Merton Abbey Primary School visit

I just got back from a visit to Merton Abbey Primary School where I saw my app Loujo in action helping dyslexic kids learn through songs. I'm so grateful to everyone at Merton Abbey Primary School and for Michael Barry and Michael Bradley for organising this visit.

Merton Abbey Primary School is a refuge, a shelter and a safe space for so many. Imagine a primary school in London where 40 languages are spoken. Kids in this school have seen more than any kid should ever see. Some come from conflict zones, some have seen domestic violence, some have been excluded from other schools, some have seen the worst in adults.

Merton Abbey Primary School

Within the first ten minutes, children were hugging their teachers as they entered the class. I need to tell you how remarkable the teachers are at Merton Abbey: they all believe that no kid should be written off and that every child has potential.

No child is left behind for better Ofsted ratings, which leads to more parents sending their kids, which leads to more funding. Teachers are so invested in the mission at this school that no one leaves. It is really inspiring.

I learnt a lot by seeing how my app, Loujo is really used in schools and not through feedback notes and google meets. For example, during a one to one session between a dyslexic teacher and an 8-year-old boy, he was using letters before the -ug to form new words like slug, rug and mug. He was silent and you could barely hear the words leave his lips. I'm dyslexic and even now, I still mime the words in church while singing hymns, too scared to get the words wrong, I get it. I created a new song within seconds by asking Loujo to create a pop song using -ug and words it forms to help a child remember. To see his face light up was priceless. This is why I put in the hours, the sweat, the tears, for moments like this.

Teachers do this everyday, for me only see it in moments. Loujo aligns songs to the school curriculum and focuses on what kids need to learn. There's a lot of magic in our coding.

The year one class was learning about using "with" to expand the sentence. Going back to school, you realise how much you have forgotten (I forgot what “conjunctions” and “prepositions” was). Within minutes I created a song summarising the lesson and the kids looked amazed, asking when they could use it. We can help all students.

Three 9 year old students skipped assembly and tested the platform in the library. Kids are so creative, they created songs about anime, an artist and emotions, food and football in blues and in R&B. We were dancing in the library.

In the staff room, Michael was showing all the teachers how to use Loujo. One of the teachers had just been on a field trip to the National Museum so they created a song about the Egyptians. She was so happy she wanted to use it in her class after lunch.

Amazing staff, amazing students and an amazing school. Thank you for the opportunity to work together.