schools founded 2004 founders englefield capital and sir chris woodhead headquarters milton keynes england number of locations 67 schools 2016 area served united kingdom singapore spain thailand vietnam brazil and chile key people ralph kugler chairman ; chris jansen group chief executive officer owner bregal fund and kohlberg kravis roberts l.p. website cognita cognita a subsidiary of cognita topco limited registered in jersey is a private company which owns and operates independent schools throughout the united kingdom singapore spain thailand vietnam brazil and chile and is expanding in asia and latin america . 1 2 cognita was founded by chris woodhead previously her majesty s chief inspector of schools in england in 2004 . the first cognita group school was quinton house in northampton . based in milton keynes buckinghamshire uk cognita currently has a portfolio of 67 schools in 7 countries employs some 4 800 teachers and educates over 30 000 children in a variety schools including nursery pre preparatory preparatory and senior schools as well as all through bilingual and international schools . 3 the company posts losses annually . the total comprehensive loss in 2014 was 37 million growing by 11 % in 2015 to a total comprehensive loss of 41 million . 4 moody s assigned a sub prime 5 b2 rating to cognita in 2015 reflecting opening leverage of 7.6 x in the year ending august 2015 ; large planned capital expenditure mainly financed by the cash on balance sheet but also limiting free cash flow generation in the next two years. ; reliance on its academic reputation and brand quality in a highly regulated environment and exposure to changes in the political and legal environment in emerging markets . 6 in 2014 the company s principal founder chris woodhead resigned from the company along with four other key directors . 7 in 2015 the company restructured its debts registering a new mortgage charge in favour of u.s. bank trustees limited . 8 contents 1 history 2 leadership 3 criticisms 4 list of cognita schools 4.1 schools in the united kingdom 4.2 schools in spain 4.3 schools in singapore 4.4 schools in thailand 4.5 schools in vietnam 4.6 schools in brazil 4.7 schools in chile 5 references 6 external links history edit cognita was formed in october 2004 by its founder management team and englefield capital a private equity firm now called bregal capital and its former chairman sir chris woodhead the former chief inspector of schools in england . 9 from 2004 cognita started operating its first school quinton house school in northampton . later in 2004 cognita acquired the asquith court group bringing a further 18 schools into the group . from 2004 until 2007 they continued to buy independent schools within the uk . in 2007 cognita spread internationally acquiring schools in spain and singapore . cognita established its first school from inception in 2009 stamford american international school in singapore . also in this year a group of three international schools were purchased in thailand . schools in vietnam joined cognita in 2011 and in 2012 cognita bought their first school in south america in brazil . 10 in august 2012 cognita questioned the financial viability of its ffynone house school in swansea . 11 following lobbying and negotiation by parents and staff of the school 12 cognita agreed to surrender the school to its lessor ffynone house school charitable trust from which cognita had leased the school . cognita paid the trust 535 000 as a surrender sum and 10 years rent in advance of 270 000 and the school continues to operate with an operating surplus . 13 on may 6th 2013 the formerly majority british owned company cognita agreed to be invested in by the american private equity firm kkr kohlberg kravis roberts l.p. 14 in june 2013 cognita expanded its network of latin american schools through a partnership with desarrollos educacionales ddee a chilean private schools group operating nine national curriculum day schools under the pumahue and manquecura brands . 15 in april 2014 cognita transferred ownership of ferndale preparatory school faringdon oxfordshire to ferndale preparatory school limited a parent led consortium . this filed for administration on 22 july 2016 due to lack of pupil numbers and funding issues leaving staff redundant . http www.swindonadvertiser.co.uk news 14652653 . teacher s sadness after adminstrators called in to school 16 17 in december 2014 cognita welcomed instituto gaylussac in niteroi brazil and in 2015 the international school of barcelona and st. andrews international school dusit in bangkok became the latest schools to join the cognita group . in march 2016 cognita started a school from inception in chile with the opening of colegio pumahue chicauma . 10 leadership edit cognita has teams in each region with overall leadership provided by group chief executive officer chris jansen and chair ralph kugler . each region has an educational leader . in europe this is director of education simon camby who joined cognita in 2015 having previously been a lead ofsted inspector and chief executive of the focus trust . criticisms edit cognita has been accused of pension irregularities . 18 in 2012 cognita staff were instructed to impersonate parents and take tours of competing schools in wales . this conduct was defended as a normal way of assessing the competition . 19 in 2012 judge robert reid qc ruled that the cognita owned milbourne lodge in esher surrey had acted unfairly in removing two children aged eight and six without warning after the children s parents criticized the school s parents association the friends of milbourne lodge for lack of transparency in its fundraising and spending . the judge said that the parents association was somewhat shadowy and a shambles . 20 cognita s management of southbank international school was criticised in 2011 with parents groups claiming it has no serious interest in maximising the educational experience of ... children if it impacts on their bottom line . 21 southbank international school was accused of inadequately vetting staff after a teacher william vahey was found to have abused pupils over several years . 