Celebrating Five Life-Changing Years: The MVA Summer Festival 2026

Last week, more than 600 members of the Minerva community gathered in Battersea Park for an afternoon of celebration, discussion, debate, sports, activities, fun, sun, food, and entertainment.

Staff, teachers, students, parents and wider members of the community were treated to a range of fantastic musical acts and performances, including several talented MVA students - dancers Skye and Martha and singer-songwriter Giacomo. They were followed by incredible performances from Ella More, BoxSetUK, Common Goldfish, and Rythmico's own Lily Lyons.

Alongside entertainment on the main stage, the community tent hosted panels and talks from MVA's passionate friends and partners including Oliver Lee of AskEllie.co.uk, Ben Whitaker and Steven Hope of the Edufuturists, Rhiann Marchant of Sensational Minds Ltd, and many many more voices from across the alternative education landscape.

This has been a crucial part of MVA's growing role in the future of education - an example of what rethinking school can look like, and the incredible things it can achieve for children up and down the country who have otherwise been let down. The conversations had at the Festival continued this, and gave parents and students an opportunity to directly participate in the conversation.

And participate they did.

Long after the panels had wrapped up for the day, parents and students alike were deep in conversation with teachers and staff about all the things MVA is, and all the things it strives to be: happiness-first, compassionate, adaptable, individual, open-minded, kind, life-changing.

These conversations brought together the entire community, including MVA parent Victoria who recently appeared on Sky News to share her story, and Vice Principal Middle East Harry Allen who had flown in from Dubai to join the celebrations.

In a closing speech, Founder and CEO Hugh Viney said:

One thing I've learnt in these last five years [is that] we have somehow built something incredible together. We're not an online school. We're a school. And I think we're more than that. We're a community. More than that, we're a movement. And I think today, of all days, shows that.

MVA began with just 10 students in 2021 as an experimental idea borne out of pandemic-era emergency measures highlighting just how transformational online schooling could be, even in that primitive and still very restrictive form.

Today, just 5 years later, MVA is now a fully-fledged Department for Education accredited school with more than 1500 full-time students achieving trend-bucking results and repeatedly proving that, with the right support, any child can love school.

To celebrate that journey alongside our vibrant community, including partners at Campus-XR, Kahoot!, Rythmico and others was truly the perfect capstone to a historic first 5 years at MVA, and this most recent school year in particular which has been so packed to the brim with firsts and milestones.

Looking back at the day, Principal Suzanne Lindley had this to say:

Reflecting on our inaugural MVA Festival, I am struck by just how much this day meant to our entire community. It was a gloriously sunny July day filled with moments I will cherish: students enjoying the freedom to hang out together in a safe space, parents connecting with one another, and our faculty finally getting to spend well-deserved time together in person.

It was an honour to connect directly with so many students to hear their highlights from the year, and to see parents deeply valuing the opportunity to meet face-to-face with our mentors and teachers. Watching the afternoon unfold—filled with spectacular student talent on stage, endless chatting, and so many smiling faces—made it clear that this was a deeply significant and very special day in the history of Minerva Virtual Academy

From all of us at MVA, we'd like to express our deepest thanks to every student, parent, and member of the team who has contributed to the last 5 years, past or present. In our mission to create a world in which every child can go to a school they love, every single one of you has been vital, and will be vital in the milestones to come. Thank you.

See you at the next one?

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