Cognita
Encyclopedia
Cognita is a private company which owns and operates independent schools throughout the United Kingdom. In addition, Cognita operates a number of international school
International school
An International school is loosely defined as a school that promotes international education, in an international environment, either by adopting an international curriculum such as that of the International Baccalaureate or Cambridge International Examinations, or by following a national...

s in Singapore, Spain, Thailand and Vietnam. The company is based in Milton Keynes
Milton Keynes
Milton Keynes , sometimes abbreviated MK, is a large town in Buckinghamshire, in the south east of England, about north-west of London. It is the administrative centre of the Borough of Milton Keynes...

, Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire
Buckinghamshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan home county in South East England. The county town is Aylesbury, the largest town in the ceremonial county is Milton Keynes and largest town in the non-metropolitan county is High Wycombe....

, and is the largest independent schools business in the UK.

Cognita was formed in October 2004 by its management and Englefield Capital, a private equity
Private equity
Private equity, in finance, is an asset class consisting of equity securities in operating companies that are not publicly traded on a stock exchange....

 firm, now called Bregal Capital. Currently the company employs more than 3,500 teachers, and educates more than 17,500 children in a variety of pre-preparatory, preparatory and senior schools.

The current chairman of Cognita is Sir Chris Woodhead
Chris Woodhead
Sir Christopher Anthony Woodhead was Her Majesty's Chief Inspector of Schools In England from 1994 until 2000 and is one of the most controversial figures in debates on the direction of English education policy...

, the former Chief Inspector of Schools In England.

In 2010 revenue was £151 million, of which £102 million was in the UK.

Schools in the United Kingdom

  • Akeley Wood School
    Akeley Wood School
    Akeley Wood School is a mixed independent primary and secondary school, with an attached sixth form near Buckingham. It is owned by Cognita, an independent schools company chaired by Chris Woodhead...

    , Buckingham
    Buckingham
    Buckingham is a town situated in north Buckinghamshire, England, close to the borders of Northamptonshire and Oxfordshire. The town has a population of 11,572 ,...

    , Buckinghamshire
  • Breaside Preparatory School, Bromley
    Bromley
    Bromley is a large suburban town in south east London, England and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Bromley. It was historically a market town, and prior to 1963 was in the county of Kent and formed the administrative centre of the Municipal Borough of Bromley...

    , London
    London
    London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

  • The Charterhouse Square
    Charterhouse Square
    Charterhouse Square is a historic square in Smithfield, between Charterhouse Street and Clerkenwell Road. It lies in the extreme south of the London Borough of Islington, just north of the City of London....

     School, Islington
    Islington
    Islington is a neighbourhood in Greater London, England and forms the central district of the London Borough of Islington. It is a district of Inner London, spanning from Islington High Street to Highbury Fields, encompassing the area around the busy Upper Street...

    , London
  • Chilton Cantelo School
    Chilton Cantelo School
    Chilton Cantelo School is a small profit-making coeducational Independent school located in the village of Chilton Cantelo near Yeovil and Sherborne in Somerset, England. The school is owned and operated by the Cognita Group....

    , Chilton Cantelo
    Chilton Cantelo
    Chilton Cantelo is a village and parish in Somerset, England, situated on the River Yeo north of Yeovil and east of Ilchester in the South Somerset district. The village has a population of 132...

    , Somerset
    Somerset
    The ceremonial and non-metropolitan county of Somerset in South West England borders Bristol and Gloucestershire to the north, Wiltshire to the east, Dorset to the south-east, and Devon to the south-west. It is partly bounded to the north and west by the Bristol Channel and the estuary of the...

  • Clifton Lodge School, Ealing
    Ealing
    Ealing is a suburban area of west London, England and the administrative centre of the London Borough of Ealing. It is located west of Charing Cross and around from the City of London. It is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan. It was historically a rural village...

    , London
  • Colchester High School
    Colchester High School
    Colchester High School is a profit-making coeducational Independent school located in Colchester in Essex, England. The school is owned and operated by the Cognita Group. Colchester High is the only coeducational independent school in Colchester to offer secondary education.-History:The school was...

