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If you know of any good educational websites, we will be pleased to add them to this section of the website. Also if you spot any broken links please contact us to let us know. Many of the websites listed are completely free. Some of them do charge and some offer a trial period. Please see individual entries for further information.
Art
Biology
Exams
Geography
History
IT
Languages
Maths
Music
Pets
Science
Art
Access Art is a charity that is committed to promoting learning in the visual arts, particularly for those who learn best visually, spatially and kinaesthetically. the website has online workshops on drawing, sculpture photography, installation art, colour and teenage creativity.
There are different membership levels from a free level giving limited access to £3.50 per month up to £42 per annum.
Biology
Microbiology Online is an educational site devised by the Society for General Microbiology to support the teaching and learning of microbiology across the key stages. It explores how microbes may be friend and foe and why we need these invisible organisms to live. Microbiology covers a great diversity of life forms including disease-related molecular structures such as prions and viruses, bacteria, fungi, protozoa and algae.
This fascinating site contains an enormous amount of information including activities, preparation of media and culture, safety information, recipes and, of course facts about microbes.
Exams
A free GCSE maths revision site aimed at helping you pass your GCSE maths exam. Hundreds of worksheets, past GCSE questions and games to improve your GCSE maths knowledge.
There are revision notes and tutorials covering key GCSE maths topics. A bank of GCSE exam style questions to aid revision. Formulae needed for the maths exam with interactive examples of how to use them. Worksheets to practice skills and a collection of maths games and puzzles.
Geography
The Geography Pods site contains a vast range of dynamic and effective teaching and learning resources suitable for geography students aged 11 – 18 years old.
Grade 6 – 8 (KS3) – 11 – 14 years old
Grade 9-10 IGCSE (KS4) – 14 – 16 years old
Grade 11 – 12 IB/AS/A2 (KS5) – 16 – 18 years old.
Lots of interesting videos and links as well as a bank of free photos and training resources. This is a teaching site that has been under construction since 2012 and is packed with information.
History
An interactive website that brings history to life. There is a choice to play the standard game or a Minecraft version. Children learn about what happened during the Great fire of London through playing the game.
The website also contains the stories about the fire, how it was started, the streets and buildings, how the people that lived there were affected and the social and political background to the fire.
IT
Work is taking place on a handful of exciting collaborations which have the BBC micro:bit and a whole host of free and fun resources at the heart of them. They are really keen to get these resources out to Home-Ed students as well as schools.
Their first exciting proposal is a collaboration with the popular CBBC drama Wolfblood where they are offering up some unique content and providing some fun and inspirational micro:bit based projects to appeal to and be accessible to a broad range of students. They are due to launch this content alongside the TX of the new series on the 27th February 2017.
Click on the flyer or link above to view the current live link of the first film setting the project up.
Languages
Many people are keen to learn British Sign Language and it is good to start young. This site uses moving pictures to show the basic signs for British Sign Language. There is a free chart of signs for the alphabet which may be downloaded from the website. In addition there is information about local courses for those who have been inspired to learn more.
This is an American website encouraging children to learn a foreign language. The languages include English, Spanish, French, German and Italian.
Children may listen and learn how to pronounce words using a number of different topics. There are also worksheets in the required language plus some interesting links to external websites from the country in which the language is spoken.
Maths
Khan Academy state their mission as to provide a free, world-class education for anyone, anywhere.
An American website, so expect American terminology. They offer practice exercises, instructional videos, and a personalized learning dashboard that empower learners to study at their own pace in and outside of the classroom. They tackle maths, science, computer programming, history, art history, economics, and more. Their maths missions guide learners from kindergarten to calculus using state-of-the-art, adaptive technology that identifies strengths and learning gaps. They have also partnered with institutions like NASA, The Museum of Modern Art, The California Academy of Sciences, and MIT to offer specialized content.
My Money Week is a national activity week held every year for primary and secondary schools that provides a fantastic opportunity for young people to gain the skills, knowledge and confidence in money matters to thrive in our society. You can download the My Money Weekly 2017 newspapers and teachers’ notes by clicking on the link above.
Also there are primary materials on topics such as budgeting, saving and charitable giving. Topics for secondary materials include Council tax, gambling and consumer issues, as well as different forms of payment.
Visit the Personal Finance Education Group (pfeg) website and watch the short video by Martin Lewis OBE, founder of moneysavingexpert.com, about why he supports My Money Week.
Music
Produced by the English Folk Dance and Song Society, on this website, you can explore 15 folk songs that were used in projects in primary schools.
There are some animations and videos you can download and watch, and also some audio recordings for you to listen to and learn the song!
Pets
The People’s Dispensary for Sick Animals (PDSA)
PDSA is a charity which thanks to the generous donations of the public, is able to provide over two million free treatments to sick and injured pets, as well as thousands of preventative treatments.
This is an excellent website for children who are interested in animals and their care. It is packed with advice on how to care for your pets. There are videos to watch, many free resources, plus online interactive activities and games. In addition if you are part of a local group and live in the right area, your group could book a free workshop by a Community and Education Vet Nurses. Check the website for more information.
Science
Although this looks like something yummy to eat, it’s actually soap. The ‘Teach Soap’ website includes everything you could possibly want to know about making soap. There are tutorials, recipes including ‘bath bombs’, tips, gallery, soap making FAQs and the ‘Teach Soap’ forum.
Soap making does need to be supervised by an adult as it can be dangerous but it could be a way of getting those boys interested in washing!
Started by Michael Faraday in 1825, the Christmas Lectures, the UK’s flagship science series are broadcast on national television every year. You can watch past Christmas Lectures in full and for free on the Ri Channel.
The Naked Scientists are a group of physicians and researchers from Cambridge University who use radio, live lectures and the internet to strip science down to its bare essentials and promote it to the general public.
This website is full of ideas for science experiments. Everything is made clear through detailed instructions and explanations which also use short videos or radio mp3 downloads.
Sign up for a free school year of Mystery Science for 5 to 10 years.
An American website offering free memberships to new homeschool parents. Those who have already received a free membership are not eligible.
Topics include:-
Power of flowers; Weather watching; Energizing everything; Spinning sky; Animals through time; Force Olympics; Plant adventures; Spaceship Earth; Invisible forces; Lights & sounds; The birth of rocks; Web of life; Stormy skies; Work of water; Human machine; Plants & pets; Waves of Sound; Chemical Magic; Material magic; Our changing Earth