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App lets students cheat on their homework, but parents needn’t be worried

Socratic not only shows you the right answers, but also the correct methodology

Aatif Sulleyman

Friday 20 January 2017 19:10 GMT

The app is designed to tackle a range of subject matter, but has just been updated with extra mathematical capabilities

Students across the world will be thrilled to hear that they can now outsource their homework to an app.

Socratic, which is available for free on the App Store, is designed to tackle a range of subject matter, but has just been updated with enhanced mathematical capabilities.

Students need only feed a picture of a question – printed or handwritten – to the app, which will then proceed to work it out.

However, it won’t simply display the right answers. What’s really clever about Socratic is that it will also go through the correct methodology with users, who can still learn a thing or two despite their questionable approach to school work.

The most expensive schools in the world

Show all 10

1/10The most expensive schools in the world

The most expensive schools in the world

La Rosey, Switzerland

This prestigious Swiss boarding school is believed to be the most expensive in the world. Le Rosey hosts pupils from seven to 18 and has been co-educational since 1967. The school takes in pupils from more than 60 countries, but allows no more than 10 per cent of its students to come from any one country in order to prevent a single nationality dominating. The school has two campuses – winter is spent in Gstaad, where pupils can make use of the ski slopes after their morning lessons. Come spring, the whole school will uproot to the Chataeau du Rosey in the village of Rolle by Lake Geneva. Le Rosey also boats a 1,000 seat concert hall, equestrian centre and 38-foot yacht. Notable alumni: Shah of Iran, Prince Rainier of Monaco and King Farouk of Egypt. Sir Roger Moore and Elizabeth Taylor also send their children here, along with John Lennon’s son Sean and Winston Churchill’s grandson. Fees: approx. £86,657 pa

The most expensive schools in the world

Aiglon College, Switzerland

With a view of Mont Blanc, this high altitude school lends itself to outdoor pursuits. The school caters for boys and girls aged nine to 18 and is modelled on the traditional British Boarding school. Unlike most schools, however, the whole school body comes together for 20 minutes of meditation on three mornings each week. Notable alumni: Actor Michel Gill, Princess Tatiana of Greece and Denmark, Sheherazade Goldsmith Fees: up to £80,810 per year (upper school boarding)

The most expensive schools in the world

Collège Alpin International Beau Soleil

Founded in 1910, Beau Soleil is one of the oldest private boarding schools in Switzerland. It is positioned 1,350 metres above sea level on the Swiss Alps and hosts pupils from more than 40 different nationalities aged 11-18. The curriculum is taught in both French and English and focuses on outdoor sports, with a ski slope and ice skating rink on site. Notable alumni: Racing driver Jacques Villeneuve, Princess Marie of Denmark, Prince Guillaume, Hereditary Grand Duke of Luxembourg Fees: £79,528

Collège Alpin International Beau Soleil

The most expensive schools in the world

Collège du Léman International School, Switzerland

Taking in children from as young as one year old, College du Leman teaches a bilingual programme of French and English up to age 18. The school campus stretches out across eight hectares and offers access to both Geneva city and the mountains. Pupils from more than 100 nationalities attend. Noteable alumni: Anna Ovcharova, Swiss, Russian figure skater Fees: £68,960 pa

The most expensive schools in the world

Leysin American School, Switzerland

Another high-profile Swiss school, popular for its exclusive ski and snowboard facilities. LAS Students are allowed to spend Tuesday and Thursday afternoons on the mountain for sports. Despite its name, around 12 per cent of students are from the US. Notable alumni: According to Bloomberg, alumni include members of Saudi Arabia’s royal family, the Rockefellers and Vanderbilts. Fees: Approx £66,700 per year

Leysin American School

The most expensive schools in the world

Institut auf dem Rosenberg

With just 260 boarding pupils from over 40 countries, emphasis is placed on one-on-one time at the Institut auf dem Rosenberg. The school has a staff to student ratio of 1:4 and average class sizes of 8 students. Pupils can choose fromn one of five curricula, including British A level,s German Abitur and the Swiss Matura program. Notable alumni: Countless politicians and business leaders as well as international royalty – the school operates a strict privacy policy but most studenrts come from entrepreneurial families or are heirs to large businesses. Fees: £66,160 pa

The most expensive schools in the world

Think Global School

The world’s first “travelling high school” takes pupils to four different countries each year – allowing pupils to experience subjects out in the field. The school has one teacher for every three students and has a 100 per cent pass rate for the International Baccalaureate qualification. Notable alumni: The school is only seven years old, but will no doubt become a popular choice with the next generation of rock stars’ children. Fees: £63,980. Sliding-scale scholarships offered.

The most expensive schools in the world

The American school in Switzerland (TASIS)

The first US boarding school to be set up in Europe, TASIS lies on the Dollina d’Oro in the Swiss mountains. Fine art is central to the school curriculum and TASIS hosts its own Spring Arts Festival which attracts a number of famous artists and musicians each year. Notable alumni: American mountain climber Francys Arsentiev, Performer Jeanie Cunningham and Italian-American film director Francesca Gregorini Fees: £63,561 pa

The most expensive schools in the world

Brillantmont, Switzerland

A family-run, traditional Swiss school for 130 years, Brillantmont overlooks Lake Geneva and sits just a five-minute walk away from Lausanne. Brillantmont boasts that 100 per cent of its students continue their studies to higher education. Notable alumni: kept suspiciously on the down-low Fees: £52,010 - £59,680 pa

Brillantmont, Switzerland

The most expensive schools in the world

Hurtwood house, Surrey

Hurtwood house, surrey Several of the best UK boarding schools top their fees around this mark. Set in an Edwardian mansion with 200 acres of grounds, Hurtwood House is one of the most unique. The school hosts just 340 pupils and is known for its focus on creativity and the arts – a recent school production of Chicago cost £75,000 to stage, according to Tatler. Notable alumni: Emily Blunt, Jack Huston, Hans Zimmer Fees: £39,555 pa

“To build this experience, Socratic's pedagogy team looked through countless math questions asked by students and categorized them by the steps required to solve them,” reads a release from the company. “Then, they wrote high quality Explainers to teach these concepts, and tested them with hundreds of high school students.”

The team behind Socratic says the app’s steps closely match those a teacher would take their students through, and has promised to expand its capabilities across the sciences, history, economics and the humanities.

“Students can now break down their question into small steps, allowing them to gain confidence and learn how to solve similar questions on their own, said Shreyans Bhansali, Socratic’s co-founder and head of engineering. “We hope to provide an experience similar to working with a tutor, except it's free and on your phone.

“We believe our code has applications outside the Socratic app and we're excited to release the core step-by-step solution code as open source so others can extend it and use it as they see fit.”

It’s currently only available to iPhone users, and if you don’t happen to have an incomplete scrap of homework to hand, you can test out its capabilities on this selection of example questions.

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