    , Colchester
    Colchester
    Colchester is an historic town and the largest settlement within the borough of Colchester in Essex, England.At the time of the census in 2001, it had a population of 104,390. However, the population is rapidly increasing, and has been named as one of Britain's fastest growing towns. As the...

    , Essex
    Essex
    Essex is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England, and one of the home counties. It is located to the northeast of Greater London. It borders with Cambridgeshire and Suffolk to the north, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent to the South and London to the south west...

  • Cranbrook College
    Cranbrook College
    Cranbrook is an independent co-educational school, located in Ilford, Greater London, England. The Cognita Group own and operate the school. The academic years go up from junior to senior starting from reception then working the way up the academic ladder to Year 11. Pupils usually go on to other...

    , Ilford
    Ilford
    Ilford is a large cosmopolitan town in East London, England and the administrative headquarters of the London Borough of Redbridge. It is located northeast of Charing Cross and is one of the major metropolitan centres identified in the London Plan. It forms a significant commercial and retail...

    , Essex
  • Cumnor House School
    Cumnor House School
    Cumnor House School is a junior independent school in South Croydon, Greater London. The school is owned and operated by Cognita, the largest independent schools company in the United Kingdom....

    , South Croydon
    South Croydon
    South Croydon is a locality in Greater London, the area surrounding the valley south of central Croydon about 1 km in radius, centred on the Red Deer public house on the Brighton Road. It is part of the South Croydon post town and in the London Borough of Croydon...

    , London
  • Downsend School
    Downsend School
    Downsend School is a private school located in Leatherhead, Surrey, UK. Founded in 1891 as a non-denominational preparatory school for boys since 1927 aged 8 to 13, it is now a school for boys and girls, and takes on pupils from 6 to 13 years of age. Unusually the school does not have charitable...

    , Leatherhead
    Leatherhead
    Leatherhead is a town in the County of Surrey, England, on the River Mole, part of Mole Valley district. It is thought to be of Saxon origin...

    , Surrey
    Surrey
    Surrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford. Surrey County Council sits at Kingston upon Thames, although this has been part of...

  • Duncombe School, Hertford
    Hertford
    Hertford is the county town of Hertfordshire, England, and is also a civil parish in the East Hertfordshire district of the county. Forming a civil parish, the 2001 census put the population of Hertford at about 24,180. Recent estimates are that it is now around 28,000...

    , Hertfordshire
    Hertfordshire
    Hertfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East region of England. The county town is Hertford.The county is one of the Home Counties and lies inland, bordered by Greater London , Buckinghamshire , Bedfordshire , Cambridgeshire and...

  • Ferndale Preparatory School, Faringdon
    Faringdon
    Faringdon is a market town in the Vale of White Horse, Oxfordshire, England. It is on the edge of the Thames Valley, between the River Thames and the Ridgeway...

    , Oxfordshire
    Oxfordshire
    Oxfordshire is a county in the South East region of England, bordering on Warwickshire and Northamptonshire , Buckinghamshire , Berkshire , Wiltshire and Gloucestershire ....

  • Ffynone House School
    Ffynone House School
    Ffynone House School is an independent secondary school in Swansea, Wales. The school is owned and operated by the Cognita group. It is situated in the Ffynone area of the city at 36 St. James Crescent....

    , Swansea
    Swansea
    Swansea is a coastal city and county in Wales. Swansea is in the historic county boundaries of Glamorgan. Situated on the sandy South West Wales coast, the county area includes the Gower Peninsula and the Lliw uplands...

    , Wales
    Wales
    Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...

  • Glenarm College, Ilford, Essex
  • Glenesk School, East Horsley, Surrey
  • Hendon Preparatory School, Hendon
    Hendon
    Hendon is a London suburb situated northwest of Charing Cross.-History:Hendon was historically a civil parish in the county of Middlesex. The manor is described in Domesday , but the name, 'Hendun' meaning 'at the highest hill', is earlier...

