A new chapter in The Gambia. The Gambia has a strong and growing commitment to innovation in education. Last October, Rising Academies launched its first Rori pilot at Madiana Basic Cycle School in partnership with the Region 2 West Education Directorate, operating under the Ministry of Basic and Secondary Education (MoBSE). Grade 7 students at Madiana have been using Rori, its WhatsApp-based AI maths tutor, to strengthen their numeracy skills through personalised, step-by-step practice, and the early response from students, teachers and school leaders has been genuinely exciting. Rori is Rising's multi-award-winning AI maths tutor, designed to bring personalised practice to the students who need it most, even in low-connectivity, low-resource settings. Independent research from the University of Oxford and J-PAL found that regular use doubled maths learning outcomes, and Rori has now reached over 200,000 young people across Sub Saharan Africa. The Gambia is the newest addition to that story. As the pilot has grown, so too has its relationship with the Regional Directorate - and Rising Academies now find ourselves marking an important transition. Rising Academies want to extend its heartfelt congratulations to Mr Paul K. Mendy on his retirement after many years of dedicated service to education in The Gambia. Mr Mendy was instrumental in getting the Rori pilot off the ground, helping to create the enabling environment for this kind of innovation to flourish. It has been a genuine privilege to work alongside him, and Rising Academies is deeply grateful for the guidance, collaboration, and encouragement he brought to its partnership throughout.

By partnering with KCS, Rising Academies is bolstering its child safeguarding policies and practices to ensure every child can learn in a safe, nurturing environment.