INTERVIEW
M ital Thanki is the designed to help children reach their full academic potential, while encouraging a growth mindset and building confidence. Earlier this year, she won the coveted MBA Student of the Year accolade at the AMBA & BGA Excellence Awards 2021. Ambition caught up with Thanki to find out more about her story and discover what was next for her and her company. entrepreneur behind Spark Academy, a tutoring company You are Founder and CEO of Spark Academy, what drove you to set up this organisation? Growing up, I had a teacher tell me that I wasn’t good enough to get a ‘D’, let alone an ‘A’. I remember that I was only asking that teacher for guidance, as I was struggling and starting to feel lost in A-level chemistry. When he said those words to me, I remember feeling embarrassed and like a total failure. Over time, my spirit started to break, and I began to have no sense of direction. After a turbulent period, I eventually decided to move to a different college and start all over again – that’s where I met Anne, my new chemistry teacher. Anne ignited my passion for chemistry – a subject that I had felt was impossible. My resilience started to develop and I began to restore that faith within myself. What I realised is that if all teachers were as compassionate, encouraging and supportive as Anne, then all students could build their resilience, develop their
confidence and enjoy academic success; gain greater opportunities, greater social mobility and the chance to live out their goals and aspirations. At that moment, I decided that I wanted to teach and, specifically, I wanted to teach A-level chemistry. I felt this sense of deep purpose, and after completing my undergraduate degree and my PGCE, I worked in a school as a science teacher specialising in A-level chemistry. I vowed that I would ensure that no child under my watch would ever go through the same thing as I did – a sort of a teachers’ Hippocratic oath. Although I loved teaching in schools, there was something inside of me that wanted to do things differently and follow my passion for working with small groups and incorporating more of a robust, holistic approach. That’s where Spark Academy was born. Since 2009, I have led a team of equally passionate teachers – an ‘army of Annes’ and founded Spark Academy – a multi-award-winning provider of after-school tuition for maths, English, science and wellbeing for children in primary and secondary school, offering both online and in-centre-based tuition. At the core of Spark Academy (Spark) is a belief that boosting a child’s confidence and cultivating a ‘can-do’ attitude can significantly improve their academic grades, which in turn, creates social mobility and builds brighter futures. Wellbeing and developing a growth mindset are definitely at the heart of academic success. That’s why I believe it’s my absolute purpose to ensure that those
children who don’t feel worthy are lifted up to reach their true potential.
What were the biggest challenges that you faced in creating Spark Academy? When I first started Spark, I remember not being taken very seriously. The surrounding community were a little shocked to see a woman behind the brand, as the tuition industry seemed rather male-dominated, especially in Leicester. I remember being asked by some men if I was working for my husband or for my father, which used to really anger me. However, thankfully, there’s been huge progress since 2009.
What makes Spark Academy different from other tutoring organisations?
At Spark, there is a heavy emphasis on research and innovation. When a child first comes to Spark, we want to understand what motivates them to learn by using a metacognition tool. We use the result of this and implement a personalised and strategic methodology to help children learn faster and reaffirm their knowledge in maths, English and science, as well as refine their examination skills. At the heart of this is a wellbeing programme which is run in parallel to the academic programme. Here, we concentrate on developing resilience, self-awareness and a growth mindset while maintaining healthy relationships and mental health.
32 |
Ambition | BE IN BRILLIANT COMPANY
Made with FlippingBook - Share PDF online