    , London
  • Huddersfield Grammar School
    Huddersfield Grammar School
    Hudderfield Grammar School is a profit-making coeducational independent school located in Huddersfield in West Yorkshire, England. Since 2007 the school has been owned and operated by the Cognita Group. It is the largest independent school in Huddersfield to offer both primary and secondary...

    , Huddersfield
    Huddersfield
    Huddersfield is a large market town within the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees, in West Yorkshire, England, situated halfway between Leeds and Manchester. It lies north of London, and south of Bradford, the nearest city....

    , West Yorkshire
    West Yorkshire
    West Yorkshire is a metropolitan county within the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England with a population of 2.2 million. West Yorkshire came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972....

  • Hydesville Tower School
    Hydesville Tower School
    Hydesville Tower School is a profit-making coeducational Independent school located in Walsall in the West Midlands, England. The school is owned and operated by the Cognita Group, and is the only coeducational independent school in Walsall to offer secondary education...

    , Walsall
    Walsall
    Walsall is a large industrial town in the West Midlands of England. It is located northwest of Birmingham and east of Wolverhampton. Historically a part of Staffordshire, Walsall is a component area of the West Midlands conurbation and part of the Black Country.Walsall is the administrative...

    , West Midlands
    West Midlands (county)
    The West Midlands is a metropolitan county in western central England with a 2009 estimated population of 2,638,700. It came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972, formed from parts of Staffordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire. The...

  • The King's School, Plymouth, Plymouth
    Plymouth
    Plymouth is a city and unitary authority area on the coast of Devon, England, about south-west of London. It is built between the mouths of the rivers Plym to the east and Tamar to the west, where they join Plymouth Sound...

    , Devon
    Devon
    Devon is a large county in southwestern England. The county is sometimes referred to as Devonshire, although the term is rarely used inside the county itself as the county has never been officially "shired", it often indicates a traditional or historical context.The county shares borders with...

  • Kingscourt School, Catherington
    Catherington
    Catherington is a village in the East Hampshire district of Hampshire, England. It is 1 mile northwest of Horndean, just west of the A3 road.The nearest railway station in 3.3 miles southeast of the village, at Rowlands Castle....

    , Hampshire
    Hampshire
    Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...

  • Long Close School
    Long Close School
    Long Close School is a profit-making coeducational Independent school located in Upton, Slough in Berkshire, England. The school is owned and operated by the Cognita Group, and is the largest independent school in Slough. The school was founded in 1940. It offers a co-educational Nursery,...

    , Slough
    Slough
    Slough is a borough and unitary authority within the ceremonial county of Royal Berkshire, England. The town straddles the A4 Bath Road and the Great Western Main Line, west of central London...

    , Berkshire
    Berkshire
    Berkshire is a historic county in the South of England. It is also often referred to as the Royal County of Berkshire because of the presence of the royal residence of Windsor Castle in the county; this usage, which dates to the 19th century at least, was recognised by the Queen in 1957, and...

  • Meoncross School
    Meoncross School
    Meoncross School is a profit-making coeducational independent school located in the village of Stubbington, near Fareham in Hampshire, England. Since 2004 the school has been owned and operated by the Cognita Group. Meoncross is the only independent senior school in Borough of...

    , Fareham
    Fareham
    The market town of Fareham lies in the south east of Hampshire, England, between the cities of Southampton and Portsmouth, roughly in the centre of the South Hampshire conurbation.It gives its name to the borough comprising the town and the surrounding area...

    , Hampshire
  • Milbourne Lodge School
    Milbourne Lodge School
    Milbourne Lodge School is a co-educational pre-prep and preparatory school for children aged four to thirteen.Located in Esher, Surrey, the school is housed in a Victorian mansion situated on of Surrey countryside.-History:...

    , Esher
    Esher
    Esher is a town in the Surrey borough of Elmbridge in South East England near the River Mole. It is a very prosperous part of the Greater London Urban Area, largely suburban in character, and is situated 14.1 miles south west of Charing Cross....

