Accessible by default
Every tool built in, none forced.
Read-aloud, dyslexia font, plain-English mode, colour overlays, dark mode - a student picks what helps.
GCSE and KS3 Science, built for how students actually think.
Every learner is different - some need extra support, some extra challenge, some accommodations - and SoloCogs is built to give all three, not bolt them on. A full teacher-built platform for Foundation and Higher Tier, KS3 and GCSE, designed for learning and assessment on screen.
Built by a qualified science teacher, after years of watching students hit the same gaps in class - and building the lessons that fill them.
Free trial on every plan · See your first payment date before you pay · From £14.99/month after
See it before you sign up
Rather see it than read about it?
No account needed - open a real SoloLab lesson or a full SoloCognition quiz in your browser right now.
Real screens. Real product. Real students.
Every screen below is the actual platform - not a mockup, not a stock photo. Hover on any card to lift it.
Every AQA Required Practical
Interactive labs, safely from anywhere.
Real equipment behaviour. Students rehearse each method and practise the AT (Apparatus and Techniques) skills, alongside the real practical in class.
Nobody else does this
Confidence-rated before every answer.
A secure answer and a lucky guess never look the same. Four Knowledge Flags sort every response, automatically.
The diagnostic payoff
Precise picture of what to work on next.
Subtopic-level Knowledge Map after every session. Focus-area recommendations, not "just keep revising".
Grown-up view
One story, mirrored for every adult.
Parent, tutor, teacher, and school admin all see the SAME picture the student sees on their own screen.
Mastery game 1 of 6
Quick Fire
8 seconds per question · streak on the line
Score 12 · Streak 4
Mastery game 2 of 6
Spot the Lie
Two truths, one misconception · flag the false one
Mitochondria release energy
Ribosomes make proteins
Nucleus makes ATP ← lie
Mastery game 3 of 6
Hex Path
Connect terms across a hex grid · vocabulary chains
Cell
Nucleus
DNA
Gene
Allele
Mastery game 4 of 6
The Hot Seat
One question, three lifelines · rescue-mode revision
What organ pumps blood around the body?
50/50HintSkip
Mastery game 5 of 6
Reveal Round
Answer first · reveal the mark scheme · self-mark honestly
"Photosynthesis uses sunlight to make glucose."
Mark scheme: sunlight ✓ · glucose ✓ · water/CO₂ ?
Mastery game 6 of 6
Right on Target
Prioritise the wobbly topics · earn precision points
Cell transportRatesWaves
Revision that isn't a slog
Mastery games with dopamine on the side.
Quick Fire, Spot the Lie, Hex Path, The Hot Seat, Reveal Round, Right on Target - the same content, six ways to practise it.
Try one now · No account
Answer + confidence = a precise picture.
A standard quiz tells you what a student got wrong. SoloCognition tells you why - and picks a different next step for each of the four Knowledge Flags. Try it here.
Cell Biology · Animal CellsWhich structure in an animal cell controls what enters and leaves it?
1. Pick your answer
2. How sure are you?
No timer, no pass-fail - just an honest read.
How SoloCogs compares
The bits nobody else does.
Seneca and Sparx are excellent at what they do - both are on our recommend list for what they cover well. But these seven things nobody else in GCSE Science does natively.
| Feature | SoloCogs | Seneca | Sparx |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dyslexia-friendly font, on with one tapAtkinson Hyperlegible - designed so b/d and i/l stay distinct. | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Plain-English mode alongside AQA wordingSame question, everyday words - toggled per section. | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ |
| SoloSpell™ - marks the science, not the spelling"fotosynthisis" still gets the mark for photosynthesis. | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Confidence-rated answers → Knowledge FlagsSorts every answer as Secure, Misconception, Gap or Hesitancy. | ✓ | ✗ | ✗ |
| Every AQA Required Practical as a virtual labInteractive rigs; each attempt saved to the student's lab log. | ✓ | Video | ✗ |
| Every question written by a qualified science teacherNot community-crowdsourced, not AI-first. | ✓ | Mixed | ✓ |
| Free full unit, no card, no loginCell Biology, top to bottom, open to anyone. | ✓ | Login | ✗ |
Fair play. Seneca covers more subjects than we do. Sparx has strong curriculum-linked homework for schools. SoloCogs is built specifically for AQA Science, with accommodations built into every screen - because that's what a SEND-focused, teacher-led offer needs to look like.