22 the article also quotes the school s chairman of governors sir chris woodhead stating the school carried out checks dating back 17 years on vahey but they did not pick up on a 1969 conviction for child molestation in california vahey s cv showed he had been registered as a teacher in the state of new jersey in 1986 and woodhead said it was reasonable to have assumed that would not have been the case if he had been convicted of child molestation . the system in america broke down he said . 23 parents at cognita s saint andrews sukhumvit 107 school in bangkok thailand prepared a petition containing an open email to sir chris woodhead alleging lack of transparency and a disdain for parental views following a decision by brian rogove cognita s asia pacific ceo to change the leadership of the school . 24 in 2012 cognita s former director of education geraint jones was quoted as saying 13 weeks paid holiday is enough compensation for hard work during term time and that teachers have a duty to go beyond their classroom duties indicating that putting up wall displays collecting dinner money performing lunch duties and providing cover are vital tasks of the teaching job and should not be delegated to assistants . 25 controversially mr jones also publicly criticised the inefficiency of state schools stating that it makes him sick . 26 mr jones had also previously been involved in controversy as head teacher of quinton house school at which former music teacher sarah cameron said her job became unbearable after she was put on a hit list by mr jones . miss cameron brought a claim at an employment tribunal that the environment at quinton house school became so hostile that she was too intimidated to turn up at the school for exam results having had her classroom moved to a cricket pavilion away from the main campus leaving her unsupported and isolated . 27 cognita have closed a number if schools . typically they inform the parents by a standardised letter at the last minute and then hope there is a parent buyout by distraught parents and teachers . examples of this are ffyonne school and ferndale school faringdon which closed in july 2016 only surviving two years under parent ownership leaving teachers jobless . http www.swindonadvertiser.co.uk news 14652653 . teacher s sadness after adminstrators called in to school list of cognita schools edit schools in the united kingdom edit akeley wood school buckingham buckinghamshire breaside preparatory school bromley london charterhouse square school islington london clifton lodge school ealing london colchester high school colchester essex cumnor house school south croydon london downsend school leatherhead surrey duncombe school hertford hertfordshire glenesk school east horsley surrey ferndale school faringdon closed july 2016 hendon preparatory school hendon london huddersfield grammar school huddersfield west yorkshire hydesville tower school walsall west midlands king s school plymouth plymouth devon kingscourt school catherington hampshire long close school slough berkshire meoncross school fareham hampshire milbourne lodge school esher surrey north bridge house school hampstead london oakfields montessori school upminster london oakleigh house school swansea wales oxford house school colchester essex polam school bedford bedfordshire quinton house school northampton northamptonshire sackville school hildenborough kent st clare s school newton bridgend wales st margaret s preparatory school gosfield essex st mary s school henley on thames henley on thames oxfordshire st nicholas preparatory school kensington london salcombe preparatory school southgate london southbank international school london schools in spain edit hastings school of madrid madrid british school of barcelona barcelona el limonar international school murcia murcia el limonar international school villamartin villamartin the international school of barcelona barcelona schools in singapore edit australian international school serangoon gardens stamford american international school serangoon schools in thailand edit st. andrews international school rayong rayong st. andrews international school sathorn bangkok st. andrews international school sukhumvit bangkok st. andrews international school dusit bangkok schools in vietnam edit international school ho chi minh city ishcmc ho chi minh city international school saigon pearl issp ho chi minh city international school ho chi minh city american academy ishcmc aa ho chi minh city schools in brazil edit escola cidade jardim playpen s o paulo instituto gaylussac niteroi rio de janeiro schools in chile edit colegio manquecura ciudad de los valles santiago colegio manquecura ciudad del este santiago colegio manquecura valle lo campino santiago colegio pumahue chicauma santiago colegio pumahue chicureo santiago colegio pumahue curauma curauma colegio pumahue huechuraba santiago colegio pumahue pe alol n santiago colegio pumahue puerto montt puerto montt colegio pumahue temuco temuco references edit alistair gray 12 march 2011 . cognita looks abroad to expand . financial times . retrieved 17 april 2011 . david turner 20 may 2009 . gloom hit schools see chances overseas . financial times . retrieved 17 april 2011 . cognita history . cognitaschools.com . financial report 2015 . moody s rating guide pdf . moody s rating . financial report 2015 . legal charge . current investment cognita . bregal capital . retrieved 17 april 2011 . a b cognita history . cognitaschools.com . ffynone house school swansea future under threat . parents joy as independent school s future is secured . fhs trust trustees annual report pdf . article breaking cognita s backers sell stake to kkr . educationinvestor . cognita 20 june 2013 . cognita expands its latin american network of schools through a partnership with chilean private schools group . cognitaschools.com . cognita history . cognitaschools.com . april 2014 . ferndale community website . faringdon.org . 27 april 2014 . daniel boffey 10 june 2012 . woodhead schools pension probe . the observer . retrieved 10 june 2012 . sherriff lucy 13 june 2012 . spies sent to st michael s school in llanelli wales to pick up information . huffington post . retrieved