Olympic Champion Denise Lewis OBE Launches London / New York Primary School Challenge

LONDON, June 17, 2015 /PRNewswire/ --

Olympic champion Denise Lewis OBE has launched a London vs New York primary school challenge as part of London Technology Week. The challenge which is run by the ed-tech company Skoolbo will see thousands of children in the two cities playing against each other in online, education games.

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Skoolbo, which is the largest educational game in the world, uses technology to help millions of children around the world learn to read, become confident with numbers and learn new languages. The technology is used by more than 25,000 schools around the world.

The Skoolbo challenge, which was launched at Europe's tallest building, The Shard, pits primary school children in London against their counterparts in New York. More than 200,000 questions were answered on day one of the challenge with London schools taking a big lead. It's expected that more than one million questions will be answered by the time the challenge ends on Friday June 19.

Launching the challenge Denise Lewis OBE, who is an international ambassador for Skoolbo, said: "Technology can be a game changer for education. Thousands of children around the world either miss out on education or are disengaged from the system of learning. Skoolbo is about taking on those challenges that are often so difficult for children within literacy and numeracy.

"To do anything to the best of your ability you need a team around you and this is what Skoolbo gives to children. There is a team, working, pushing, and encouraging you forward to get the best out of yourself. It's child-led, it's fun and it's interactive." 

Colin Brown, Chief Operating Officer for Skoolbo said: "Skoolbo is unique in that it adapts so that each child gets an individual set of questions that both stretches and helps them progress. Skoolbo is enormous fun and highly motivational, and it introduces a competitive element to learning that children love whilst ensuring absolute fairness through appropriate content being served at an individual level and the new Language Dragons add an exciting new dimension to the game."

Gordon Innes, Chief Executive of London & Partners, the Mayor of London's official promotional company said: "It's great to see that London is leading New York - at least in this week's Skoolbo challenge! But it's also really exciting to see companies like Skoolbo harnessing technology in order to engage the next generation of tech talent. If London is to continue as a world-leading technology hub we need to make sure that children are given the opportunity to learn new skills and feel comfortable using technology."

The Skoolbo London vs New York challenge, launched as part of London Technology Week, will run until Friday June 19. You can follow the progress of the challenge here or on Twitter using #NYvsLondon

London Technology Week itself will run from 15-21 June. Hundreds of international companies and tens of thousands of visitors will come to London to take part in more than 200 events organised as part of London Technology Week. It will feature major global brands, including Bloomberg, Accenture, Stack Overflow and Goldman Sachs, as well as home-grown London-based tech companies such as Funding Circle and Blippar.

Notes To Editors 

A high-res image of Denise Lewis OBE with Skoolbo Chief Operating Officer, Colin Brown can be downloaded here

About Skoolbo 

Skoolbo is the largest educational game in the world. It uses adaptive algorithm technology to help millions of children learn to read, become confident with numbers and learn new languages. Launched in 2014 Skoolbo is already used by 25,000 schools across the world and has offices in London, Mexico City, Los Angeles, New York, Sydney, Auckland, Mumbai, Manila, Kuala Lumpur, Ho Chi Minh and Singapore.

The Skoolbo team of educators and developers are committed to creating accessible, tailored learning solutions for both developed and developing countries. Skoolbo's dream is that every child learns to read and gains confidence with numbers.

Skoolbo UK ambassadors include sports stars - Denise Lewis OBE, Adrian Turner, Jonathan Davies MBE and US ambassador and New Yorker - Henry "The Fonz" Winkler.

About London Technology Week 

London Technology Week is organised by UBM EMEA, in association with London & Partners - the Mayor's official organisation for London, ExCeL London and Tech London Advocates. Tech City UK and techUK have also joined the steering group as strategic partners.

For more information about London Technology Week 2015 and an up-to-date list of events, visit http://www.LondonTechnologyWeek.co.uk. Press accreditation can be applied for at http://londontechnologyweek.co.uk/apply-london-technology-week-press-accreditation/

About London & Partners. 

London & Partners is the official promotional company for London. We promote London and attract businesses, events, congresses, students and visitors to the capital. Our aims are to build London's international reputation and to attract investment and visitor spend, which create jobs and growth.

London & Partners is a not-for-profit public private partnership, funded by the Mayor of London and our network of commercial partners. For more information visit http://www.londonandpartners.com

About UBM EMEA 

UBM EMEA (http://www.ubm.com) connects people and creates opportunities for companies across five continents to develop new business, meet customers, launch new products, promote brands and expand markets. Operating in more than 23 countries, UBM EMEA organises many of the world's largest, most important live events, awards and community sites in a wide variety of industries. Its technology events include Interop London, Technology for Marketing & Advertising, eCommerce Expo, Black Hat Europe and London Technology Week.

SOURCE London Technology Week, UK