The shortest route to what fits you.
SoloCogs is designed for three groups. Tell us which one you are and we’ll send updates that actually matter to you.
Parent or home educator
Looking for GCSE Science support for your child - at school, home, or somewhere in between. From £14.99 a month, and free to start today.
Jump to the parent form →School, MAT, or tutor
Assessing SoloCogs for a class, department, or tutoring practice. Free half-term pilot on request. Per-pupil pricing and MAT volume discounts.
Jump to the school form →Student
Think SoloCogs might be for you? Here’s how to ask a grown-up to check it out - a one-tap message they can read in 20 seconds.
Jump to the student panel →Three tools, one story.
SoloLab, SoloCognition, and SoloSight work together - so the student, the parent, the tutor, and the school are all reading from the same page. Every plan includes all three.
SoloLab
Where they learn
Every lesson, every AQA Required Practical, every revision activity across KS3 and GCSE. Foundation and Higher Tier sit side by side so a student can stretch or scaffold as they go.
- Every AQA Required Practical, rebuilt as a virtual lab. Real equipment behaviour, safe from anywhere - for rehearsing the method and practising Apparatus and Techniques (AT) skills before and after the real practical.
- Practice labs for RP-style exam questions, so students can rehearse the mark scheme without a lab bench.
- Mastery games - Quick Fire, Spot the Lie, Hex Path, The Hot Seat, Right on Target, Reveal Round - science revision with dopamine on the side.
- Hall of Lab Legends. Students uncover the real scientists behind the science as they work - discoveries, ethics, and the human stories the exam board doesn't have room for.
- Atomic Vault. A collectible periodic table that unlocks element by element as progress builds.
- Every accessibility tool built in - read-aloud, dyslexia-friendly font, plain-English mode, colour overlays, dark mode, calm mode, adjustable pace. Each one picked by the student, none of it forced.
- Adjustments logged. The tools a student uses are recorded quietly - so over time, the log gives a picture of their normal way of working that a SENCo can draw on for EHCP reviews and access-arrangement discussions.
SoloCognition
Where they work out what they know
Short, confidence-rated assessments that separate real understanding from a lucky guess. Every question asks how sure the student feels before it marks the answer - that pair of signals is what makes the picture precise.
- Confidence rated before every answer is marked. No student "just clicks a letter" - they say how sure they are on the same screen, before they see whether they were right.
- Four Knowledge Flags sort every answer: Secure, Misconception, Knowledge Gap, or Hesitancy. Each one gets a different next step, automatically.
- No timer. No pass/fail. No rank. The pace is set by the student, not the algorithm.
- Regulation check-in before high-load activities. If a student is overloaded, SoloCogs offers a 60-second reset before it asks them to think.
- Outputs a Knowledge Map - a precise, subtopic-level picture of what to work on next, so nobody's "just revising" without a plan.
- SoloSpell™ marks the meaning, not the spelling. Write "fotosynthisis", get the mark for photosynthesis.
SoloSight
Where progress is visible
Mirror dashboards for the adults. The parent view, the tutor view, the teacher view, and the school admin view all show what the student sees on their own screen - so nobody's reading a different story.
- The student's own dashboard is the reference. Every adult view is a mirror of it. No conflicting narratives, no "the school says one thing, the parent hears another".
- Class Pulse and Cohort heatmap - what's stuck, what's stalled, where to teach next. By subtopic, by class, by year group.
- Provision-mapping evidence logged automatically. Every accommodation used, every intervention run - EHCP-ready evidence for annual reviews.
- Safeguarding queue with a named DSL escalation pathway. Concerns flagged by the platform surface here, not in an inbox.
- Designed for your school's systems - we can import your class lists in bulk, and automatic sync from your MIS is in development.
- Weekly parent digest emailed home. Plain-English summary of what your child covered, what stuck, and what to talk about at the kitchen table.
Built for every learner in the room.
In any class of thirty, some students are dyslexic, some are autistic, some have ADHD, some speak English as an additional language, some have visual stress, and some are just having a hard day. SoloCogs doesn't bolt accommodations on for a few - it builds them in for everyone, then lets each student pick what helps. Nothing is forced, and nothing labels anyone.
