Minerva Virtual Academy has made history today by becoming the first UK online school to be shortlisted for the T4 Education World’s Best School Prize.

This is a historic achievement, and a highly prestigious award that we are honoured to be considered for, as the nomination itself is a huge step forward for online schooling and the education landscape as a whole.

Education in the UK and beyond still faces a crisis, with more than a million children still absent in Britain alone. Alternatives like online schools are posed to provide a solution, but only once we raise awareness to a national level; something that this prize will go a long way in helping.

In the words of our Founder and CEO Hugh: 

“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.

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.”

Why MVA?

We, obviously, know the incredible difference our fantastic teachers and mentors have made to thousands of students (and we hope you do too!), but what caught the attention of the big names in the sector?

Sir Anthony Seldon commended MVA’s community and social support:

“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.”

And Vikas Pota, Founder of the World’s Best School Prizes and T4 Education, praised our innovation and use of technology:

“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.”

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