Blutick Launch Day!
Today is officially Blutick’s launch day – we’re out of Beta! Thanks to everyone that was part of our beta – here is our launch press release:
A former maths teacher turned entrepreneur has created an innovative maths learning system powered by artificial intelligence (AI) to free up teachers from routine teaching and marking tasks — giving them more time to spend on tailored, individual tuition.
The Blutick technology, devised by Cambridge-based Rob Percival, is set to bring the benefits of private tuition to all secondary school pupils.
The novel learning solution has taken two years to develop, in close collaboration with The Perse School in Cambridge to ensure the platform and its content helps to build students’ understanding and confidence in maths.
Today sees its official launch, backed by investment from the Cambridge Angels network of business investors.
“As a teacher, it was always a challenge to give pupils enough individual attention in class — there were never enough hours in the day,” said Rob. “Blutick is designed to take the pressure off by distilling the techniques of the best teachers into an AI system that can help share the load in the classroom. It can also be used at home to give every child their own personal tutor at a fraction of the usual cost — it’s cheaper than a Netflix subscription.”
Unlike other AI maths teaching systems, Blutick gives students intelligent, line-by-line feedback in real time as they work through maths questions.
Every line of working is checked and, as well as correcting mistakes, it gives advice — for example, highlighting if there is a better way of doing a calculation — just like a personal tutor.
Homework and classwork tasks can be set with a single click. They are marked automatically and teachers get detailed feedback on students’ progress.
Blutick’s unique intelligent feedback means it can tell teachers not only what topics a pupil finds difficult but also what kinds of mistakes they are making — helping teachers to focus their time where it is most needed. Parents can also see their children’s progress.
Blutick covers the full UK 11-16 maths curriculum, aligned to all major exam boards.
The content has been developed by experienced maths teachers from The Perse School, who understand how students learn and how best to support them. They also understand what support teachers need and how they can enhance their lessons with more targeted learning.
“We are delighted to be working in partnership with Blutick to create this extra tool for teachers and students to use in class or at home,” said Perse head Ed Elliott. “We think Blutick will help children who find maths particularly challenging, as well as those who wish to explore more advanced areas of maths.
“It’s proving a real hit with our pupils — they like being able to personalise the system by choosing their preferred teaching characters and they find the friendly, interactive interface very easy to use. We can see them growing in confidence as they are guided through solving even complex maths problems. Blutick is a very efficient and effective learning tool which supplements good classroom teaching to maximise pupils’ mathematical confidence, progress and attainment.”
The Blutick platform has won praise from educational resources provider Hodder Education. “We are very impressed with the approach of the Blutick system,” said Tom Le Bas, senior commissioning editor for secondary maths at Hodder Education. “Blutick’s intelligent, line-by-line feedback in real time provides valuable feedback, boosts student progression and gives teachers valuable insights into the topics to focus on for further work. The platform is incredibly easy to engage with.”
Cambridge Angels co-founder David Cleevely said: “Blutick is a great example of how combining traditional teaching experience with the very latest AI technology can really make a difference for both teachers and students. At a time when there is a STEM skills shortage, this scalable intelligent maths learning system offers schools more teaching time for little extra cost. It also has the potential to revolutionise maths education around the world — in remote areas of developing countries, for example, where children might struggle to access a traditional classroom.”
Blutick is priced between £600 and £1,200 per school, depending on the number of pupils. For parents who want their child to have additional personal tuition at home, the cost is just £5 per month.
