

John is the founder and CEO of PEAS, one of the fastest growing networks of secondary schools in the world. John founded PEAS in 2004 after visiting Uganda and discovering the huge need for secondary education. John is a Teach First Ambassador, has won an Unltd Award for Social Entrepreneurship and was named in the Courvoisier Future 500 as one of five young leaders in the public and social sectors. John read politics, philosophy and economics at Oxford University.
To unlock the potential of Africa by delivering equal access to quality, affordable secondary education.
PEAS (Promoting Equality in African Schools) is a UK-based charity. We use an innovative SmartAid model to develop sustainable secondary schools that permanently widen access to secondary education in Uganda and Zambia. Only one in four Ugandans is able to continue their education beyond primary school because of a lack of secondary school places and high fees. Our dream is that one day every child in Africa will benefit from a quality secondary education. PEAS is better thought of as a social investor rather than a charity. We have developed a SmartAid approach to create sustainable secondary schools. These schools generate enough revenue (through government subsidy, income generating projects and auxiliary fees for boarding and lunch) to run indefinitely and independently of UK fundraising. PEAS raises funds for the capital and start-up costs of building a school, allowing the schools to open debt-free. The PEAS Uganda team then helps the schools to run efficiently and to provide a high quality education through school inspections and auditing. As the schools grow, PEAS invests in building new classrooms and facilities.
The PEAS SmartAid model is making secondary education available to thousands of children, and now has 13 secondary schools running in Uganda and one in Zambia. The number of students enrolling at each has increased every year and PEAS schools are currently educating 4,200 children who may not have otherwise gone to secondary school. This number is projected to almost double by March 2013. The Ugandan Ministry of Education and Sports ranked PEAS's oldest school in the top 17% of secondary schools in Uganda, beating many higher-fee charging schools.


