Up Learn FAQ
Your questions, answered
From how Up Learn works to course content, pricing and guarantees, we've answered the questions we hear most often. Browse the topics below to quickly find the information you need.
From how Up Learn works to course content, pricing and guarantees, we've answered the questions we hear most often. Browse the topics below to quickly find the information you need.
Behind every course is a team of world-class teachers and tutors who are typically paid £100+ per hour for 1:1 tuition. They've spent thousands of hours creating and perfecting the content for Up Learn courses until it achieves A* or 8+ results at A level and GCSE. They're supported by teams of experts, illustrators, animators, video producers, audio engineers and production assistants who help put everything together. On average, 16 hours of effort goes into the production of each minute of Up Learn content – there is no compromise on quality, no matter how small. Hundreds of thousands of pounds go into developing and maintaining the content and technology in every Up Learn course. However, we recognise these prices are inaccessible to some students and families. That's why we offer an unlimited number of scholarships to students who are on or are eligible for free school meals, cross-subsidised by those who pay.
People naturally have different preferences for how they learn. Some may prefer visual explanations, while others find spoken or written information more engaging. However, research suggests that matching teaching to a person’s preferred “learning style” does not necessarily improve learning outcomes. A review of experimental evidence by Pashler, McDaniel, Rohrer and Bjork (2009) found little evidence that teaching students according to a specific learning style is effective. Instead, the researchers found that the most important factor is matching the method of instruction to the nature of the subject being taught. For example, visual explanations may be particularly useful for geometry, while verbal or auditory approaches may be better suited to poetry. Our chosen method of instruction is video, which combines visual explanations, spoken teaching, worked examples and on-screen information. This allows us to use different approaches where they are most appropriate for the subject, while also accommodating a range of learning preferences. So, whether or not you believe in learning styles, you are not at a disadvantage. Our focus is on using the most effective teaching method for the topic being learned.(Source: Pashler, H., McDaniel, M., Rohrer, D. and Bjork, R. (2009) “Learning styles: Concepts and evidence”, Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 9(3), pp. 105–119.)
Up Learn courses can take 16-35 weeks to complete from scratch based on 1 hour per day. This varies by student and subject – many students will not need to start from scratch to achieve A*-A!
Yes – Up Learn can help you solidify your grades, and help you score higher A*s/As. Typical Cambridge offer holders have 94-96% UMS, with your chances of an offer increasing with your UMS score. Benefit from all of our exam preparation content and exclusive examiner-designed practice papers.
Yes! You can study as many courses as you like. Using Up Learn will give you a big advantage when it comes to the exam, so using it for all your available subjects will help you perform better. We do offer multi-course discounts
Using Up Learn in Year 12 helps you build and retain a strong foundation of knowledge, reducing memory decay and making it easier to build on what you’ve learned throughout Year 13.
It can also help you achieve the best possible predicted grades, and strengthen the academic reference provided by your teacher; both important parts of your university application. If you’re aiming for an offer from your dream university, starting early with Up Learn can help you build the knowledge and confidence you need.
Yes! If they didn't, our money-back guarantee would have bankrupted us by now!
Absolutely! We've designed Up Learn so that it will work for everyone. It doesn't matter what your background or starting point is, Up Learn is right for you. We've had students go from a B in their mocks to an A*. And, we've had students go from an E in their mocks to an A*. To find out why Up Learn works for anybody, check out the Science Behind Up Learn.
Individuals can purchase Up Learn directly, without needing to be enrolled through a school. After signing up for a free trial, you can visit your Billing page to choose a plan (current pricing is on the Up Learn pricing page). There are two payment options: Access Until Exams, a one-time upfront payment giving full access through your final exams (available until 31 July) and generally the best value, or Monthly, a flexible pay-as-you-go subscription you can cancel anytime. Both plans cover full course access for one subject, including Year 12 and 13 for A levels or Foundation and Higher tiers for GCSE (GCSE is only available on the Up Core plan). You'll also choose between two support levels, Up Core or Up Master, both of which include course access, practice papers, tutoring, and the A*/A money-back guarantee, with Up Master adding marked practice papers and priority tutoring. You can buy multiple courses, and the Access Until Exams plan gives a £100 discount on each additional course (this discount doesn't apply to Monthly subscriptions). You can also switch from Monthly to Access Until Exams via your Billing page, or upgrade from Up Core to Up Master by contacting the team via live chat.
