Inspired Edge, an "AI-enabled primary school", is set to open its flagship campus in Olympia, west London, in September next year, with further sites planned in Lisbon, Milan, Madrid and São Paulo. The school, founded by Nadim Nsouli, who has a background in private equity, aims to use AI to personalise education for children in Years Three to Six, though it will not operate in traditional year groups.
How the AI school works
The school day is split in half. Mornings cover core subjects — English, maths, science, languages, computing and AI — designed around the national curriculum. According to the website, children are not taught by AI; instead it is used to "diagnose misconceptions, provide practice, track progress and help pupils work at the right level". Afternoons focus on "life skills" such as financial literacy, public speaking, and entrepreneurial tasks like launching a small business or running an Airbnb. Art, writing and PE will still feature, and there are no plans for homework.
Mike Lambert, Inspired's global education director, emphasised that this does not mean "children left to their own devices on screens". He said pupils might have a 20-minute burst of adaptive maths, then work in a small group with a teacher, with a maximum of 60 to 90 minutes of screen time per day. Parents will access a 24/7 dashboard to track their child's learning in real time, replacing traditional end-of-term reports.
Reactions and concerns
Lambert said the school is expected to open with 20 to 30 students, with fees still being finalised but estimated at "around 20 per cent premium on our existing London prep school fees". (At Fulham Prep, fees are currently £9,180 per term.) Sandra Leaton Gray, professor of education futures at UCL and a government adviser, urged caution. "The point about going to school is that it's all about human relationships, learning to be in a group and what to do when things don't work out. They're really important for small people," she said.
Leaton Gray noted that AI can work for "repetitive drill learning" such as times tables or spelling, but warned against over-reliance. "Learning isn't linear and the one most wonderful thing about humans is how messy our brains are and how we can come at knowledge in holistic ways." She also expressed concern that less affluent communities might end up with "a rubbish chatbot in the name of education, sitting in booths all day".
