200 millionth Isaac Science question

The University of Cambridge's Isaac Science learning platform – used by more than 3,000 schools across the UK each year – this week saw its 200 millionth question attempted by a student.

The GCSE-level question asks users to calculate the electrical current at points on a circuit.

Launched as Isaac Physics in 2014, the free learning programme was a response to the challenges many state schools face in teaching physics. Expanded since to cover maths, chemistry, and biology, it ensures UK school pupils – from age 11 through to university – have access to free, top quality resources and encouragement, regardless of factors beyond their control, such as where they live.

And new UCAS data shows that students, particularly those from under-represented backgrounds, who engage deeply with Isaac Science are more likely to apply to and receive offers from selective universities, and to achieve higher A-level grades in STEM subjects.

But Isaac Science isn’t just helping students. More than 3,500 UK teachers now draw on support provided by the platform – including an estimated 1,000 non-physics teachers, who have been asked to teach the subject as a result of a national shortage of specialist physics teachers, often at short notice.

Recent research by the Institute of Physics (IoP) revealed a quarter of English state schools are without a single specialist physics teacher, with students in poorer areas worst hit. As a result,  more than half of GCSE-level physics lessons are having to be taught by teachers who have not studied a physics-related subject for many years, which can be a daunting prospect.

Professor Lisa Jardine-Wright, who co-founded the programme in the University’s Department of Physics, said: “Isaac Science isn’t just a resource that saves teachers’ time, but also a community. We are there to help to reinvigorate, retain and connect experienced teachers, to support those starting out on their physics teacher journey and to encourage and develop those already working in schools who have been asked to teach physics, often at short notice. We want to prevent valuable teachers from leaving the profession.

“Teachers tell us that it really helps to take the pressure off them. They also use it because they can rely on it being accurate. One teacher told us: ‘If Isaac Science didn't exist, I'd retire tomorrow’.”

Isaac Science’s approach to maths and science learning focuses on ‘doing’ – and in particular, problem solving – rather than just memorising facts. It aims to ensure students arrive at university after A-levels with the mathematical fluency needed for degree-level STEM study, something that academics have previously expressed concerns about.

Combining online learning with face-to-face events, Isaac Science this academic year has supported, on average, more than 12,000 users a day who at their peak answered around 280,000 questions in 24 hours. The platform offers ‘scaffolding’ support and a hints structure, which can gradually give students more help when they are answering a question. Students can also receive extra support from the Isaac Science team – all of whom are subject specialist University teaching staff – if they get stuck on a question.

And by providing classroom and homework resources, and automatic marking, teachers report that, on average, Isaac Science frees up around six teacher hours a week  – adding up to more than half a million hours a year – and allowing them to use the time instead on teaching and learning.

As part of its continuing professional development support for teachers, Isaac Science runs regular Teacher Symposiums, bringing together a supportive community, and equipping teachers with practical tools to integrate Isaac Science into their teaching plans. And in addition to weekly interactive sessions and topic support, the programme has also recently launched its new ‘Teacher Quarters’ – primarily intended for those new to teaching physics – which provide 15-minute video-based sessions, including a quick introduction to the concepts and content for each lesson.

Research is key to the evolving nature of the platform, and working with the University’s Department of Computer Science and Technology – which designed the platform and its structure, and is responsible for its continued development – the Isaac Science team noticed interesting behaviour right from the start, when data showed that boys and girls had distinct approaches to using the hints for physics questions. The boys would enter an answer, and if it was not right, they would go to the hints. However, the girls would work the problem out, but before they entered their answer they would go through the hints to check they had done it right.

Prof Jardine-Wright said: “We know that a student’s belief in their own ability in science is positively linked to their desire to continue to study, and a lack of self-confidence is a challenge for girls in particular. Our research has shown that providing scaffolding helps both genders achieve better results, and bridge the gap between the skills development and assessment they experience at school, and that which is expected at university. But it builds the confidence of women preferentially.”

The platform purposefully does not display whether an Isaac Physics student has used the hints or not, or how many times they have attempted a question, even though teachers often ask for that sort of information. Instead, it reports whether they attempted the question, and whether they got it right.

“One of the things that we have been very keen to make sure, is that Isaac offers a low stakes environment for students to learn in and build that confidence themselves,” said Prof Jardine-Wright. “The result is that students keep trying, develop resilience, and see their own progress develop as they need less and less help.”

Words: Stephen Bevan
Published: 4th December, 2025

The text in this work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License