    , Surrey
  • North Bridge House School
    North Bridge House School
    North Bridge House School is an independent school in London for 2½ to 16-year-olds. The school has three different locations for different age groups. The first, located in Hampstead on Fitzjohn's Avenue, is for 2½ - 5 year olds. The second, located near the first, on Netherhall Gardens, is for 5...

    , Hampstead
    Hampstead
    Hampstead is an area of London, England, north-west of Charing Cross. Part of the London Borough of Camden in Inner London, it is known for its intellectual, liberal, artistic, musical and literary associations and for Hampstead Heath, a large, hilly expanse of parkland...

    , London
  • Oakfields Montessori School, Upminster
    Upminster
    Upminster is a suburban town in northeast London, England, and part of the London Borough of Havering. Located east-northeast of Charing Cross, it is one of the locally important district centres identified in the London Plan, and comprises a number of shopping streets and a large residential...

    , London
  • Oxford House School Colchester, Essex
  • Polam Oaks School, Bedford
    Bedford
    Bedford is the county town of Bedfordshire, in the East of England. It is a large town and the administrative centre for the wider Borough of Bedford. According to the former Bedfordshire County Council's estimates, the town had a population of 79,190 in mid 2005, with 19,720 in the adjacent town...

    , Bedfordshire
    Bedfordshire
    Bedfordshire is a ceremonial county of historic origin in England that forms part of the East of England region.It borders Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Northamptonshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the west and Hertfordshire to the south-east....

  • Quinton House School
    Quinton House School
    Quinton House School is a profit-making coeducational independent school located in Upton, Northampton, England. The school is owned and operated by the Cognita Group...

    , Northampton
    Northampton
    Northampton is a large market town and local government district in the East Midlands region of England. Situated about north-west of London and around south-east of Birmingham, Northampton lies on the River Nene and is the county town of Northamptonshire. The demonym of Northampton is...

    , Northamptonshire
    Northamptonshire
    Northamptonshire is a landlocked county in the English East Midlands, with a population of 629,676 as at the 2001 census. It has boundaries with the ceremonial counties of Warwickshire to the west, Leicestershire and Rutland to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshire to the south-east,...

  • Sackville School, Hildenborough
    Sackville School, Hildenborough
    Sackville School is a small profit-making coeducational independent school located in the village of Hildenborough, in Kent, England. The school is owned and operated by the Cognita Group.-History:...

    , Kent
    Kent
    Kent is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the Thames Estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent and the unitary borough of...

  • St Clare's School, Newton, Bridgend, Wales
  • St Margaret's Preparatory School, Gosfield
    Gosfield
    Gosfield is a village near Halstead, Essex. It is the location of Gosfield School, an independent school.-External links:*...

    , Essex
  • St Mary's School, Henley-on-Thames, Henley-on-Thames
    Henley-on-Thames
    Henley-on-Thames is a town and civil parish on the River Thames in South Oxfordshire, England, about 10 miles downstream and north-east from Reading, 10 miles upstream and west from Maidenhead...

    , Oxfordshire
  • St Nicholas Preparatory School, Kensington
    Kensington
    Kensington is a district of west and central London, England within the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. An affluent and densely-populated area, its commercial heart is Kensington High Street, and it contains the well-known museum district of South Kensington.To the north, Kensington is...

    , London
  • Salcombe Preparatory School
    Salcombe Preparatory School
    Salcombe Preparatory School is a preparatory school located in Southgate, London, UK. The school is currently owned and operated by Cognita. Founded in 1918, Salcombe is a co-educational preparatory day school for children aged between 3 and 11...

    , Southgate
    Southgate
    -Places:In the United Kingdom:*Southgate, London**Enfield Southgate **Southgate tube station*SouthGate, Bath*Southgate, Ceredigion*Southgate, Cheshire*Southgate, Norfolk*Southgate, Swansea*Southgate, West Sussex...

