Neeson Cripps Academy

We’re incredibly proud to be named Best STEM School in the Global Schools Prize!

It's recognition of our amazing students, dedicated staff, and the power of education to create opportunity.

From garbage dump to global STEM champions - phnompenhpost.com A Phnom Penh-based school serving children from one of the city’s most impoverished communities has been named the world’s best STEM school, marking a major

It was an honour to celebrate our Neeson Cripps Academy winning the best STEM school award in the Global Schools Prize with His Excellency Dr. Hang Chuon Naron, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Education, Youth and Sport, at the Education World Forum in London today.

Our award was collected by CCF UK Trustee, Dan Roberts.

Read the full story: https://bit.ly/4fuMMIW

With thanks to the Varkey Foundation for the recognition.

We are proud to share that the Neeson Cripps Academy is a Top 50 finalist for the 2026 Global Schools Prize

A huge thank you to the Varkey Foundation for recognising schools around the world, driving meaningful impact in education, and helping every learner thrive.

Visit the Global Schools Prize webpage to learn more: https://globalteacherprize.org/pages/Finalists_2026

Our medal winners of the 2025 Angkor Maths competition love

Recent fundraising has allowed us to replace the over ten year old laptops that we use in the STEAM program. The new machines are powerful enough to run software such as Solid Edge and Blender, which has been a significant step forward for our program.

With the support of Teudom from STEAMing Cambodia, both students and teachers have been learning how to use Computer Aided Design (CAD) software. Having laptops capable of running this software has also made our investment in a 3D printer truly worthwhile.

At the moment, Grade 9 students from both Neeson Cripps Academy and Tomorrow Academy are working in class on the Engineering Design Process. Over the next few weeks they will design a simple object using CAD and then print their designs on the 3D printers.

We look forward to sharing the results of their work soon.

Last week, we kicked off Project Ascend, an eight-week pilot that uses AI as a structured Physics tutor for our Grade 10 students during supervised study time.

During the trial, the sessions are run in their normal STEM class and led by their regular STEM teachers. The project is supported by the Physics team, who are working with our researcher to ensure the AI content aligns with the Grade 10 curriculum.

By the end of the first week, the Chemistry teacher expressed interest in including chemistry in the project.

The tutoring happens entirely in Khmer, allowing students to ask questions by speaking or typing, with responses provided in Khmer. This approach aims to promote understanding through guided inquiries tied directly to the curriculum.

One Grade 10 student remarked that it felt “better than ChatGPT or Gemini,” indicating that the tutoring is effectively tailored to their lesson content.

A big thank you to Steven Watson for spearheading the project and guiding our STEM team and teachers through the early implementation stages. We will continue to assess and review the program as it progresses.

"Neeson Cripps Academy is more than a school"

After school has finished for the day we host evening clubs from photography, science, robotics to basketball, and evening lessons for primary students improving their Khmer and many others.

Last night was special with the Lunar eclipse. Our Biology and Earth Science teachers and students from grades 7 to 12 came to our rooftop to try to see it through the light and haze of Phnom Penh, and our photography club students decided to try to photograph it.

All adding to the after-school activities hosted at NCA for our students and teachers.