Why I Built Kognaris: A Parent's Journey

By Josh Sutcliffe

My Background

My name is Josh, and I'm a parent who's been through the grammar school journey—both as a student and now as a parent. I was fortunate enough to attend Wilson's School, one of the UK's top-ranking grammar schools (currently ranked 4th nationally), where I experienced firsthand the transformative power of a rigorous academic environment.

Now, years later, I'm incredibly proud that one of my children has secured a place at Newstead Wood School, an outstanding girls' grammar school ranked in the top 20 state schools in the UK, with an exceptional 93% of GCSE students achieving grades 7-9. This achievement didn't happen by accident—it was the result of smart, focused preparation.

The Time-Stretched Parent's Dilemma

Like most working parents, I faced a frustrating challenge: I wanted to be involved in my children's 11+ preparation, but I simply didn't have the time to do it the traditional way.

The options seemed limited and unsatisfying:

• Buy endless workbooks and spend hours marking them myself—who has that kind of time?
• Hire expensive tutors and hope they're doing a good job—but how do you really know?
• Hand everything over to an app—but then lose visibility into what my child is actually learning

None of these options felt right. I wanted something that would:

• Make efficient use of my limited time as a parent
• Give me real insights into where my children needed help
• Let me verify they were making progress, not just completing exercises
• Allow me to stay involved without becoming a full-time tutor

The "Aha" Moment

I realized what I needed wasn't just another practice app or workbook collection. I needed a dashboard—a way to see at a glance:

• Which topics my children were struggling with
• Whether they were actually improving over time
• Where to focus our limited practice time for maximum impact
• If they were ready for the exam or needed more work

I didn't want to micromanage their every answer. I wanted intelligent insights that would help me be a better guide, not just another person marking papers.

Building Kognaris

So I built it. Kognaris is designed specifically for time-stretched parents like me who want to:

The Results

This approach worked for my family. My child got into Newstead Wood School—not because we spent every evening drilling practice papers, but because we worked smarter, not harder.

I knew exactly when to step in with extra help and when to let them practice independently. I could see progress happening in real-time, which kept both of us motivated. And most importantly, my child didn't burn out—they actually enjoyed the process because it felt like a game with progress bars, not endless drudgery.

For Time-Stretched Parents Like You

If you're juggling work, family, and 11+ prep, I built this for you. You don't need to quit your job to be involved. You don't need to trust blindly. You just need the right tools to make the most of the time you have.

Kognaris gives you:

• Adaptive practice tests that challenge your child at the right level
• Detailed analytics showing strengths, weaknesses, and trends
• Both Maths and English in one platform
• Affordable pricing—because tutors shouldn't cost more than private school fees
• Transparency—you always know exactly how they're doing