What Salesian measured
| Measure | Result |
|---|---|
| Borderline pupils achieving their target GCSE grades | 75% |
Numeracy gaps from primary, and pupils hard to engage
Many of our pupils arrive with significant numeracy gaps from primary, and engagement in maths can be challenging. We knew we needed additional support that would genuinely complement what was happening in the classroom.
We’d used Third Space last year and found it really effective. Our small group of borderline pupils engaged well, and 75% achieved the grades they were aiming for, which made us keen to build on that success.
A trial where everyone had a go, then a yes
When the AI tutor, Skye, was introduced, I was initially a little sceptical. But we asked for a trial, and all of us had a go; myself, our Head of Maths, our maths consultant and a group of pupils. The feedback was consistently positive.
For me, seeing how pupils responded was the biggest thing. Their engagement, the instant feedback, and the personalisation built into each lesson ticked all the boxes. I went straight to the Head and recommended we go ahead with it.
Weekly after-school sessions with Year 11
We currently run weekly after-school sessions with a group of Year 11 pupils. They log in from our IT room and complete personalised sessions with Skye while being supervised by a maths teacher. Attendance has been strong and pupils have taken to it quickly.
We’re still early in our journey with Skye, but we already see where it can take us. The plan is to roll it out more widely and make use of the ability for pupils to self-launch sessions at home.
“Eventually I’d love the whole school on it… and for pupils to do a weekly session as homework.”
Alongside this, Skye is also opening up new opportunities for inclusion. We can still provide meaningful learning time that doesn’t require a maths specialist to sit beside them. If you’ve got a pupil who may need specific one-to-one support, they can have a 45-minute constructive session with the AI tutor.
Our main priority was personalised, one-to-one support, and Skye has delivered exactly that. It’s tailored to individual children and you can make it as bespoke as you want. Having experienced unreliable tutoring providers in the past, the consistency of Skye has been a major benefit for us.
“With Skye, it’s completely reliable, it’s completely flexible. You can do sessions whenever you like. It’s just got loads of positives that I feel outweigh the traditional tutoring.”
We’ve found that the best way to introduce Skye to staff is simply to let them try a session themselves. Once they do, they understand how it works and what pupils get from it.
Working across the full ability range
What’s stood out most is how well it works across the full ability range. Higher attainers find it challenging, middle attainers can work confidently through the content, and lower attainers, who often struggle most with maths, are supported without feeling overwhelmed.
Pupils quickly learned how to interact with Skye, using the prompts, asking for help when they didn’t understand, and responding confidently to the instant feedback.
Whole-school ambitions, and the first in the trust
We’re still only a few weeks into using Skye, but the potential is clear. Over time, we want to expand access across the school, use it as a regular homework tool and personalise sessions using the exact gaps we identify from our assessments.
In a context where staffing is stretched and pupil needs are complex, Skye provides additional capacity without increasing workload. It’s personalised, reliable and adaptable, exactly what we need right now.
We’ve been the first school in our trust to adopt Skye, and others are now exploring it too.
Watch a GCSE maths tutoring session in action:
Watch a session in action
See how Skye guides pupils through a full one-to-one session.
