Our History

Commotion has been developing, manufacturing and distributing educational resources since 1983. Established by Timothy Coote (CEO), the first product we sold was an interface for robotics called The Beasty. This was soon joined by The Beasty Arm which turned it into a programmable robot. The Beasty was sold to schools and even bought by companies such as Kodak for use in training. Next we launched the Snap EV1 camera, the first and cheapest computer visual recognition system which was featured by the BBC in their Micro, Electron and Atom Magazine in 1983. Our range quickly grew and in 1985 our first mail order Robotics catalogue was published, containing over 100 computer peripherals.

Our Brand History

1995200020022003

1995

Launch of the Hands On catalogues offering a comprehensive selection of resources for the primary school market with a focus on active learning in Maths, Technology, Science and ICT.

2000

The TickiT brand was created in conjunction with educational advisors to source and develop a range of high quality products, ensuring that each delivered the objectives of motivating interest and developing core skills in specific subject areas.

2002

The new Reflections on Learning catalogue was introduced, based on the Reggio Emilia approach to learning. The catalogue included a ground-breaking range of products which transformed the nature of educational supply to nurseries and pre-schools and early years education.

2003

Commotion purchased Shaw Magnets. Founded in 1783, it is the oldest established magnet company in the world. This trusted brand of magnets, magnet accessories and consumables continues to sell successfully through our trade partners.

2013

We retracted from selling directly to schools and sold the Hands On and Reflections on Learning brands. This move has allowed us to invest and concentrate our efforts on sourcing, designing and developing products to sell through our network of distributors.

2015

Commotion purchased Top Class, a company renowned for developing unique educational games and maths resources for early years and lower primary ages. This popular range continues to be distributed to our trade partners worldwide.