I’m thrilled to be able to invest in two amazing female entrepreneurs, who have demonstrated strong traction, a recognised brand in the EdTech space and impressive entrepreneurial spirit. I’m excited to be part of their journey,” says investor Susanna Lawson, Co-founder of Circle of Trust and OneFile.

Gaia Learning is a Cambridge Registered International School Online and the first online learning provider to be awarded the ADHD Friendly School award from the ADHD Foundation in 2023.

The North West regional UK StartUp Awards winners will be announced in May, and head to the national final in September. Gaia Learning is shortlisted in the ‘StartUp For Good Award’ category selected from hundreds of nominations.