Channel 4 and others have invested “a six-figure sum” in School Of Everything, a pseudo-educational web network connecting mentors with people looking to learn skills. Started in September, the site invites users to get in touch with a number of listed tutors and consultants. Channel 4 said in December it was shifting its £6 million schools TV commissioning budget to multiplatform productions, emphasising social media. Education commissioner told E-consultancy C4 was “one of a number of firms that has just ploughed ‘a six-figure sum’ in to School Of Everything, which missed out on funding from Seedcamp when it competed in the October startup contest.

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Locke: “We thought that it could be interesting because it could underpin a lot of projects we are doing this year, where we are encouraging people to use the web to share learning. We are working with them on a number of projects… but chose to structure that as an investment. We are trying a couple of experiments in education about investing in start-ups where we think there is a long term need to support a community or platform.”