Dyslexic former English teacher Tom Reynolds on track to raise £300,000 to support the growth of his English skills app. Tony McDonough reports

Tom Reynolds overcame his dyslexia to become an English teacher and now he has turned entrepreneur and created an app to promote 51 ‘universal’ English skills.

His EdenFiftyOne is one of 11 tech start-ups to secure a place on Liverpool-based Baltic Ventures’ £4.1m accelerator programme. The scheme is in its second year and the latest cohort was announced at the Liverpool Slush’d conference in September.

Tom’s Digital platform promotes 51 universal skills (reading, writing, speaking and listening) at the core of English education and a standardised system for the teaching, learning and assessment of the worldʼs language.

He is now on track to raise £300,000 to take his innovation onto the next level. Tom was a former head of English, late-diagnosed dyslexic and education advisor to the UN 2030hub in Liverpool.

Designed to support English teachers and learners alike, EdenFiftyOne’s ‘skill-by-skill’ methodology has been particularly effective for neurodivergent and disaffected students, helping them to engage more deeply with the demands of the English curriculum.

Tom said: “We are hugely grateful for this opportunity. For EdenFiftyOne, this means we are able to grow more rapidly, support more teachers, more students and more schools with our innovative approach to English skills education.”

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EdenFiftyOne is looking to raise £300,000 to expand its team of specialists, further develop its innovative technology, and progress towards its vision of becoming the global standard for English skills education.

It has conducted successful international pilot projects and with international publishing opportunities. And it recently launched their current campaign to support the teachers and students of Liverpool city region schools and colleges.