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
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. | |
2016 | Commotion purchased Ocean Direct, encompassing great value range of science and laboratory resources for early years and primary school children |
Designing, developing and distributing products that fire the imagination to inspire learning and make teaching more enjoyable.
Commotion is a wholesale distributor of educational resources based in Tonbridge, Kent. Our range is available to resellers worldwide, enabling them to supply schools, nurseries, childminders and parents with a wide selection of learning resources.
Our innovative products are designed to inspire learning and provide educators with the tools they need to help them achieve this. We believe our products really make a difference and that we can help turn today’s children into tomorrow’s innovators.
We consistently strive to be market leaders and are dedicated to providing the highest quality products. With efficient stock management and excellent customer service, we ensure orders are delivered on time and at a competitive price.
Product Testing
The safety of everything we make at Commotion is of the utmost importance to us. All of our own brand TickiT products have been assessed under the General Product Safety Directive 2001/95/EC or Toy Safety Directive 2009/48/EC and tested to industry standards including EN71, ASTM F963, CCPSA & ISO8124.
Additional age suitability guidelines for our whole range are available on individual product pages to enable our customers to select the most appropriate products for their market.
Award-Winners
We regularly enter new and innovative products for industry awards and have had excellent results for our innovative Rainbow Architect range, Wooden Image Blocks, our SiliShapes® range, Target Maths, Light Panels, Talking Tubes, Sensory Blocks, Exploration Circles, Soft Rubber Toys and more.