We started Edstart because school fees were creating unnecessary stress for schools and families alike.
Our story
We exist to make education costs sustainable, flexible and easier to manage – for schools, families and students.
School fees are one of the most complex financial relationships in family life.
For schools, they’re the lifeblood of operations. For families, they’re one of the biggest household expenses they’ll face.
Yet for too long, both sides have been left to manage this relationship with outdated tools, awkward conversations and too much manual effort.
Edstart was built to change that. We combine technology with genuine human support to give schools the financial certainty they need – and give families the flexibility that modern life demands.
Today we work with more than 700 schools across Australia and the UK, managing over £1.1 billion in school fee payments.
But our measure of success has always been simpler than that: fewer difficult conversations, better outcomes for students, and a financial relationship between schools and families that actually works.
Every feature we’ve built has come from listening – to school finance teams, to families, and to the data we see across hundreds of schools every year.
2016
Launch
2021
Partnership with schools
2026
Expansion
People helping us reach new ground
Simon is a senior leader who has had a diverse career spanning several industries. In addition to working in education for the last twenty-five years, Simon has a proven track record of advising EdTech companies in strategy and sustainable growth, including Duolingo, OpenClassrooms, and Faria Education Group. Simon is an experienced School Governor and currently serves on the Boards of two English International Schools.
Mark brings deep expertise in payments and technology, and advises the UK’s major banks, fintechs and merchants across the payments value chain, including scheme fees, interchange, open banking and Consumer Duty. He is an Ambassador for The Payments Association and chairs its Open Banking Working Group.
Neil is regarded as one of the UK’s leading experts on independent education. He led the Independent Schools Association (ISA) from 2009-2020, and has served on the Independent Schools Council (ISC) Board and the National Committee for the General Teaching Council for England. Neil continues to advise UK regulators and a range of examination awarding bodies at the policy level.
Donna brings extensive experience in the UK education sector, having led the Girls School Association (GSA) for five years, and serving on the boards of the Independent Schools Council (ISC) and Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL) from 2020 to 2025. Donna’s earlier career was spent as a management consultant across a range of industries.
We’re a growing team working on a problem that genuinely matters. If you care about education, fintech, or just building things that work really well for real people – we’d love to hear from you.
