The first Acton Academy in the Baltics · Central Riga
A learner-driven primary school in Riga — in English and Latvian
Grades 1–6, one mixed-age studio at Kronvalda bulvāris 1. Children set their own goals, do real projects, and get questions rather than answers. A child can join without speaking Latvian, or without speaking English.
Acton Academy Riga is a private, learner-driven primary school for grades 1–6 in the centre of Riga. Children work in Latvian and English, progress at their own pace, and show what they have learned at public exhibitions. Tuition is 650 EUR a month.
IALDS international accreditationInspire your child
To grow confidence
To think for themselves instead of waiting to be told
To work well with others
To stay curious long after the school
To do work that matters
To find their calling and change the world
This is a school children want to walk into on a Monday.
If any of this sounds familiar, you are not the only one.
Two ways to run a school
| A conventional classroom | Acton Academy |
|---|---|
| One pace, set in advance for the whole class | Each child moves at their own pace |
| Adults decide what happens next | Children set goals, track progress and own the decision |
| Motivation comes from marks and comparison | Motivation comes from curiosity, mastery and belonging |
| You move on when the term ends | You move on when you have actually mastered it |
| Adults lecture and correct | Adults ask questions and hold the boundaries |
| Everyone in the room is the same age | Mixed ages — older children mentor, younger children stretch |
| Character is whatever is left over | Courage, perseverance and responsibility are the point |
Neither column is a description of any particular school in Riga. It is a description of two designs.
The words we use, and what they mean
Acton has its own vocabulary. None of it is decoration — each word marks something that genuinely works differently here.
A guide is the adult in the room. A guide does not lecture and does not hand over answers — the reply to a question is usually another question: "What have you already tried? Have you seen a problem like this before? Can you put it in your own words?"
A studio is the room and the group inside it — closer to the single room of a village school than to a year-group classroom. Ages 6 to 12 work side by side.
A quest is a multi-week challenge with a story around it — building a business, running a forensic investigation, learning to survive a night outdoors — that pulls in reading, writing and maths because the challenge needs them.
A badge is earned when a skill is genuinely mastered, not when a week ends. Parents follow reading, writing, maths, languages and character growth badge by badge.
An exhibition closes every session: children present their work to a real audience — families, visitors, sometimes customers — and answer for it.
The question everyone asks first
Which language does my child work in?
Both. We are not an English school with Latvian lessons, and not a Latvian school with English lessons. Language here is something you choose for the task in front of you.
- Your child picks the language, task by task. There is no fixed split by day or by subject.
- The learning software is in English. English is not a lesson slot — it is the environment a lot of the work happens in.
- Guides are fluent in both and switch to whichever one a child needs at that moment.
- Children present their work in either language. Written work, presentations and exhibitions are their choice.
A child can start here with no Latvian, or with no English. Both have happened.
What we will not do is promise you a language level by a given date. Latvia’s state education standard sets what has to be learned, and how that lands for a child who is new to Latvian is something we work through family by family. Ask us on the call and we will walk you through it for your child’s year.
Children can lead themselves, learn at their own pace, and carry real responsibility for their own education.
Every child arrives with a gift worth finding
Learning to learn, learning to do and learning to be outrank learning to know
Questions do more than lectures
Freedom is earned by carrying responsibility, and it can be lost
Failing early and cheaply beats being rescued
Clear thinking leads to good decisions, decisions become habits, habits become character
A week in the studio
No staged photographs. This is what the room actually looks like on an ordinary morning.
For an active, curious child
If sitting still is the hardest part of school
Does your child find it hard to stay seated and hold attention? Many parents of children with ADHD are looking for somewhere they can move, work at their own pace and follow their own interests. For a lot of active children our model fits better than a conventional classroom — not because we are lenient, but because the day is built around choice, movement and short cycles of real work.
Get to know us, with nothing to commit to
Acton Academy Riga after-school clubs
Try an after-school club this school year, with no commitment, and see our approach in person.
Sign up →
Acton Academy Riga after-school clubs in Riga
Three afternoons a week from 16:00. See how the learning actually works — real projects, not lectures.
Find out more →From families already here
In their own words. These parents spoke in Latvian; the English is our translation.
“The biggest surprise was that the children have to take responsibility for everything.”
Ieva · mother of a third-year learnerWatch Ieva’s story →
“I can see how curious my daughter has become, and that she now gets into things by herself, without an adult steering her. I can see that the Acton system works.”
