From Flooded Basement to Five Colleges: Nick Stillwell on SupaJam

Monday, 13 July 2026

When Nick Stillwell and David Court founded SupaJam in 2013, everyone else had given up on their students. They hadn’t. What began as seven young people in a flooded Tunbridge Wells basement is now five colleges, more than 120 staff and a model that reignites learning for some of the most vulnerable young people in the country. In this month’s Entrepreneur Series, Nick talks about holding onto a vision at all costs, the Disney showtunes moment that captured everything SupaJam stands for, and why success in ten years still means working with his best mate from school.

1. SupaJam started in 2013 with seven students in a flooded basement in Tunbridge Wells. What made you and David look at that early chaos and think ‘this is worth building’?

Initial chaos can seem daunting, but when we saw how well the young people responded to being given opportunities to learn about something they had a real interest and passion for, it just drove us both on to organise the chaos and not give up.

The young people SupaJam works with have social, emotional, mental health and special educational needs. Everyone else had given up on them. That was something we were determined never to do, and out of the chaos came a unique opportunity.

2. Both of you came from backgrounds in film and TV. What did that world teach you that you have carried into running an education business?

Hold onto and passionately share your vision at all times, and never lose sight of what you are setting out to create. Keep on top of your budget at all costs, and if you can’t afford something, don’t complain about it. Just figure out alternatives that you can afford and you’ll often end up with something better!

3. For anyone who hasn’t come across SupaJam, how would you describe what you do and who you do it for?

SupaJam takes some of the most vulnerable and disadvantaged young people who have fallen out of mainstream education and reignites their desire to learn and achieve through their love for music and the music industry.

4. Mainstream education had failed your students before they arrived at SupaJam. Why does music work where other approaches haven’t?

For all our students, music has often been the only consistent thing in their lives. If you grab onto something they are already passionate about, learning and achieving becomes second nature.

5. You now have campuses across Kent, Brighton, and London, with more opening soon. How do you scale something so rooted in personal relationships without losing what makes it work?

The key is our staff. As the organisation scales, the relationships both David and I had with our students become harder to maintain. Our amazing staff completely buy into our ethos of non-judgement, respect and kindness. Instead of just two people initiating the ethos, we now have over 120 amazing staff members across five campuses, all empowered by the ethos.

6. What is a moment, a student, a performance, a breakthrough, that reminded you exactly why you started this?

Gosh, so many to mention. I remember once we had an autistic young man who loved Disney show tunes singing up on stage at a college gig with a whole load of “street” rapper students cheering him on. Music, whatever the genre, levels the playing field and allows people to connect and accept.

I also remember a wonderful young girl whose mental health struggles were winning until she started songwriting. And there, in a moment, was her release, a way of exposing and challenging her demons, and a pathway of hope. She may never sing to a Wembley crowd, but music and songwriting gave her a way to express herself and heal.

So many of our young people have been repeatedly told what they can’t do. No one takes the time to tell them what they can do. SupaJam gives all our young people the chance to believe in themselves, build their self esteem and start to make their own decisions about their future

7. What is the hardest decision you have had to make as a co-founder?

Having to let staff members go once, as we’d let ambition override financials.

8. Where does SupaJam go from here, and what would success look like in ten years’ time?

SupaJam needs to roll out nationally and internationally. There are so many young people that mainstream education has failed. We need to celebrate these young people for the skills they have and give them the opportunity to succeed, thrive and progress.

Success in ten years would be still working with my best mate from school. Challenging everything and making sure we continue to have a laugh at everything we do.

Quick-fire Round

1. Vinyl or Spotify?

Vinyl.

2. The gig that changed your life?

1982. U2. Brighton Top Rank.

3. Best piece of advice you have been given?

All success does is give you the confidence to talk about your failures.

4. What do you wish you had known before starting SupaJam?

Nothing. If we’d known anything about education before we started, we would never have done it. Ignorance is bliss!

5. If not this, what?

In a band, drinking vodka at 7am after playing at an iconic festival.

quote marks icon

Testimonials