ActiveHistory

Name

ActiveHistory

Legal name

ActiveHistory.co.uk Limited

Website

https://activehistory.co.uk

Company type

Private

Founded year

1998

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

History Education Technology

NAICS

Exam Preparation and Tutoring (611691), Educational Support Services (611710), Educational Services (61)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Interactive Presentation & Lesson Delivery Engagement Tools (EDAFAGAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

Study Skills & Executive Function Coaching (Planning, Organization, Time Management) (EDANADAB), Learning Content Bundling & Subscription Passes (All-Access Libraries) (MPACALAL), Live Class & Webinar Marketplaces/Directories (EDAFAIAE)

Keywords

• Interactive history resources
• History teaching simulations
• IBDP history curriculum
• IGCSE history materials
• Educational worksheets

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Operations

Revenue model

1. School/Institution Subscriptions: Whole-school annual subscriptions providing 24/7 access to all resources for students and teachers. Marketed as exceptional value compared to textbook costs.
2. Individual Resource Sales: One-time purchases of specific worksheets, lesson plans, PowerPoint presentations, and exam resources at prices ranging from £1.99 to £4.99 per item.
3. Teacher Training/INSET Days: Training sessions for schools on using ActiveHistory resources, such as the June 10th 2019 London training day mentioned.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

ActiveHistory is a subscription-based online platform that provides interactive history teaching resources, simulations, self-marking quizzes, multimedia lectures, worksheets, and AI-powered interview tools for secondary school history teachers and students. The platform covers KS3, GCSE, IGCSE, A-Level, and IB History curricula through whole-school subscriptions and individual resource purchases.

Product overview

ActiveHistory is a subscription-based educational platform providing interactive history teaching resources for secondary school teachers and students (ages 11–18). The platform is built around a core suite of interactive simulations, decision-making games, self-marking quizzes, worksheets, lesson plans, and multimedia lectures, all designed specifically for KS3, IGCSE, IB, and A-Level curricula. The product portfolio includes AI-powered interview tools (Head2Head Interview), investigative project modules (History Mystery), a comprehensive IBDP History Hub, AI-assisted question generation (Historical Investigation Question Generator), podcast series (IBDP History Podcasts and IGCSE Podcasts), essay and citation tools (Essay Planning Tool, Essay Marking Tool, Harvard Citation Generator, Plagiarism Checker), revision games, escape room scenarios, multimedia lectures, model essays and sourcework samples, Berlin and Battlefields trip resources, historiography and TOK materials, Internal Assessment and Extended Essay guidance, and published books. All resources are created and maintained by Russel Tarr, a full-time history teacher, and the platform serves over 3,000 teachers across 150+ countries.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• IBDP History Hub A comprehensive online resource hub providing lesson plans, worksheets, teacher notes, multimedia lectures, interactive simulations, assessment guides, Internal Assessment guidance, Extended Essay guidance, TOK in History materials, essay and sourcework skills, and curriculum maps for the full two-year IBDP History programme.
• Head2Head Interview An AI-powered interactive interview feature where students conduct simulated conversations with historical figures such as Winston Churchill, William the Conqueror, Henry VIII, Queen Victoria, and Adolf Hitler, drawing on a large database of pre-generated responses.
• History Mystery Stand-alone investigative project modules lasting 3-4 hours each, covering topics from prehistory through to the Gunpowder Plot, Franklin Expedition, and Dreadnought Hoax, teaching question formulation, deductive reasoning, and structured writing.
• Historical Investigation Question Generator AI-assisted tool for historical inquiry and historiographical question generation, helping IB History students formulate and develop their Historical Investigation research questions.
• ActiveHistory IBDP History Podcasts A comprehensive podcast series covering IB History topics, including revision podcasts, historiography discussions, and exam support content, distributed via Podfollow and Spotify.
• ActiveHistory IGCSE Podcasts Podcast series focused on IGCSE History revision and topic coverage, distributed via Spotify.
• Interactive Simulations and Games Decisions-based interactive simulations covering historical periods, including Wall Street Crash Simulation, American Civil War Simulation, Castles: Defence and Attack, Voyages of Discovery, Satsuma Rebellion, Meiji Restoration, Renaissance Florence, Medieval Village, Cathedral Building, and 20th Century Dictators.
• Self-Marking Quizzes and Revision Games Interactive self-marking multiple-choice quizzes, keyword challenge games, and arcade-style revision activities for exam preparation across all supported curricula.
• Escape the Room Scenarios Interactive escape-room-style educational scenarios, including the 'Mission: Galileo 1610' Renaissance Florence activity, where students solve coded puzzles under time pressure.
• Multimedia Lectures Online multimedia lectures and presentations covering major IB, IGCSE, and A-Level History topics, used for classroom teaching and revision.
• Publications by Russel Tarr Printed and digital publications including 'A History Teaching Toolbox', 'Essays on Modern History', and 'Luther and the Reformation in Europe', available for purchase through the site.
• Whole-School Subscription Annual subscription providing 24/7 access to all ActiveHistory resources for entire schools, including teachers and students, marketed as cost-effective compared to textbooks.

Quantifiable outcome

• Saves teachers hours of planning every week
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability3 records

Feature4 records

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• Revision Village: Subscription-based IB-focused revision platform, primarily known for mathematics but expanding into other IB subjects. Comparable IB-Mission/curriculum-aligned subscription model targeting the same IBDP teacher and student base as ActiveHistory's IBDP History Hub.

Broad incumbents

• BBC Bitesize: Free, publicly funded UK-aligned educational resource covering history curricula (KS3, GCSE) with explainers, videos, and quizzes. Directly substitutes part of ActiveHistory's UK curriculum coverage at zero cost and significant brand recognition.
• Quizlet: Large-scale study tools platform with user-generated flashcards, quizzes, and study modes covering history and many other subjects. Competes for student revision time and teacher classroom adoption, but serves a much broader subject and age range than ActiveHistory.
• Khan Academy: Free, large-scale educational platform with significant history content (including a dedicated AP/college-level history section). Competes for the same teacher/student mindshare on history learning but is free, multi-subject, and nonprofit.

Direct peers

• Kognity: Digital textbook and learning platform purpose-built for the IB Diploma Programme across multiple subjects, including history. Directly comparable in targeting IBDP schools with curriculum-aligned interactive content and subscription licensing.
• Seneca Learning: Free + premium online learning platform for school subjects including history, with adaptive self-marking content for exam preparation. Comparable in offering exam-focused interactive content to secondary school students and teachers with a freemium subscription model.
• Twinkl: Subscription-based teaching resource platform offering worksheets, lesson plans, and activities across many subjects and curricula. Closely comparable business model (subscription + a la carte) and target customer (individual teachers and schools), differentiated primarily by subject breadth versus ActiveHistory's depth in history.
• Mr Allsop History: Teacher-created resource site offering history lessons, worksheets, videos, and revision materials for KS3 and GCSE. Operates a comparable direct-to-teacher content model with a sole practitioner, often cited in the same teacher communities as ActiveHistory.
• TES Resources: Online marketplace where teachers buy, sell, and share teaching resources, including substantial history content. Directly competes for teacher budget and lesson-planning time with a marketplace model versus ActiveHistory's curated subscription approach.
• SchoolHistory.co.uk: Long-running UK teacher-created site offering free and subscription history teaching resources for KS3, GCSE, and A-Level. Highly comparable niche focus on secondary history with similar audience (UK/international teachers) and largely single-operator origins.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/activehistory
• Facebookfacebook.com/activehistory
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/activehistory.co.uk-limited

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about ActiveHistory