Jana · parentWatch Jana’s story →
“The children write their own house rules and then use them in real life. In my own child I see courage, adaptability and flexibility in the face of a challenge.”
Evita · parentWatch Evita’s story →Admission
“Admission is a conversation, not a test.”
Our studios — what other schools call classes
Primary studio · grades 1–6
3 places left for 2026/27, plus 1 full scholarship place650 EUR / month · support availableMiddle studio · grades 7–9
From 2027/28.Preschool studio · ages 4–6
Where this school is going
A fair question about a young school is whether it will still be here when your child is twelve. Here is the plan, dated.
- 2024 — IALDS international accreditation; the studio opens on 1 September.
- 2025 — the programme is licensed in Latvia.
- 2026 — now — enrolling grades 1–6 in central Riga; third year running.
- 2026/27 — state accreditation, which in Latvia follows a school’s first operating years.
- 2027 — grades 7–9 open.
Acton Academy Riga holds IALDS international accreditation and delivers a licensed programme in Latvia. State accreditation of the institution is scheduled for the 2026/27 school year — schools in Latvia go through accreditation in their first years of operation, not before opening.
Why we built this
Laura and Davis Martini went looking for a school in Latvia that matched what they wanted for their sons. They did not find it, so they opened one. Acton Academy Riga is the school they wished they had been to.
“School came easily to me. I was driven by marks and praise — but following other people’s instructions never built any confidence in myself. The marks said nothing about what I actually wanted to do with my life. It took years, a degree and several jobs before I worked that out.”
Laura Martini · co-founder
“I got through school because that is what you do. I learned to follow instructions and do the minimum. Everything changed at my first job: for the first time it was my own responsibility what I learned and how fast. With real problems in front of me I learned ten times more than I ever had at school.”
Davis Martini · co-founderRiga is our classroom
Learning happens across the city, not inside four walls
The studio is at Kronvalda bulvāris 1 in the centre of Riga, next to Kronvalda park, the Latvian National Theatre and the museum quarter. Projects go out into the city: markets, workshops, interviews, fieldwork.
Questions we get
What is Acton Academy Riga?
A private, learner-driven primary school for grades 1–6 in the centre of Riga, and part of the global Acton Academy network of 300+ schools in 26 countries. It opened in September 2024 and is the first Acton Academy in the Baltics.
Can my child join without speaking Latvian?
Yes. English is a full working language here: the learning software, the quest materials and the discussion prompts are in English, and the guides are fluent in both languages. A child can equally join with no English.
Is this an international school?
No. Acton Academy Riga is a Latvian school with bilingual learning and a global network behind it. Riga’s international schools run IB or Cambridge programmes for roughly 10,000–22,000 EUR a year; we run a licensed Latvian programme inside the Acton learning model, in two languages, for 650 EUR a month.
What does it cost?
650 EUR a month. That covers learning materials, a computer at school and materials for interest-led work. There is a 50% discount for a second and third child in the same family, and a fourth child can attend at no cost. One full scholarship place is available.
Which ages do you take?
Grades 1–6, roughly ages 6–12, in one mixed-age studio. Grades 7–9 open in 2027/28 and a preschool studio is in preparation.
How do you know a child is learning if there are no grades?
A child earns a badge when a skill is genuinely mastered, keeps a portfolio of real work, and presents to a live audience at the exhibition that closes every session. Parents see the work and the growth rather than a number.
Is the school accredited?
It holds IALDS international accreditation and delivers a licensed programme in Latvia. State accreditation of the institution is scheduled for the 2026/27 school year, which is the normal sequence for a new school in Latvia.
Could my child move to or from a state school later?
Yes. Children build core skills at their own pace, so a move is possible in either direction, and we build the plan for it together with the family.
Do you work with children who need to move a lot, or who have ADHD?
Working at your own pace, moving freely and following your own interests suits a lot of very active children, and Acton studios worldwide have many. We are not a special-needs school and we have no therapeutic staff. We work out together, during admission, whether this room is right for a particular child.
What language do you answer emails in?
Whichever one you write in. The first call, the studio visit and all the paperwork can happen in English.
Get in touch
Talk to a person
Tell us your child’s age and what is not working right now. We answer in English.
Email
info@actonriga.org
Phone and WhatsApp
+371 20276287
A 15-minute call
Pick a time that suits you
Come and see
Kronvalda bulvāris 1, Riga — ask us for a studio morning
Is this the right school for your family?
Fifteen minutes, no commitment — you ask, we answer. In English, whenever it suits you.