Standard viewExam-style wording, written to the AQA specification
Plain English onSame science, everyday words
Tap either image to enlarge and read the wording.
Read-aloud, with highlighting
Every lesson and question can be read aloud, with the words highlighted as they're spoken.
Helps: dyslexia · EAL · low reading fluency · auditory learnersSoloSpell™ - marks meaning, not spelling
Type fotosynthisis and still get the mark for photosynthesis. The science is assessed, not the spelling.
Helps: dyslexia · dysgraphia · EALDyslexia-friendly font
Atkinson Hyperlegible - a typeface engineered so letters that usually blur (b/d, i/l) stay distinct.
Helps: dyslexia · visual fatigue (everyone)Plain-English mode
A plain-language version of every lesson sits beside the exam-board wording, toggled section by section.
Helps: EAL · lower reading age · anyone facing jargonColour overlays
Tint the screen to settle text that swims or glares on plain white.
Helps: visual stress · Irlen-type discomfortDark and calm mode
Dim the screen, quiet the animation, retire the bouncing mascot - a lower-stimulation way to work.
Helps: autism · ADHD · light sensitivity · migraineYour pace, your size
No timers, resizable text, and a speed set by the student - not an algorithm.
Helps: slower processing speed · anxiety · focus needsRegulation check-ins
A 60-second reset offered before high-load tasks, so nobody's asked to think while overwhelmed.
Helps: anxiety · emotional regulation · exam nervesAnd the adjustments a student uses are logged quietly in the background - so over months it builds a picture of their normal way of working that a SENCo can draw on for EHCP reviews and access-arrangement discussions.
Got an idea for an adjustment we haven't built yet? Send it over →
The friend who knows when to be quiet.
He's Cogs.
He pops up when a student's stuck, cheers when they land a tricky one, and stays out of the way the rest of the time. Every student meets him on their first SoloLab lesson - he's a study buddy, not a teacher, not a scorekeeper.
- Silent by choice. Every animation, sound and popup has a one-tap off switch. Some students find him lovely; others need him gone - both are fine.
- Never scores anyone. Cogs doesn't grade, judge, or report - he's on the student's side.
- Actually helpful. Ask Cogs a science question in plain English; he answers, then dares them to answer him back.
Built by a teacher who's been in the room.
SoloCogs isn't built by a tech firm that hired a consultant - it's built by a qualified, experienced science teacher who has taught GCSE Foundation Science in the classroom. So every lesson, question and design choice starts from one place: "what happens when this doesn't work first time?"
"Science isn't difficult because science is impossible. It's often difficult because the way we present it creates unnecessary barriers. SoloCogs removes those barriers so students can focus on understanding the science."
"I built SoloCogs for the students the system leaves behind - the ones who need it read aloud, who spell it ‘wrong’ but know the science, who freeze on a timer. Accessibility isn't a feature I bolted on; it's the reason I started."
Jazz - a qualified, experienced science teacher
Which one sounds most like you?
SoloCogs is designed for three groups of people. Tell us which one you are and we'll tailor what we send you. You do not have to wait to start - create a free account and use it today.
For students
Think SoloCogs could help you? Send it to a grown-up.
A grown-up has to set SoloCogs up. Send this message to whoever needs to see it - your parent, carer, teacher, tutor, form tutor, or Head of Science. Works for all of them.
"Send by email" opens your own email app. SoloCogs never sees who you send this to - your email address and your teacher's or parent's address stay private.
The bits people ask most.
If your question isn't here, email hello@solocogs.co.uk and we'll answer directly.
What is SoloCogs?
A UK Science platform for KS3 and GCSE (AQA Combined, Foundation and Higher Tier), built so support, challenge and accessibility are the default - not an add-on.
Three tools work together: SoloLab (lessons + virtual Required Practicals), SoloCognition (confidence-rated assessment), and SoloSight (dashboards that show parents, tutors and schools the same picture). The sections above walk through each.
How is it different from the free revision tools?
Free content is a brilliant starting point, and plenty of students use it. But tools like those are places to revise - content and quizzing. SoloCogs does the parts content alone cannot.
It works out what a student actually knows, not just whether they clicked the right letter: every answer is confidence-rated, so a secure understanding and a lucky guess never look the same. It points each student to the exact next step, rebuilds every AQA Required Practical as a virtual lab, and builds accessibility in for every learner by default. Parents, tutors and schools all read the same live picture.
