An AI tutor for KS3 (years 7, 8 and 9)

A year 8 student is asked to simplify $3(2x + 4) - 2x$.

1. The tutor asks: "What do you multiply first?" Expanding: $6x + 12 - 2x$.
2. "Which terms are like terms?" $6x$ and $-2x$.
3. Collecting them gives $4x + 12$.
4. A check question: "Can you factorise $4x + 12$?" ($4(x + 3)$.)

Expanding brackets and collecting like terms are the building blocks of GCSE algebra; see expanding brackets.

Courses vary between schools, so tell the tutor what you're learning.

KS3 is a good time to learn how to study: short regular sessions, testing yourself instead of rereading, and asking for help early. Our guides on active recall and how to make a study schedule are written for students, and parents may find how to help your child with homework useful.

Conversations and whiteboards are saved in your child's account, so you can see what they've worked on. The tutor keeps to schoolwork, uses age-appropriate language and never asks for personal details. See is AI tutoring safe for kids? for what to check with any AI tool.

The tutor supports, rather than replaces, your child's teachers. Like any AI it can make mistakes, so if something seems wrong, check it with the teacher.

Key stage 3 (years 7 to 9) is a big step up from primary school: more subjects, more teachers, more homework, and more independence. In maths, students move from arithmetic towards algebra, negative numbers, ratio and proportion. In English, they analyse texts in more depth and write at greater length. Science splits into biology, chemistry and physics topics. Gaps that open up here tend to widen at GCSE, so KS3 is the best time to fix them. Our free times tables quiz and fraction calculator help with the number skills KS3 maths builds on.