    , London
  • Southbank International School
    Southbank International School
    Southbank International School is a selective, mixed independent school located in the City of Westminster, Kensington and Hampstead, London, England. It is an international school for 3 to 18 year olds, from Early childhood to Key Stage 5...

    , London

Schools in Spain

  • Hastings School of Madrid, Madrid
    Madrid
    Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...

  • British School of Barcelona
    British School of Barcelona
    The British School of Barcelona is a private profit-making coeducational bilingual international school located in Castelldefels near Barcelona, Spain.-History:...

    , Barcelona
    Barcelona
    Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...

  • El Limonar International School, Murcia
    El Limonar International School, Murcia
    El Limonar International School, Murcia - ELIS Murcia , is a private profit-making coeducational international school located in Murcia, Spain. The school is owned and operated by the Cognita Group, and educates children from ages 3 to 18 from more than 20 nations...

    , Murcia
    Murcia
    -History:It is widely believed that Murcia's name is derived from the Latin words of Myrtea or Murtea, meaning land of Myrtle , although it may also be a derivation of the word Murtia, which would mean Murtius Village...

  • El Limonar International School, Villamartin
    El Limonar International School, Villamartin
    El Limonar International School, Villamartin - ELIS Villamartin , is a private profit-making coeducational international school located in Villamartín, Spain...

    , Villamartin
    Villamartin
    Villamartín is the name of both an urbanisation and a golf course in the Costa Blanca area of eastern Spain. It lies in the municipality of Orihuela, in the province of Alicante in the Valencian Community ....


Schools in Singapore

  • Australian International School
    Australian International School Singapore
    The Australian International School Singapore is an co-educational international school in Singapore. The school is owned and operated by Cognita...

    , Serangoon Gardens
    Serangoon Gardens
    Serangoon Gardens Estate is a residential estate in Singapore.The estate is well known for its food centres, tuition centers, presence of trend setters, and the food and beverage outlets.-History:...

  • Stamford American International School
    Stamford American International School
    Stamford American International School is a co-educational international school, centrally located at 11 Lorong Chuan in Singapore. The school is owned and operated by Cognita and enrolled its first students in August 2009...

    , Serangoon
    Serangoon
    Serangoon is town situated in the central part of the city-state of Singapore, within the North-East Region. The Housing and Development Board housing estate of Serangoon New Town in Serangoon is one of the smaller new towns. Its town centre is known as Serangoon Central, and is the target of...


Schools in Thailand

  • St. Andrews International School, Rayong, Rayong
    Rayong
    Rayong is a city located on the shore of the Gulf of Thailand, in the east coast region of Thailand. It is the capital of Rayong Province, and covers the tambon Tha Pradu and Pak Nam and parts of tambon Choeng Noen and Noen Phra, all within Mueang Rayong district...

  • St. Andrews International School, Sathorn, Bangkok
    Bangkok
    Bangkok is the capital and largest urban area city in Thailand. It is known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon or simply Krung Thep , meaning "city of angels." The full name of Bangkok is Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom...

  • St. Andrews International School, Sukhumvit, Bangkok

Schools in Vietnam

  • International School Ho Chi Minh City (ISHCMC), Ho Chi Minh City
    Ho Chi Minh City
    Ho Chi Minh City , formerly named Saigon is the largest city in Vietnam...

  • American Academy of Vietnam (AAVN)(2012) , Ho Chi Minh City
    Ho Chi Minh City
    Ho Chi Minh City , formerly named Saigon is the largest city in Vietnam...


International Expansion

Cognita runs schools in Spain, Thailand, Singapore and Vietnam, and is looking to expand into China.

Criticisms of Cognita

Cognita has run into serious criticism of its management of Southbank International School
Southbank International School
Southbank International School is a selective, mixed independent school located in the City of Westminster, Kensington and Hampstead, London, England. It is an international school for 3 to 18 year olds, from Early childhood to Key Stage 5...

with parents groups claiming it has "no serious interest in maximising the educational experience of... children if it impacts on their bottom line".
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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