In February 2025, our Co-CEO Mateo Solares and Head of Learning Jake Whiddon swapped their desks for tuk tuks and headed off on a meaningful journey to Phnom Penh, Cambodia.
Their destination?
The Stoeng Meanchey campus of ISF Cambodia (Indo Starfish Foundation)—a long-time Studycat partner and a powerful force for change.
Spoiler alert: it was an incredible week!
Changing lives through learning (and football)
ISF isn’t just a school—it’s a mission in motion. Through education and sport, ISF is helping to break the cycle of poverty by giving underprivileged children the tools, support, and belief to shape a better future.
Studycat has been proud to support ISF through two of its key programs:
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The Studycats football team, where sport builds confidence, teamwork, and joy.
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The ISF Education Programme, where Studycat apps, Studypacks, and teacher training are helping students build solid English foundations—opening the doors to future academic and career opportunities.
So when 70 iPads were generously donated by a Swiss financial group, we couldn’t wait to help ISF set them up and put them to good use.
Tuk tuk to transformation
On February 20, Mateo and Jake took a bumpy 30-minute tuk tuk ride through the streets of Phnom Penh to reach the Stoeng Meanchey ISF campus. Greeted by students, teachers, and the ever-enthusiastic Hayley Holden from the ISF fundraising team, they spent the next four hours working shoulder to shoulder with the ISF community.
The mission? Get the tech up and running.
Throughout the day, they helped configure 25 of the donated iPads—each one set up from scratch. Studycat’s English app and student accounts were installed, and local staff were trained to prepare the remaining devices.
The result?
A classroom full of future-ready tablets, and a school team ready to use them.
Teachable moments and Tom’s talents
With the tech sorted, it was time to do what we love most: teach!
Jake led a catch-up class using Studycat materials based on the story “What Can Tom Do?”—a favorite that teaches action verbs like run, jump, throw, and fly using the structure “I can + verb.”
Let’s just say, things got energetic.
Kids acted out each part of the story with full-body enthusiasm—running in place, jumping in sync, and laughing their way through every new word. Afterward, they paired up and used the Studycat app to reinforce what they’d learned. Other ISF teachers joined the session too, gaining ideas on how to integrate Studycat into their own classrooms.
Letting voices shine with VoicePlay
Then came the highlight: testing out Studycat’s new VoicePlay feature—and it was a hit!
We tried a few different formats: group demonstrations, individual turns, and eventually paired practice. That last one worked best, as the kids began helping each other navigate the speaking games with confidence and laughter.
They played through the Hello, Animals, Colors, Foods, and Fruits games—and the room filled with joyful chaos. English words bounced off the walls. Smiles were everywhere. Learning was alive.
The students at ISF are an inspiration” Jake said. “Seeing them learning independently on tablets really shows how quality edtech can work.”
The trip wrapped up with firm handshakes, warm goodbyes, and a promise: we’ll be checking in soon to see how the rest of the tablets are going and offer any extra support the ISF team needs.
As Mateo reflected later, “It’s one thing to build learning tools. It’s another thing entirely to see them in action—being used by kids who are so eager to learn, with teachers who care so deeply. That’s what this partnership is all about.”
At Studycat, we believe in playful learning—but also in purposeful partnerships. Working with ISF Cambodia reminds us why we do what we do: to give children everywhere the confidence, tools, and joy they need to grow.
To the ISF team, thank you for letting us be part of your world.
And to the kids in that classroom—keep jumping, keep speaking, and keep shining. 🌍💛
Learn more about our global impact
This project is just one part of Studycat’s commitment to making language learning more accessible worldwide. Visit our Community page to see how we’re partnering with organizations around the globe to support education, empower teachers, and create joyful learning experiences for kids everywhere.