StudyGCSE.
Sign in A

Our commitment

AI tools, and
where the line is.

What StudyGCSE's tools are for, what they must never be used for, and what the exam board actually requires of you.

01The short answer

What you can do, and what you cannot.

If you only read one part of this page, read this one. Then check the rules for your specific task with your teacher, because they can be stricter.

Appropriate use

  • Using feedback to identify gaps in your understanding
  • Getting formative feedback on a structure you wrote, when the task permits it
  • Understanding a mark scheme better
  • Generating practice questions for self-study
  • Reviewing feedback before finalising your own work
  • Learning from examples and explanations

Misuse · academic dishonesty

  • Submitting AI-generated text as your own work
  • Asking AI to write your essay or your coursework
  • Copying and pasting AI responses without attribution
  • Using AI to bypass the learning process
  • Presenting AI-generated ideas as your original thinking
  • Submitting work that is not your own intellectual creation
02Why the tools work this way

Four principles, built in.

Academic integrity is fundamental to GCSE and to education itself. These are design constraints on the tools, not warnings attached to them.

  1. Learning as the primary goal

    Our tools are designed to help you understand concepts better, not to do the work for you. Feedback points out areas for improvement, but the thinking and writing must be yours.

  2. Transparency in use

    Students should confirm task-specific permission, keep a record of relevant tool use, and disclose or cite generated material when required by the exam board, school, teacher, or assignment.

  3. No ready-to-submit work

    StudyGCSE tools are intended for explanation, planning, practice, and feedback, not for presenting generated assessed content as the student’s own work.

  4. Clear assessment context

    Where a tool discusses a mark scheme, it should identify the relevant GCSE task or course context and help the student understand expectations without replacing the required work.

03What the exam board requires

What the exam board requires

The exam boards and the Joint Council for Qualifications expect students to produce genuine, authentic work and to acknowledge material that is not their own. Malpractice in coursework or the NEA can lead to the loss of marks or of the qualification, and the decision sits with the exam board.

The rules do not ban AI tools outright. In coursework and the NEA, any AI-generated text, images, data or ideas that reach a submitted piece of work must be acknowledged, and the assessed work has to be the student’s own.

Citation and permission are different checks. Crediting AI-generated material prevents it from being represented as original, but the task may still prohibit that material or require the assessed reasoning, writing, data, or creative decisions to be produced by the student.

04On coursework

The two that carry the most risk.

Permitted support differs by subject and by task. Confirm the task rules first; everything below assumes you have.

Coursework and the NEA

Most GCSE grades come from exams alone; coursework does not. Permitted support differs by subject and by board, and after confirming the rules StudyGCSE may be used to:

  • Understand the marking criteria
  • Get formative feedback on a structure you wrote, where that is permitted
  • Understand what each band of the mark scheme actually looks like
Never

Do not submit invented or AI-generated data, analysis or conclusions as your own. In the NEA that is malpractice, and it can cost you the qualification.

Written coursework

Where a subject’s NEA includes a written report or a portfolio, it requires transparent acknowledgment of sources and authentic student authorship. Before using an AI-assisted feature:

  • Confirm the permitted use with your teacher and school
  • Keep a record of relevant prompts, outputs, decisions, disclosure and citation
  • Verify every cited source, and make sure the assessed research decisions, reasoning and final argument stay yours
05Questions

Academic integrity questions.

Practical guidance for using StudyGCSE and other AI study tools while keeping assessed work your own.

Is using StudyGCSE’s AI tools considered cheating at GCSE?

It depends on how the tools are used and on the rules set by your school and your exam board. For an examined subject there is nothing to submit, so the question is only about how you revise. For coursework and the NEA there is, and submitting AI-generated material as your own work or failing to acknowledge it is malpractice under the boards’ rules.

What is appropriate use of AI tools in a GCSE subject?

Responsible uses can include identifying gaps in understanding, practising concepts, reviewing clarity, and learning how assessment criteria work. Students should critically check AI output, follow school and teacher instructions, and clearly acknowledge or cite AI-generated material when it is included in submitted work.

What counts as misuse under the exam board’s rules?

Misuse includes presenting AI-generated content as the student’s own, using AI in ways prohibited for an assessment, or failing to acknowledge generated text, images, or graphs. Students should confirm assignment-specific rules with their teacher before using AI.

Can I use AI to generate data or analysis for my coursework?

No. Coursework and the NEA have to authentically demonstrate your own assessed work, and presenting AI-generated data, analysis or conclusions as your own is malpractice under the boards’ rules. Follow your teacher’s instructions and transparently acknowledge any permitted AI-generated material.

Do the work.
Use the help.

Used the way they are meant to be, these tools leave you understanding the thing. That is the only outcome worth having, and it is the one nobody can take off you.