A private learning centre for children is expanding its services to a new location in East Hampshire.

BeeBizzy Education is launching The Hive at the Liss Pavilion on Station Road, every Wednesday from 9.45am to 12.30pm, from March 12. It also operates in Chichester, Lavant and Petersfield.

The Hive is a tutoring hub for home educated children, offering a GCSE English language and math class, functional skills and KS3 maths and english.

“Home education has really grown in the last few years,” said founder Anna Waters.

“It’s not always the first choice for SEN families and sometimes it’s because schools can't meet their children's needs.”

Anna's personal experience of SEN with her son has driven her passion to help those children who struggle within the current education system.

In the 2022-23 school year, data revealed that 24 of the 28 special schools in Hampshire were over capacity and 2,563 young people up to 25 years-old, received an education, health and care (EHC) plan in 2023.

Nationally, the Government has made a capital investment of £740 million to create more specialist places in mainstream schools.

“We currently have 34 children on roll each week and the calls just keep coming,” Anna said.

“I'm a specialist teacher and I've worked in alternative provision for a local authority, but I never imagined I would home educate my children.

“I met a few mums through social groups that we went to for home education who said, ‘would you think about starting a small tutoring group for teens?’

“At this time I'd take my older one out, who was in Year 8 at the time. He was 13 and is now in Year 11, and I was like, ‘okay, let's try this out’.”

The venture started with eight children and has grown into a thriving learning hub for children.

Four adults make up the staff, with a specialist maths teacher and specialist English teacher, both exam markers, along with another specialist and a KS3 specialist.

Anna added: “Through that community and through the support of these teachers, we've managed to build this thriving community.

“Our ethos underpinning all of this is my belief that for lots of these families, they are still wanting a mainstream education. We try through our provision, to meet the needs of the children where they are.”

Anna also founded The Oaks Learning Community with Louise Walker, which focuses on education for children between the ages of eight and 14 and was a result of The Hive’s success.

Thanks to Churcher’s College in Petersfield, children are able to do their exams in a quiet space and Anna says it would be great for more local schools to do the same and support these children.

“We are really passionate about these children getting to their exams and giving them the best opportunity we can to support them into their qualifications and their onward educational career pathways,” Anna added.

For more information, visit the official website or email [email protected].