Explore Learning offers structured tuition once or twice a week, either at a local centre or online with a live tutor. Their smart learning tool, Compass, is included in every membership, and children can use it independently between sessions. Children average around one hour of independent practice per week on Compass, bringing their total weekly learning to 1-2 hours.

Here is where Atom Learning goes further. Built by teachers and assessment specialists, Atom Learning is designed around one idea: that consistent daily practice builds better results than a weekly session alone ever could. It fits around your family life, rather than the other way around. Your child logs on when it suits you both, and works through their personal plan, tailored to where they are now and where they want to go. No fixed times, no set sessions to book, no weekends spent ferrying them to a tuition centre.

For most Explore Learning members, the tuition sessions are the learning. Compass is simply an optional extra for children who choose to practise independently in between. With only one or two sessions a week, progress is largely tied to those fixed appointments.

With Atom Learning, there are no sessions to wait for. Everything your child needs - their personalised practice, topic-level gap tracking, mock tests, and progress tracking -is ready and waiting every single day. They just log on, and the platform picks up exactly where they left off. Progress does not pause between weekly appointments. It builds every single day.

"It helped my daughter to be really independent and proactive in her learning. She didn't have any other tutoring, but loved the ability to practise problem areas on Atom. I really rate it." — Parent, Bournemouth School for Girls

Explore Learning is available online and in-centre. For families considering Explore Learning online, sessions take place at fixed times with a live tutor, either remotely or at a local centre, which suits families who value a set routine.

Atom Learning fits around your family. Whether that is after school on a Tuesday, on a Saturday morning, or during the holidays, the platform is ready whenever your child is.

Explore Learning starts from £124 per month for one group session per week. For one-to-one sessions, prices start from £159 per month for one session a week. Specialist 11+ group programmes start from £190 per month, rising to £280 per month for two weekly one-to-one sessions.

As for Atom Learning, plans start from £39.99 per month. Even the most comprehensive 11+ plan, Exam Prep Plus with unlimited mock tests, is just £69.99 per month. For most families, that is a significant saving while still giving your child access to the full platform every day of the week.

Every Explore Learning membership includes access to Compass, their smart learning tool, regular progress reports, and support from their team.

With Atom Learning, every plan gives your child daily adaptive practice and a personalised learning plan that adjusts to exactly where they are. The difference between plans comes down to exam focus. 

• The EMS plan covers English, maths and science. 
• Exam Prep adds verbal and non-verbal reasoning with a structured path to exam day. 
• Exam Prep Plus brings in unlimited mock tests for families who want the most complete preparation available.

Explore Learning memberships are billed monthly with no annual savings option.

Atom Learning offers 20% off for families who choose an annual plan. The Exam Prep Plus plan, for example, comes down from £69.99 per month to £55.99 per month when billed annually.

Explore Learning uses Compass alongside a live tutor. Compass places children at the right level through an initial assessment and adapts questions based on their performance. The tutor guides the session and steps in when a child is struggling.

Atom Learning's adaptive platform works in a similar way, but without a tutor in the room, it has to work harder. It builds a detailed picture of your child's understanding across every subject and every concept, serving targeted practice every time they log on. The more your child uses it, the more accurately it reflects where they are.

At Explore Learning, the tutor steps in to coach the concept in real time during the session. If a child continues to struggle, Compass adjusts the level of challenge accordingly.

With Atom Learning, support is built into every single question. If your child is finding something tricky, they have instant access to help sheets and explanation videos that break the concept down clearly. Rather than waiting for someone to explain it to them, your child can work through it in their own time and at their own pace, building the kind of independence that serves them well beyond exam day.

The platform also tracks which topics your child finds harder and brings them back around in future sessions, building understanding over time on an engaging, adaptive platform that always knows where to focus next.

"The adaptive learning approach adjusted the difficulty based on performance, helping our child focus on areas that needed improvement while still reinforcing strengths." — Parent, Highworth Grammar School

Explore Learning is built around regular tutor-led sessions, with Compass available for independent practice in between. For most families, the tutor is the primary point of support.

For Atom Learning families who want one-to-one support on top of the platform, Atom Tuition offers specialist tutors from £54 per lesson. Every tutor has access to your child's platform data before the session even starts, so they can focus entirely on the concepts that need the most attention. The platform and the tutor work together, each making the other more effective.

Explore Learning provides regular progress reports and access to a member portal, with their team available to discuss progress and answer questions.

As for Atom Learning, parents have a live dashboard that shows exactly how their child is performing across all subjects and individual topics. You can see at a glance where they are confident, and where the gaps are, right down to specific question types, so you always have a clear and detailed picture of how your child is progressing and where to focus next.

Explore Learning tracks progress through tutor observations and regular reports, giving parents an overview of how their child is getting on.

Progress on Atom Learning is tracked in real time, right down to individual concepts. After every practice test, parents receive a detailed report showing scores by subject, accuracy across question types, and time management insights. Progress updates automatically, so you always have an accurate and up-to-date picture of where your child stands.

Explore Learning does not currently offer benchmarking against other students applying to the same schools.

With Atom Learning, you can see how your child's performance compares to thousands of others applying to the same schools. After every practice test, your child receives a standardised age score, giving you a clear and realistic picture of where they stand and helping you set the right goals as you work towards their target school.

If your child works best with a tutor present and the structure of a fixed weekly session, Explore Learning is a strong option. Their tutors are experienced, their Compass tool is well regarded, and they offer both in-centre and online sessions to suit different families.

As for Atom Learning, the platform gives your child a fully adaptive learning experience that builds confidence and fills gaps across maths, English, science, verbal and non-verbal reasoning, from everyday schoolwork through to selective exam preparation. Your child can practise any time, at their own pace, with the platform guiding what they work on every step of the way.

The difference is in what happens every day. With Explore Learning, your child practises when they attend. With Atom Learning, your child practises every day, at whatever time works for them. Over a full year, that adds up to a significant amount of targeted preparation.

For families who want the structure of expert tuition alongside the consistency of daily independent practice, Atom Tuition offers specialist one-to-one tutors from £54 per lesson alongside the Atom Learning platform. So you do not have to choose.