If your child is in Year 10 or 11, aitutors.me gives them three GCSE things today: the GCSE map, free GCSE flashcards for six AQA courses, and GCSE clips. The tutoring is still Key Stage 3. The professors are useful for the KS3 foundations that GCSE topics stand on, and GCSE tutoring is next.

We would rather you knew that before you sign up than after. This guide sets out what a Year 10 or 11 child gets, how to set it up, and where the edges are.

What your child gets today

Free, no account With an account
The GCSE map All 839 GCSE topics at /gcse On their own map, as aims
GCSE flashcards Every deck, in the browser Adopted into their own sky, with daily review
GCSE clips Short videos for some topics The same, beside their cards
Tier and options Not saved Set once on their Atlas
Tutoring A free demo Socratic KS3 tutors, by subject

The map, the cards and the clips cover the GCSE years. The professors teach Years 7 to 9.

Setting the year at sign-up

When you set up your child's account, choose Year 10 or Year 11 as their school year. The parent setup takes Years 7 to 11. Picking the right year matters for two things:

  • Your child's own map opens on GCSE rather than KS3.
  • Their flashcard Atlas opens on the GCSE shelf, with the Your GCSE panel for tier and options.

What it does not do, yet, is change how the professors teach. They pitch at KS3 whatever year you choose.

The GCSE map

The GCSE Map holds 839 GCSE topics across six AQA courses: Maths, Combined Science: Trilogy, English Language, English Literature, Geography and History. Every topic is joined to the KS3 ideas it builds on, so you can follow a Year 10 topic back to the Year 8 idea underneath it.

That is the part worth your time. When something in Year 10 will not stick, the cause is often not the topic itself but a KS3 idea under it that was never secure. The map shows you which one.

A few honest limits. It was written against the AQA specifications; AQA has not reviewed or approved it, and no teacher has reviewed it yet. It covers Combined Science, not the three separate sciences. If your child's school uses another board, the broad ideas will overlap, but the set texts, studies and references may differ. The GCSE map docs go through all of this in detail.

On your child's own page, My Goals has a map tab with a KS3 | GCSE switch. They can aim at a GCSE topic, and the map shows the route of topics that come first.

Free GCSE flashcards

There are free decks for all six courses on the flashcard Atlas, with no account and no card details. Pick a subject, then Year 10 or Year 11.

  • Maths, Combined Science, English Language and Geography have a deck for every topic.
  • English Literature and History have decks for the skills every text or study shares, and for some of the texts and studies schools choose. The rest are on the map as topics, without cards yet.

With an account, your child adopts decks into their own sky, and the cards come back for review on a schedule. See Flashcards for how daily review works.

Tier and options

GCSE Maths and Combined Science are sat at Foundation or Higher tier. English Literature, History and Geography involve school choices: which Shakespeare play, which novel, which history studies.

A Year 10 or 11 child sets both on their own Atlas, in the Your GCSE panel on the GCSE shelf:

  • Tier: Foundation, Higher or Not sure, for Maths and for Combined Science.
  • What does your school teach?: the texts, studies and options their class takes.

Their own decks then come first. Other schools' options and Higher-only decks fold away underneath, still one tap from being opened. Your child sets this rather than you, so it is worth asking them which tier they are entered for if they are not sure.

How the KS3 tutors still help

A lot of GCSE difficulty is KS3 difficulty that arrived late. Simultaneous equations rest on algebra from Year 8. Rates of reaction rest on the particle model. Analysing a Shakespeare speech rests on the close reading skills of Years 7 to 9.

That is where the professors help a Year 10 or 11 child today. They teach at KS3 level, Socratically, which makes them a good fit for shoring up the foundations a GCSE topic needs. The GCSE map tells you which foundations to work on; a KS3 tutor helps your child build them.

To be clear about the limit: the professors do not teach GCSE content, do not know which GCSE tier your child sits, and are not exam preparation for Year 11. GCSE tutoring is next.

A sensible way to start

  1. Open the GCSE map together and pick one subject that is causing trouble.
  2. Trace a hard topic back to the KS3 ideas under it. Ask your child which of those feel shaky.
  3. Adopt the GCSE decks for that subject and set their tier and options.
  4. Use a KS3 tutor on the shaky foundation, if the gap is there.

For the wider picture of what changes when a child moves into GCSE, from workload to independence, read Transitioning from KS3 to GCSE.

FAQ

Does aitutors.me offer GCSE tutoring?

Not yet. Our professors teach Key Stage 3, Years 7 to 9. A Year 10 or 11 child can still use them for the KS3 ideas their GCSE work stands on, but they do not teach at GCSE level. GCSE tutoring is next.

Which exam board is the GCSE map written for?

AQA, for six courses: Maths, Combined Science: Trilogy, English Language, English Literature, Geography and History. It was written against the AQA specifications; AQA has not reviewed or approved it. Separate sciences and other boards are not covered.

Are the GCSE flashcards really free?

Yes. All six courses have decks you can play in the browser with no account. Maths, Combined Science, English Language and Geography have a deck for every topic; English Literature and History cover the shared skills and some of the texts and studies schools choose.

Can I sign up a child who is already in Year 11?

Yes. Choose Year 10 or Year 11 when you set up their account. Their map and flashcards open on GCSE, and they can set their tier and their school's options on the Atlas. The tutoring they get is pitched at KS3.

Duke Harewood built aitutors.me for his own KS3-aged daughter, and wrote this for the families whose children are already past KS3. Updated 20 October 2026.