QED Schools Group partners with 8billionideas to launch Future Skills curriculum to over 1,000 pupils from September 2026

- New curriculum launched group wide across Wycliffe, Warminster and Lomond Schools

- One of the largest single-group deployments of the 8billionideas programme to date.

QED Schools Group today announces a long-term curriculum partnership with 8billionideas, whose programmes have reached more than one million students across The partnership brings a single Future Skills experience to pupils at Wycliffe College (Gloucestershire), Warminster School (Wiltshire) and Lomond School (Helensburgh), with scope to extend to further QED schools during the academic year.

The partnership launches in May 2026 with a Future Skills Week in each school, builds to a group celebration day in June, and from September 2026 every pupil aged 4–18 will have access to the 8billionideas Online Academy — a 30-week programme with six accredited courses a year and weekly mentor sessions. Designed to complement, not replace, existing academic study, the programme helps pupils apply what they learn in the classroom to real situations, developing communication, collaboration and creative problem solving skills that last a lifetime.

As part of the entrepreneurship pillar of 8billionideas’ award winning Critical Curriculum, students will take part in a series of hands on, age appropriate projects that explore how ideas become action. Through playful early activities that introduce value, trade and creativity, to advanced challenges in innovation, sustainability and business design, pupils will learn to think like entrepreneurs. They will explore how people create, build and lead – whether by designing products, launching causes, addressing social challenges or imagining the businesses of the future.

Anita Gleave, CEO, QED Schools Group: “This is a distinctive, ambitious partnership. Alongside the academic rigour our schools are known for, we’re giving every pupil the space to ideate, prototype, pitch and lead — an investment in their confidence, creativity and future-readiness.”

Mark Mortimer, Chief Education Officer, QED: “It’s 365 days of learning — structured, sequenced and accredited — sitting alongside and enriching the curriculum. It builds the skills universities and employers tell us they want to see.”

David Harkin, CEO, 8billionideas: “Future skills need to be embedded into the everyday experience of every student. What QED is doing here is a clear statement of intent: giving every young person, from age four to 18, the opportunity to develop the confidence, creativity and real-world skills they’ll carry with them for life. We’re proud to be partnering on a programme of this scale with QED.”

The partnership onboards over 1,000 pupils from September 2026, one of the largest single-group deployments of the 8billionideas programme to date. The company’s award-winning Critical Curriculum spans eight key areas: entrepreneurship, careers, wellbeing, leadership, performance, financial literacy, sustainability and technology, helping young people build the practical skills and confidence to thrive beyond school.

Notes to Editors:

QED Schools Group was launched in January 2026. Led by CEO Anita Gleave, the group brings together independent schools that share a single ambition: to open minds, broaden horizons and prepare young people for a rapidly changing world. https://www.qedschoolsgroup.com/

8billionideas is a global education organisation dedicated to giving every student the skills and belief to change the world. Through its award-winning Critical Curriculum, live programmes and Online Academy, the company partners with schools across the world to deliver future-focused learning built around entrepreneurship, leadership, wellbeing, performance, careers, financial literacy, sustainability and technology. So far, more than one million young minds around the world have benefitted from engagement with 8billionideas. www.8billionideas.com

For all media enquiries please contact Isobel Crockett, Head of Partnerships, QED Schools Group: isobel@qedschoolsgroup.com 07793 220722

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