Schools can also purchase Up Learn at special rates through the Up Core plan, which includes dashboards for teachers to set assignments, track student progress, and provide built-in tutoring support. Schools interested in this option can get in touch to discuss pricing.
If you complete Up Learn and don’t get an A*/A grade in your exam, you get your money back. All you have to do is send us a copy of your official exam-board-issued results document with your full name and grades via chat or email, and we’ll process your refund immediately – no questions asked.
If you complete Up Learn and get an 8-7 or below in AQA GCSE Combined Science (Trilogy, Higher Tier), you get your money back. All you have to do is send us a copy of your official exam-board-issued results document with your full name and grades via chat or email, and we’ll process your refund immediately — no questions asked.
Our research has found that the more time students spend on Up Learn, the more their grades improve. For some students, it makes sense to complete Up Learn courses – these students unlock the money back guarantee. Other students will use Up Learn to patch specific gaps in their knowledge, without needing to complete the course – these students do not aim to unlock the money back guarantee, but still go on to achieve A*/A or whatever their target grade is. This is similar to how students would use a tutor.
Absolutely! Whether you pay monthly or in one go, as long as you complete your course to 90%, we’ll refund everything you paid.
Our guarantee covers all payments towards sitting an official exam. That covers you if you take a GCSE early, sit an AS Level, or if you purchase during Year 10 or Year 12, and then renew the following year - everything gets refunded!
If you are doing a course such as AQA Psychology or AQA Physics (where Papers 1 and 2 are standardised, but you can choose which topics to answer on Paper 3), you may find that the Paper 3 topics that Up Learn covers do not match what you are covering in school. If you are doing optional content that is different to the content covered by Up Learn, our guarantee still applies to Paper 1 and Paper 2.
A Level Economics, A Level Maths, A Level Physics, A Level Psychology, A Level Chemistry, A Level Biology, GCSE Combined Science, GCSE Chemistry, GCSE Biology, and GCSE Physics. We are actively developing courses for more A Level and GCSE subjects. All announcements on new courses will be made as soon as they are available.
Yes. However, you can (and should) also use Up Learn if you are not doing one of our exam boards. There's loads of overlap between exam boards and even different education systems (APs, IB, etc)!
This depends on the subject! We aim to cover the three main UK exam boards: AQA, Edexcel (Pearson) and OCR. Depending on the subject, we may support WJEC, CCEA, Cambridge International and IB. Head over to start a free trial and you'll be able to see which exam board is best suited for you.
Don't worry! You can still use Up Learn for your learning, as there is plenty of common content between the different exam boards for any given subject. We recommend that you look at what exam boards we offer, and choose the syllabus that best matches yours. If you don't know which of our exam boards this is, get in touch with your teacher to see which exam board they think will be closest to the content you will learn in class. You can also start a free trial in each exam board and compare the subsections to your specification.
Each minute of an Up Learn video takes ~16 hours of work to produce! Courses take hundreds of thousands of hours to make. The quality is top notch!
Depending on your plan, you will receive access to: Video lessons; Quiz-check questions; Video quizzes; Exam how-to videos; Summary videos; Exam practice questions; Definition memorization and recall sessions; Progress quizzes; Exclusive exam practice papers; 24/7 tutor support; Exam practice paper marking.
We employ world-class teachers who are experts in their field. They make videos that are fun to watch, teach you really quickly and help you absorb and retain content much more easily than conventional learning/teaching.
They test that you understand the material and provide you with feedback on how you are doing. They help you dispel misconceptions and help you keep focused during videos! Finally, they stretch your understanding of new ideas which makes them easier to remember in the long term!
Having good exam technique helps you pick up extra marks. We show you what this looks like for each subject so you can pick up every single mark possible.
