Join me in celebrating KEY academy's 5-year journey of transforming education in Nigeria!
"Every day, we are one step closer to transforming the educational landscape in Nigeria, and setting a new standard for learning."
Damilola Okonkwo, Founder of KEY academy
As I reflect on the last five years, I'm filled with immense gratitude. The journey of KEY academy has been marked by so many significant moments, both rewarding and challenging, and I am grateful for all of them, as they have all brought us to this landmark milestone of our 5 year anniversary.
When I think about how we got here, I'm awed by our progress and equally excited for what our future holds. KEY (“Keep Educating Yourself”) academy was born out of my quest to find a school in Nigeria that could ignite the passion of my children - fast forward five years, and what began as a personal problem, has blossomed into a labour of love, fuelled by the desire to make a positive impact on education in Nigeria.
I am excited about the bold path forward that we are charting, as we continue to expand our learning groups each year, and we’ll be welcoming our Shoots (ages 9-11 years old) in September 2025. Additionally, our new secondary school campus will launch in September 2027! This will be our biggest project yet, housing our nursery, primary, secondary, sports and music facilities, teacher training centre, staff accommodation and more, ensuring we can offer our world-class model of education right up until the age of 18.
We shot a video to celebrate crossing the 5-year mark, and from this it would be easy for me to present this story as a “up and to the right” chart, with everything “falling into place” at the right time, but from day one, this has been a tough and treacherous journey, and on more than one occasion I have questioned my own sanity for even embarking on it.
The initial idea for an educational space like KEY academy started in 2016 when my husband and I decided to start a family. Prior to this, I had spent a decade in Finance, but moving to Lagos in 2013 from London, led to me reevaluating my career and life choices. I took a career break to focus on our newborn, and this led to further reflection, where I realised that I wanted my children to have opportunities I didn’t, exploring their passions and creativity, developing social consciousness, and a love for lifelong learning.
This led to the first major challenge, as I could not find a school in Lagos offering exactly what I was looking for, and considered home-schooling and various other approaches. Still not satisfied, I began meeting with other mums in Lagos and many expressed similar frustrations, so I embarked on extensive research hoping that I could pass on all of my findings to “someone qualified” who could then go ahead and create the perfect learning establishment for my young daughter… Alas, this did not happen, and to cut a long story short, I ended up co-founding a pre-school and an after-school centre focusing on 21st-century skills. This was an invaluable experience, and although I had major self-doubt, I took the learnings from this to test if this type of education could be delivered in a school setting with older children, and ran a small pilot term of KEY academy in April 2019.
Following the success of our pilot term, we decided to look for our own space which proved to be the next huge challenge, and after searching for close to one year for the right space, we found a derelict hospital with huge potential and lots of outdoor space, perfect for the type of learning environment I envisaged. We raised funds, and over the course of six months, transformed it into a modern, bright, and airy open-plan learning space which we could call home. However, life always has a way of throwing a spanner in the works when you least expect it, and only 6 months after opening our doors in September 2019, we were forced to close due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, with no idea when we would be able to re-open. I can honestly say that at this point, I battled with self-doubt and anxiety, wondering if this ambitious new path I had taken was a mistake. I will never forget the crisis meeting I had with my small team, following frantic phone calls with people in my network who also ran schools, trying to figure out how we could support our children and give them the best learning experience possible in the new, virtual reality we were all faced with.
As I researched what schools were doing globally, I was concerned that the general approach of having young children sat in front of laptops for hours each day might actually be doing more harm than good, and spoke to some mentors and educational consultants about the idea of “training parents to be facilitators” in a specially curated curriculum which would be delivered at home. We spent the next week burning the candle from both ends to develop “KEY @ Home” which gave our parents practical projects which they could carry out at home with their children as well as guidance notes and links to useful resources. Integral to the programme was a daily 10-minute video call so that the children could communicate with their primary educator at KEY academy, and we could also provide support to parents.
The trauma of the COVID-19 pandemic which led to KEY @ Home, is possibly the best example over the past 5 years of a true “silver lining” as it was this experience that planted the seed for a broader vision for KEY academy. It proved to me that with the right guidance and training, people can be taught how to deliver project-based learning in a fun and engaging way, and KEY academy’s impact could be seismic. The reality is that even if we built 100 more schools it would not make a dent in the Nigerian education landscape. However, if we can codify our learning programme and approach we can help empower existing schools in Nigeria, impacting millions of lives. As I write this, we are hard at work building our KEY app, an edtech platform that does just this and more, and it will launch later this year. Beyond this, we are working on other initiatives including national teacher training and accreditation, publishing, and policy reform, with the ultimate goal of transforming education across all 36 states of Nigeria.
Reflecting on our journey so far, I must highlight the backbone of KEY academy - our incredible team. Our diverse and dedicated educators share our vision of delivering a revolutionary learning experience in Nigeria. Our "co-learners" (our term for teachers) are the primary learning facilitators, collaborating with children to understand their experiences, thoughts, and voices, and supporting their individual goals and needs throughout their entire learning journey. KEY academy wouldn't exist without these phenomenal educators. Their boundless enthusiasm and energy inspire our children to love learning every single day.
I try to avoid singling individuals out, but I think it’s important to give a special mention to Chidinma and Rosemary, who were employees number 1 and 2. I vividly remember the day before we opened the doors for our KEY academy pilot term, they were both in my bomb-site of a living room, preparing resources and setting things up, all while my two toddlers created havoc in the background… We have come a long way! Five years on, and they continue to demonstrate unwavering dedication and sacrifice every single day. Their commitment and hard work are inspiring, and I will eternally be grateful to both of them.
I would also like to thank Ms. Bola Kalejaiye, the founder of Mindscapes Children's Museum and Discovery House Montessori School. At the point when KEY academy was not much more than an idea on a page, Ms Bola graciously gave us a space in Mindscapes for our pilot term. Over the years, she has been an invaluable source of advice, mentorship, and love, and I will forever be grateful.
Last but not least in the thank you roll call, I want to extend a heartfelt thank you to our parents for entrusting us with their children and believing in our vision. I always say that KEY academy is more than just a school - it's a thriving community made up of our parents, partners, children, and educators. It truly takes a village to raise a child, and KEY academy embodies that modern-day village. Your support and trust have been instrumental in our journey, and we are committed to continuing this partnership to nurture and educate the next generation of global citizens.
Looking back on the past few years, it's incredible how quickly time has flown by. From intriguing projects and enlightening sessions with subject matter experts to fun tournaments and countless milestones, the journey has been nothing short of amazing. Every day, we are one step closer to transforming the educational landscape in Nigeria, and setting a new standard for learning. It has not been easy, and there are many more hard yards ahead, but I am so grateful for the gift of KEY academy and I genuinely cannot think of an endeavour more worthy than investing in the future of our children. It’s an investment that will yield returns in perpetuity and I am privileged to be able to play my small part.
Five years in and an eternity to go!
With love and immense gratitude,
Founder, KEY academy
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