About us

We’re an education company, not a technology company.

We use technology to make the education work.

stylus is an AI marking service for writing, from KS1 to KS4. Pupils write by hand, we assess every sentence, and teachers get the insight and the time to act on it.

Most of us came from the classroom. As our founder, Dominic, puts it: teachers leave the profession because they spent most of their time holding a red pen.

What drives us

Here's what we stand for.

01

01

𝐬𝐭𝐲𝐥𝐮𝐬 is for teachers, for its staff, and for itself. In that order.

𝐬𝐭𝐲𝐥𝐮𝐬 is for teachers, for its staff, and for itself. In that order.

We are not a charity, but we are values-based and mission-driven. We know that if we produce work that is truly valuable to teachers, and we look after our people, we'll have a business that lasts.

We are not a charity, but we are values-based and mission-driven. We know that if we produce work that is truly valuable to teachers, and we look after our people, we'll have a business that lasts.

02

02

Elevate the teacher. Never circumvent them.

Elevate the teacher. Never circumvent them.

Outsource the work, never the thinking. We do the marking, the moderation and the analysis, so teachers can enjoy their students' writing with a cup of tea, but we will never replace the expertise and humanity of teachers.

Outsource the work, never the thinking. We do the marking, the moderation and the analysis, so teachers can enjoy their students' writing with a cup of tea, but we will never replace the expertise and humanity of teachers.

03

03

We’re the quality people.

We’re the quality people.

Nothing turns up in front of a teacher unless it passes the 𝐬𝐭𝐲𝐥𝐮𝐬 quality bar. At first, we marked everything by hand. We've since spent two back-to-back DfE contracts getting the AI marking good enough. We still moderate everything. We’ve gone slow to go fast.

Nothing turns up in front of a teacher unless it passes the 𝐬𝐭𝐲𝐥𝐮𝐬 quality bar. At first, we marked everything by hand. We've since spent two back-to-back DfE contracts getting the AI marking good enough. We still moderate everything. We’ve gone slow to go fast.

04

04

We’re the paper people.

We’re the paper people.

It all starts with the humble piece of paper. Print it, hand it out, write, then photocopier. No new workflows, no training, no screens, so even the most technology-averse teacher’s class is included.

It all starts with the humble piece of paper. Print it, hand it out, write, then photocopier. No new workflows, no training, no screens, so even the most technology-averse teacher’s class is included.

05

05

We like being challenged.

We like being challenged.

Twelve trust CEOs and directors of education sit on our advisory board, and we ask them to tell us where we’re wrong. We need more people getting on high horses.

(If you're an experienced educator and interested in offering us the benefit of that experience, contact milly@stylus.education)

Twelve trust CEOs and directors of education sit on our advisory board, and we ask them to tell us where we’re wrong. We need more people getting on high horses.

(If you're an experienced educator and interested in offering us the benefit of that experience, contact milly@stylus.education)

“You are the epitome of doing good work really well. There aren’t very many people working in this space that are not looking for shortcuts.”

trust curriculum leader

Who we are

Educators first. But engineers too.

A physics teacher and school leader. An English lead and senior leader. A maths specialist. Primary specialists who have taught the year groups they now help us assess. Around them, engineers who build the way a good department works: carefully, and with the children in mind.

We’re a small team that punches above its weight, and AI-native ourselves: a meeting becomes action points, and action points become working software, within days.

How we hold ourselves to it

Deposits, not withdrawals.

Every decision either deposits trust or spends it, with schools and with each other. We would rather move a little slower than spend trust we have earned.

If we send it, we’ve read it.

Anything we send you should have taken us longer to make than it takes you to read.

200+

schools and 30+ trusts

2

back-to-back DfE Contracts for Innovation

Outstanding Primary Assessment

BESA Awards 2026

Best Education Company

National Winner, UKStartUp Awards 2026

The people behind it

A small team of teachers, technologists and one very good dog.

Tom Valsler, Head of Product · Monty, Head of Morale · Dominic Bristow, Founder and CEO · Hannah Gillott, Director of Schools

We’re obsessed with our customers.

And it’s not much of a stretch to say our customers are obsessed with us. Read the ideas behind the service, or come and see it for yourself.

Read our concepts

Book a demo