Our awesome team of top teachers and former examiners have written hundreds of exam-style questions organised by topic, each with a mark scheme, model answer, and detailed explanation of how to grab every single mark. All you need to do is select the topics you want to revise in the 'exam practice by topic' feature, and we'll take care of the rest, A*/A guaranteed!
You can ask questions or send screenshots over live chat (the box in the bottom right hand corner). We then promptly reply with clear explanations to help you out.
Our students tell us they are often surprised at how well it works! Imagine you have a friend with an expert-level understanding of your subject and how best to answer exam questions, and you can just text them when you get stuck. That's what Up Learn tutors do for you 🙂
They are written exclusively for Up Learn by official examiners. They are not past papers, and are completely unique to Up Learn.
Up Master contains all of the features of Up Core, but adds: Two exam practice papers marked by an official examiner (there's a 2-3 week turnaround for these); Unlimited 24/7 tutor support via live chat. Most of our tutors come from top universities such as Oxford/Cambridge/LSE/Imperial. 'Unlimited' means that questions are not limited to just those arising from Up Learn content, which is offered on the Up Core plan, but any question at all you might have around your subject.
Behind every course is a team of world-class teachers and tutors who are typically paid £100+ per hour for 1:1 tuition. They've spent thousands of hours creating and perfecting the content for Up Learn courses until it achieves A* or 8+ results at A level and GCSE. They're supported by teams of experts, illustrators, animators, video producers, audio engineers and production assistants who help put everything together. On average, 16 hours of effort goes into the production of each minute of Up Learn content – there is no compromise on quality, no matter how small. Hundreds of thousands of pounds go into developing and maintaining the content and technology in every Up Learn course. However, we recognise these prices are inaccessible to some students and families. That's why we offer an unlimited number of scholarships to students who are on or are eligible for free school meals, cross-subsidised by those who pay.
People naturally have different preferences for how they learn. Some may prefer visual explanations, while others find spoken or written information more engaging. However, research suggests that matching teaching to a person’s preferred “learning style” does not necessarily improve learning outcomes. A review of experimental evidence by Pashler, McDaniel, Rohrer and Bjork (2009) found little evidence that teaching students according to a specific learning style is effective. Instead, the researchers found that the most important factor is matching the method of instruction to the nature of the subject being taught. For example, visual explanations may be particularly useful for geometry, while verbal or auditory approaches may be better suited to poetry. Our chosen method of instruction is video, which combines visual explanations, spoken teaching, worked examples and on-screen information. This allows us to use different approaches where they are most appropriate for the subject, while also accommodating a range of learning preferences. So, whether or not you believe in learning styles, you are not at a disadvantage. Our focus is on using the most effective teaching method for the topic being learned.(Source: Pashler, H., McDaniel, M., Rohrer, D. and Bjork, R. (2009) “Learning styles: Concepts and evidence”, Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 9(3), pp. 105–119.)
After purchasing an Up Learn course for one subject and exam board, you can purchase additional courses at a discounted price compared with the RRP. This is usually £100 off per additional course. Please note that this discount cannot be combined with other discount codes and does not apply from February to June, when we introduce dynamic pricing closer to the exam period.
Yes. You can return the course from your account at any time within the 7-day return period, no questions asked. Your progress is saved, so you can pick up where you left off whenever you’re ready.
Pricing starts at £49.99/month on a rolling basis, or a lower effective rate with an annual "Access Until Exams" plan. The exact price depends on how far ahead of exams you're buying and whether you choose monthly or annual billing
Individuals can purchase Up Learn directly, without needing to be enrolled through a school. After signing up for a free trial, you can visit your Billing page to choose a plan (current pricing is on the Up Learn pricing page). There are two payment options: Access Until Exams, a one-time upfront payment giving full access through your final exams (available until 31 July) and generally the best value, or Monthly, a flexible pay-as-you-go subscription you can cancel anytime. Both plans cover full course access for one subject, including Year 12 and 13 for A levels or Foundation and Higher tiers for GCSE (GCSE is only available on the Up Core plan). You'll also choose between two support levels, Up Core or Up Master, both of which include course access, practice papers, tutoring, and the A*/A money-back guarantee, with Up Master adding marked practice papers and priority tutoring. You can buy multiple courses, and the Access Until Exams plan gives a £100 discount on each additional course (this discount doesn't apply to Monthly subscriptions). You can also switch from Monthly to Access Until Exams via your Billing page, or upgrade from Up Core to Up Master by contacting the team via live chat.
