How Titus Learning is helping students around the world achieve their dreams

Schoolchildren in more than 30 countries including the UK, India, South Korea, China, Japan and Malaysia are being taught Maths, English and Science with the help of a platform created by Titus Learning, which is based in Saltaire, West Yorkshire.

Titus Learning provides teachers in English-language international schools with an online platform to share learning resources and homework with students.

Schools which have used the technology include Wellington College in Shanghai and Dulwich College in Suzhou, China.

The technology, which can be accessed through laptops or mobile apps, also reports students’ grades to their parents.

The business was set up in 2013 by Sebastian Francis and Mike Bennett. They spotted a gap in the market for an online learning platform for teachers to use in international schools.

They secured a fixed-rate £10,000 loan from the Start Up Loans programme, facilitated by the British Business Bank, to kick-start the business. The funding was used to cover initial start-up costs in their first few months of trading.

Mr Francis said: “We set up Titus Learning because we thought we could offer a more personalised and customised product, with better service, than those on the market and a better teaching and learning experience for those using our software.”

“We offer online learning solutions, based on Moodle, for a range of corporate, public sector and education organisations around the world.

He added: “We focused on international schools initially and quickly grew our presence in East and Southeast Asia but now work in more than 30 countries around the globe, across every continent.

“In 2017 we received our Moodle Partner status which coincided with our move into working with corporate clients.

“We have pretty much doubled in size year on year since we were founded," Mr Francis said.

“We expect that to continue for the next few years as we will continue to build in the UK and the Middle East working with enterprise-level clients, like Network Rail, the British Psychological Society and Wasabi to name just a few.

"Our workforce is set up to work remotely and a lot of people want quick solutions, including the Royal College of Surgeons. We have provided them with a site carrying information about coronavirus which is available around the world.”

TITUS Learning has 25 staff and is continuing to hire despite the pandemic, according to Sebastian Francis, who set up the business with Mike Bennett.

Mr Francis added: “ We feel there’s a lot more we can do with continuing to support growth in Yorkshire as well as internationally.”

Speaking last year, Richard Bearman, Managing Director of Start Up Loans, said: “Watching the international success of Titus Learning and knowing that Start Up Loans played an important role is fantastic. Small businesses play a crucial role in local economies, helping to create jobs and generate income.”

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