Minerva Virtual Academy becomes first UK online school to be named Top 10 finalist for World’s Best School Prizes

MVA, which has pupils across the UK, is in the running for the World’s Best School Prize for Innovation 2025.

The five World’s Best School Prizes, founded by T4 Education in 2022 in the wake of the COVID pandemic to share the best practices of schools that are changing lives in their classrooms and far beyond their walls, are the world’s most prestigious education prizes.

Hugh Viney, founder and CEO of MVA, said: “It is wonderful that online schools are now being recognised among some of the top educators in the world - and we are proud and honoured to be the first British online school to be shortlisted for this incredible award. Despite our landmark DfE accreditation last year, there are still more than a million children out of education in the UK. Online schools like ours are perfectly placed to tackle this crisis by offering a modern, flexible education suitable for all kinds of children.

“I loved my time at school, but the current system needs to change because it is not right for everyone. A great many pupils can flourish in an online environment. Our non-selective, ‘happiness-first’ approach has helped so many children who had been struggling in mainstream schools. Last year, one of our students achieved the highest mark in the world in maths IGSCE, which shows the power of what's possible.

“I'm thrilled that people are starting to take notice of the difference we can make, but we still have much further to go to gain the recognition that online education deserves.”

The winners of the five World’s Best School Prizes - for Community Collaboration, Environmental Action, Innovation, Overcoming Adversity, and Supporting Healthy Lives – will be chosen by an expert Judging Academy based on rigorous criteria. In addition, all 50 finalist schools across the five Prizes will also take part in a Public Vote, which opened today, to determine the winner of the Community Choice Award. All six winners will be announced in October.

The winners and finalists of these global schools prizes will be invited to the World Schools Summit in Abu Dhabi, UAE, on November 15-16 where they will share their best practices and unique expertise and experience with policymakers and leading figures in global education.

MVA’s achievement has been praised by renowned educator Sir Anthony Seldon.

“I’ve known Hugh Viney for many years and have watched with admiration as he’s built Minerva Virtual Academy into what it is today. MVA's thriving in-person community, stretching across the UK and beyond, offers a compelling riposte to those who question a loss of social development and relationships in online education.

“His school offers a compelling glimpse of what lies ahead; a school that is flexible, global, and compassionate. In a rapidly changing world, the traditional system would do well to reflect on what this new standard represents.”

Vikas Pota, Founder of T4 Education and the World’s Best School Prizes, said: “In a world being turned upside down by AI, as technology reshapes the way we learn and renders jobs that have existed for centuries obsolete, amid growing challenges of climate change, conflict, poverty and populism, the world our young people are entering has never felt more precarious. And a good education, with humans at its heart, has never been more important.

“It is in schools like Minerva Virtual Academy where we find the innovations and expertise that give us hope for a better future. Congratulations on becoming a finalist for the World’s Best School Prizes 2025. Leaders and schools around the world have so much to learn from this inspirational British institution.”