Schools can also purchase Up Learn at special rates through the Up Core plan, which includes dashboards for teachers to set assignments, track student progress, and provide built-in tutoring support. Schools interested in this option can get in touch to discuss pricing.
Our research has found that the more time students spend on Up Learn, the more their grades improve. For some students, it makes sense to complete the Up Learn GCSE Combined Science course — these students unlock the 8–8 Money-Back Guarantee. Other students will use Up Learn to patch specific gaps in their knowledge, without needing to complete the course. These students won't aim to unlock the money-back guarantee, but can still go on to achieve 8–8 (or whatever their target grade is). This is similar to how students would use a tutor.
Up Learn courses can take 16-35 weeks to complete from scratch based on 1 hour per day. This varies by student and subject – many students will not need to start from scratch to achieve A*-A!
Yes – Up Learn can help you solidify your grades, and help you score higher A*s/As. Typical Cambridge offer holders have 94-96% UMS, with your chances of an offer increasing with your UMS score. Benefit from all of our exam preparation content and exclusive examiner-designed practice papers.
Yes! You can study as many courses as you like. Using Up Learn will give you a big advantage when it comes to the exam, so using it for all your available subjects will help you perform better. We do offer multi-course discounts
Using Up Learn in Year 12 helps you build and retain a strong foundation of knowledge, reducing memory decay and making it easier to build on what you’ve learned throughout Year 13.
It can also help you achieve the best possible predicted grades, and strengthen the academic reference provided by your teacher; both important parts of your university application. If you’re aiming for an offer from your dream university, starting early with Up Learn can help you build the knowledge and confidence you need.
Yes! If they didn't, our money-back guarantee would have bankrupted us by now!
Absolutely! We've designed Up Learn so that it will work for everyone. It doesn't matter what your background or starting point is, Up Learn is right for you. We've had students go from a B in their mocks to an A*. And, we've had students go from an E in their mocks to an A*. To find out why Up Learn works for anybody, check out the Science Behind Up Learn.
Combined Science covers roughly 75% of the content of the three separate science GCSEs and results in one double grade; Triple Science covers the full content of each subject and results in three individual grades. Triple is more content-heavy but gives students three distinct GCSEs rather than two.
Pricing starts at £49.99/month on a rolling basis, or a lower effective rate with an annual "Access Until Exams" plan. The exact price depends on how far ahead of exams you're buying and whether you choose monthly or annual billing
Up Learn combines video lessons, quizzes and progress tracking with 24/7 tutor support via live chat, so most students use it as an all-in-one replacement for private tutoring rather than an add-on to it. It's built to teach the full curriculum from scratch, not just supplement school lessons.
If you complete Up Learn and get an 8-7 or below in AQA GCSE Combined Science (Trilogy, Higher Tier), you get your money back. All you have to do is send us a copy of your official exam-board-issued results document with your full name and grades via chat or email, and we’ll process your refund immediately — no questions asked.
Up Learn's GCSE Science course is built specifically for AQA Combined Science (Trilogy). Students studying AQA Combined Science (Synergy) are still welcome to use Up Learn, and many find it very helpful for building understanding. However, Synergy is assessed differently and is not an exact match to our course. Because of this, the 8–8 Guarantee applies only to AQA Combined Science (Trilogy) and does not cover the Synergy specification.