There is an honest, side-by-side comparison further up this page.
Can we use it now?
Yes. Create a free account and you can start today - SoloLab lessons, Required Practicals and a SoloCognition baseline are all live.
We are still in beta, so we are adding and polishing as we go. Tell us who you are above and we will email you as new units and exam boards land.
Every plan starts with a free trial. You will see when your first payment is due before you pay. If it is not right for your family, cancel before then and nothing is taken.
How much will it cost?
Families: from £14.99 a month, starting with a free trial - full access to every unit, and you will see when your first payment is due before you pay. Then your subscription starts at the normal rate.
Schools, MATs, and Local Authorities: per-pupil pricing on request. Volume discounts for MATs and Local Authorities. Get in touch and we'll build the right shape for you.
Which exam board, tiers and years does it cover?
KS3 Science (Years 7–9) - ten topics across Biology, Chemistry and Physics, building the foundations for GCSE.
GCSE AQA Combined Science - both Foundation and Higher Tier, every topic and every Required Practical, across all three sciences.
GCSE AQA Separate Sciences (Triple) - Biology, Chemistry and Physics as three separate GCSEs, both tiers, alongside Combined.
Confused by the choice of Foundation vs Higher, or Combined vs Triple? Read our plain-English guide to the four combinations →
Further exam boards (Edexcel, OCR) sit on the roadmap; waitlist members hear when each lands.
Is it a full course or a revision top-up?
Both - it flexes to the learner. For a home-educated, EOTAS or school-refusal student, SoloCogs works as a complete, self-paced GCSE course: every lesson, every practical, every assessment.
Alongside school, it's a targeted top-up - SoloCognition pinpoints exactly what a student hasn't secured, and SoloLab sends them straight to those lessons. Same platform, different job depending on who's using it. Planning a home-ed year? Grab our free printable scheme of work - the whole KS3→GCSE topic map as a checklist.
Is my data safe?
Yes. Your child's data is stored and processed in the UK - our database and daily backups sit in London (UK GDPR compliant, ICO-registered). The website itself is delivered through a global content network for speed and resilience, but that only serves the site's code and images: no student data is stored on it or leaves the UK. We do not sell, share, or licence student data, and we do not train third-party AI models on student work.
Row-level security protects every record at the database layer, MFA is available for all staff accounts (and required for admins), and TLS 1.3 encrypts everything in transit. Our full policy suite is at /policies.
How is SoloCogs safeguarding-forward for under-16s?
SoloCogs is built for 11–16-year-olds, so safeguarding sits inside every design decision, not at the end. Concretely:
- KCSIE-aware from the ground up. Our safeguarding policy sits with the rest of the policy suite at /policies, and every staff member with student-facing access has a named DSL contact and a clear escalation route.
- No student-to-student contact. There is no chat, DM, or public leaderboard where students can be identified by other students. Progression is private to the student, their linked parent/carer, and their tutor / school.
- Answer-moderation with a gentle nudge. SoloSpell™ watches for euphemisms in typed answers (things like “unalived” or “shrooms”) and quietly nudges the student toward the scientific term - part of the SEND-friendly contract, not a report-to-authority.
- Content is exam-board-mapped, not open-web. Students never see external links or content dumped in from search. Everything on the page has been written for the AQA spec by a qualified teacher.
- Parent visibility by default. Every parent account can see what their child has completed, when, and with what confidence - no dark-pattern “private mode” that hides activity from the person paying for the account.
Schools receive our full safeguarding-forward pack (KCSIE mapping, DPA, sub-processor register, DSL contact route) with the pilot paperwork on request.
What do we need to use it?
Just a web browser. SoloCogs runs on any modern phone, tablet, laptop or school Chromebook - nothing to install, and progress syncs across every device a student signs in on.
Can we try it before we buy?
Yes. Every plan starts with a free trial with full access to every unit - you will see when your first payment is due before you pay, and if you cancel before then you pay nothing at all. Schools can run a free half-term pilot before committing, and tutors can arrange one too. Register your interest and we'll set it up.
Who's behind SoloCogs?
SoloCogs is built by a qualified, experienced science teacher who has taught GCSE Science in the classroom and knows exactly where students get stuck. Every lesson, question and design decision starts from "what happens when this doesn't work first time?"