An innovative new online primary school is promising flexibility, small classes and a 30-week year. Its founder explains the thinking behind Emi and the pilot that started with her own son.
Pene Barton positively oozes with pride when talking about her eight-year-old son Hunter’s educational journey over the last 18 months.
From a boy who was often reluctant to even go to school, Barton has seen him develop a genuine love for learning.
“His progress has been phenomenal, he is a lot more confident, his reading has gone through the roof, and in maths he is trending three years ahead [of his age]. It has been amazing to watch.”
While motherly love and support has no doubt been important in Hunter’s growth, Barton’s job has been a crucial factor too. As chief executive officer of Crimson Global Academy (CGA), she is overseeing Emi, a new online primary school in collaboration with Auckland’s Future School.
Launching in February 2027 and aimed at families seeking alternatives to conventional education for six to 11-year-olds, it will include personalised one-on-one and small group online lessons from a team of New Zealand-registered teachers.
This is where Hunter’s story comes in. Barton took him out of a leading Auckland primary school in mid-2025 to take part in a pilot CGA were running to test the Emi concept. She did so partly because he was struggling in the classroom at the time.
“He was what I would call a school refuser,” she recalls.
“He would have meltdowns [at school] and come up with any excuse not to go. While he was doing okay in some areas like maths, he was bored with English and other subjects and I felt he needed smaller group support.”
Since taking part in the trial, though, Barton says Hunter’s progress has been “phenomenal”.
“He loves online one-on-one teaching so much he says he wants to be a teacher himself. This is amazing for a kid who not so long ago didn’t even want to go to school. It feels like I built the school I couldn’t find for him.”
Emi, named after the school’s core subjects – English, maths and innovation – has been designed from the ground up by Barton.
She has over a decade of experience as an executive in high-growth global technology companies and developed both the technology and the teaching approach for Emi.
As an accredited online private school for ages six to 18, CGA has been operating an online high school in New Zealand for six years, and Barton says they are excited to now bring Emi to life. It officially launches on February 15.
“The entire school is designed around how primary-aged children learn best,” she says.
“We intend to place students according to their learning readiness, not age, and keep class sizes to no more than eight students. This is massive in New Zealand where the average primary school classroom has around 28-29 students.”
Emi will run across a 30-week year, as opposed to the 38-40 weeks that is standard at most schools. It will have five New Zealand-registered teachers, who will each work from the same lesson plan, and Barton expects around 40 students will make up the cohort.
Drawing on New Zealand, Australian, US and UK standards, there will be one-on-one online lessons on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays, followed by small live group classes to end the week.
The Monday to Wednesday one-on-one sessions will consist of two 45-minute lessons a day with a teacher, with two lessons in each of English, maths and innovation across the three days. An “enrichment hour” in each subject is also provided.
On Thursdays and Fridays, students get two-and-a-half hours of live group teaching.
She believes Emi is best tailored for families who think differently about education and are looking for more flexible schooling in a timetable that fits their lifestyle.
She says she experienced this herself in the past year with Hunter able to continue his schooling while the family had trips to Thailand, Bali and Australia: “I can tell you travelling in non-school holiday time is delightful.”
Barton says Emi’s teachers will deliver a clear, proven structure ideal for parents or caregivers such as those who may find full-time, parent-led homeschooling hard to sustain, or globally mobile families travelling or living abroad.
“This means children keep the same teachers and classmates wherever life takes them,” she says. “Emi takes the lesson planning and teaching off a parent’s plate while, at the same time, keeping them completely informed of their child’s progress.”
The launch of Emi will bring the number of CGA schools in New Zealand up to four, alongside two physical schools – Future School and Summit Point, both in Takapuna, Auckland – and the online Mt Hobson Academy.
CGA was founded in 2020. Globally, it teaches over 2700 students in more than 90 countries and has over 300 teachers.
Students follow the British curriculum, with International GCSEs and A Levels, or the American curriculum, with the US Diploma pathway and Advanced Placement (AP) courses.
For more information, visit Crimson Global Academy.