Our guarantee only applies if your exam board matches the one you use on Up Learn. However, 100s of students have still seen success using Up Learn even if their exam board is different! Check out our handy guide here
People naturally have different preferences for how they learn. Some may prefer visual explanations, while others find spoken or written information more engaging. However, research suggests that matching teaching to a person’s preferred “learning style” does not necessarily improve learning outcomes. A review of experimental evidence by Pashler, McDaniel, Rohrer and Bjork (2009) found little evidence that teaching students according to a specific learning style is effective. Instead, the researchers found that the most important factor is matching the method of instruction to the nature of the subject being taught. For example, visual explanations may be particularly useful for geometry, while verbal or auditory approaches may be better suited to poetry. Our chosen method of instruction is video, which combines visual explanations, spoken teaching, worked examples and on-screen information. This allows us to use different approaches where they are most appropriate for the subject, while also accommodating a range of learning preferences. So, whether or not you believe in learning styles, you are not at a disadvantage. Our focus is on using the most effective teaching method for the topic being learned.(Source: Pashler, H., McDaniel, M., Rohrer, D. and Bjork, R. (2009) “Learning styles: Concepts and evidence”, Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 9(3), pp. 105–119.)
With a parent account, you can:
Please note that parent accounts are not currently available for GCSE students or for parents with multiple children using Up Learn.
Just reach out to us to link your accounts up. You can do that by clicking the live chat button in the bottom right-hand corner. Remember to include your child's email address in the message so we can link your accounts.
No problem – you can buy courses from your child's Up Learn account.
Using Up Learn in Year 12 helps you get the best predicted grades (and reference from your teacher) possible. These are important aspects of your university application. So, if you want an offer from your dream uni, use Up Learn as soon as you can!
Yes! If they didn't, our money-back guarantee would have bankrupted us by now!
Absolutely! We've designed Up Learn so that it will work for everyone. It doesn't matter what your background or starting point is, Up Learn is right for you. We've had students go from a B in their mocks to an A*. And, we've had students go from an E in their mocks to an A*. To find out why Up Learn works for anybody, check out the Science Behind Up Learn.
Up Learn for schools - contains everything schools and students need to boost attainment and save time and money. Engaging, expert created animated videos, quizzes, adaptive learning, assignment setting that means you’ll never need to chase or mark homework again. This all comes with a full suite of dashboards and progress analysis to help you track progress by student, cohort, class, department, school and trust. Spot gaps and support students throughout their learning journey. All with 24/7 support for teachers and students. Find out more about how we can support your school. If you want to understand how Up Learn can help you make savings - try the ROI calculator here.
Our per-student price drops significantly at school scale.
Every school and trust is different - so we offer personalised quotes based on your needs. Book a call to discuss bespoke packages.
Also - take a look at our Inclusive Mainstream Funding guide and Navigating 16 - 19 funding guide for information around how different funding can support your school.
Once you’ve signed the contract, we’ll ensure you’re ready to go in less than a month
1. Onboarding is simple
Pick your go-live date, agree subjects and our team sets your school up. We handle everything - accounts, classes and courses are ready before launch.
2. Training and promotion materials supplied
Everything your teachers need is ready and waiting: step-by-step training resources, plus webinars and 24/7 online support.
Our launch packs build excitement and get everyone on board - staff, pupils, parents and carers.
3. Get going
Assign a topic your class has just covered. It reaches students instantly and progress shows in real time.
Start with a free trial for a class or cohort. Your staff will have full dashboard access to track student progress and completion against your own baseline before making any commitment.
Use our ROI Calculator to estimate potential time and cost savings.
We also publish our Evaluation of Learning Outcomes report annually. Take a look here.
We are an all-in-one online education platform. We use AI (artificial intelligence), applied cognitive science and world-class educators to help A Level students achieve A*-A results.
To make the most effective learning experience in the world accessible to all.
We were officially founded in 2016. Work on Up Learn started in 2015.
In 2010, our founder, Guy, fell ill with glandular fever at the beginning of his A Levels and missed an entire term. Faced with the prospect of re-doing the year, Guy spent some of his time off researching ways to learn faster and smarter. He discovered research on cognitive science and applied key techniques to his learning. Upon returning to school, he rose from below-average grades to top of the year (to the surprise of his teachers). Guy realised that there were many students who could benefit from this research. However, it was also relatively difficult to apply. As a result, he founded Up Learn to make this learning experience accessible to all.
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