SOFIAH NICHOLE SALIVIO

News Editor

Tes has appointed Wayne Strydom as head of AI and innovation as it develops its Tes360 platform for schools and trusts.

Strydom brings more than 10 years of experience in AI strategy, digital transformation and technology delivery across large organisations. His role includes shaping Tes’s AI strategy, supporting responsible innovation across the business and identifying ways schools and educators can use advances in artificial intelligence.

The appointment adds a senior AI-focused role to Tes’s leadership team at a time when education groups are weighing how generative AI and related tools can be used in classrooms and school administration. For suppliers to the sector, that debate has increased pressure to demonstrate clear governance around data use, oversight and ethics.

Strydom has previously built and scaled AI and digital service divisions and led transformation programmes for major organisations. Tes also pointed to his earlier connection to education through a technology business aimed at helping underserved communities build skills for entering the workforce.

Tes provides schools and trusts with software and services covering timetabling, special educational needs and disabilities provision, behaviour management, staff wellbeing, parents’ evenings, recruitment and professional development. It also publishes Tes Magazine, giving the group a presence in both software and education media.

At the centre of its product strategy is Tes360, a connected platform designed to bring together information from across school operations. The aim is to give school leaders and trust executives a broader view of activity across their organisations.

AI focus

Tes is positioning AI as part of that broader platform strategy rather than as a standalone product line. The approach reflects a wider trend in education technology, with suppliers embedding AI into existing workflows such as planning, analysis and administrative tasks instead of offering isolated tools.

For Tes, the focus is on reducing repetitive work and generating insights from data already held across the platform. That is particularly relevant for school groups facing budget pressure, staffing constraints and growing demand for clearer oversight across multiple sites.

“Education has always been about people, and AI should strengthen the incredible work that teachers, school leaders and education professionals already do,” said Wayne Strydom, head of AI and innovation at Tes.

“My focus is on helping Tes further harness AI responsibly and ethically. The goal is not to replace human judgement, but to remove friction, automate repetitive tasks and empower educators with richer, more actionable insights derived from the unparalleled breadth and depth of the Tes platform that no other technology provider can achieve.”

“What attracted me to Tes was the opportunity to combine my passion for education with an organisation that is already making a meaningful difference to schools and learners. Tes360 is a foundation for innovation, and I’m looking forward to working with teams across the business to explore how AI can help us deliver even greater value for our customers.”

Platform strategy

Tes traces its roots back more than a century and has expanded from publishing into software and services for schools. In recent years, many education suppliers have tried to connect products acquired or developed across different parts of school management to create more unified platforms.

That has made interoperability and data sharing more important to commercial strategy. A connected system can create cross-selling opportunities for vendors, but schools also want assurance that data is handled carefully and that any automation does not undermine professional judgement.

Governance, ethics and data responsibility are central to Tes’s approach as AI becomes more prominent in education. Those issues carry particular weight in a sector dealing with children’s information, safeguarding responsibilities and high expectations around transparency.

Rod Williams, Chief Executive Officer at Tes, said: “Wayne brings a combination of deep technical expertise, strategic vision and a passion for education. Throughout his career, he has demonstrated an ability to translate complex technologies into practical outcomes that deliver value. As we continue to evolve Tes360 and develop new ways to support schools, this experience will help ensure we remain at the forefront of responsible innovation.”

The hire suggests Tes wants more formal leadership around how AI is developed and applied across its products and internal operations. For school customers, the practical test will be whether those tools save time and improve decision-making without adding complexity.

Strydom’s appointment follows the launch of Tes360 and marks another step in the company’s push to build a broader software platform for schools and trusts. His role will focus on how AI is introduced across that platform and how those tools align with the sector’s demands for trust, oversight and clear educational value.

Draks Interior Door Systems Limited, based in Upper Heyford, is the subject of a winding-up petition brought by HM Revenue and Customs, lodged on May 7 and due to be heard at the High Court on June 24.

The national firm has been one of the UK’s leading designers and manufacturers of design-led, premium quality wardrobes and room dividers for the last 25 years.

READ MORE: Electric car company collapses into administration with £56m debt

Accounts filed for the year to September 30, 2024, show net assets of £24,770, down from £371,582 a year earlier, with current liabilities of just over £1m falling due within 12 months.

A winding up petition is a serious formal legal document presented to the court by a creditor (or sometimes a shareholder) to force an insolvent company into compulsory liquidation.

It is a powerful legal mechanism intended to close down a business that cannot pay its financial liabilities.

The business remains listed as open on Google, and there is nothing to suggest any difficulties on its website.

Draks Interior Door Systems Limited’s directors Chris Ayres and James Fletcher have been contacted for comment, but no response was given at the time of publication.

According to its website, Draks makes all its own wardrobes and door dividers on site in Oxfordshire.

KAREN JOY BACUDO

Finance Editor

Stripe has introduced new tools to help UK businesses sell internationally and transact via AI interfaces. It now supports more than 1.5 million businesses and sole traders in the UK.

The update expands Stripe Treasury for UK users, allowing businesses to hold, convert and move money across sterling, euros and US dollars from a single account. It also enables payouts to suppliers, contractors and other third parties in more than 100 countries using an email address.

Another addition is Stripe Managed Payments, which will let UK businesses sell to customers in 195 countries while Stripe manages indirect tax, disputes, fraud protection and customer support. Businesses using its Adaptive Pricing tool can also automatically localise prices for international customers, which Stripe says produces an average 17.8% increase in cross-border revenue.

Checkout Studio is also part of the rollout. Stripe describes it as a central place for businesses to build and manage checkout forms, with support for more than 125 payment methods and built-in A/B testing.

AI commerce

Stripe is also adding tools for businesses looking to sell through AI-driven interfaces. Later this year, UK businesses will be able to sell to customers within AI interfaces via Stripe’s Agentic Commerce Suite, which makes products discoverable and purchasable through a single integration.

UK businesses with US entities, including JD Sports and Wolf & Badger, are already selling to US customers through platforms such as Gemini and Copilot, according to Stripe.

The company has also expanded Stripe Radar, its fraud product, to address risks linked to AI-driven commerce. These include multi-account abuse, free trial fraud and pay-as-you-go abuse. The service now also covers Bacs Direct Debit transactions, as well as other local payment methods on Stripe.

“Two things are going to define the next decade for UK businesses: selling globally and building for the AI economy. Today, we’re making both dramatically easier. Whether it’s making your products purchasable through AI agents, localising pricing for a customer in Tokyo, or defending against new forms of fraud, Stripe handles the complexity so businesses can focus on growth,” Conor McNamara, Chief Revenue Officer for EMEA at Stripe, said.

UK customers

UK businesses using Stripe include startups such as ElevenLabs and Synthesia, as well as larger brands such as John Lewis and Lloyds Bank. Stripe also named Currys, Wayve and TripAdvisor among newer UK customers.

The announcement followed Stripe’s partnership with Lloyds Bank to provide its payments infrastructure to UK small businesses. The tie-up adds to competition among payments groups seeking deeper relationships with banks and broader access to smaller merchants.

The latest product push reflects how payment providers are positioning themselves around two overlapping trends: cross-border digital commerce and the rise of AI-based shopping journeys. For UK businesses, the practical appeal lies in reducing the operational burden of accepting local payment methods, pricing in local currencies, handling tax requirements and managing fraud across multiple markets.

For Stripe, the launch also underlines the breadth of services it aims to offer beyond basic payment processing, spanning treasury functions, checkout management, fraud controls and new routes into AI-led transactions. It now supports more than 1.5 million UK businesses and sole traders, including some of the country’s fastest-growing technology companies and established consumer brands.