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Terms of service

Last updated: 29 September 2026

1. Agreement

By accessing or using Marky ("the Service"), you agree to be bound by these Terms of Service. The Service is provided by Marky ("we", "us", "our"). If you are using the Service on behalf of a school or organisation, you represent that you have authority to bind that organisation to these terms.

2. Description of service

Marky provides AI-powered exam marking software for schools. The Service includes AI marking against mark schemes, analytics, student and parent portals, revision tools, and report generation. The Service is delivered as a web application.

3. Accounts & access

  • Schools designate administrators, who invite teachers. A member of staff who signs up without an invitation cannot use Marky until a school administrator approves them.
  • Teachers can invite students and parents via the platform.
  • You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your login credentials.
  • You must notify us immediately of any unauthorised access to your account.

4. Acceptable use

You agree not to:

  • Use the Service for any unlawful purpose.
  • Upload content that infringes intellectual property rights.
  • Attempt to gain unauthorised access to other users' data.
  • Use the Service to harass, abuse, or harm others.
  • Reverse-engineer or attempt to extract the source code of the Service.
  • Use automated tools to scrape or bulk-download data from the Service.

5. Subscriptions, payments & refunds

This section sets out the commercial terms for school customers. Individual student subscriptions are covered separately at 5.10, and differ because consumer law gives individuals rights that do not apply to schools.

5.1 What a paper is

Papers are the unit of consumption. One paper means one student script marked end to end, including every verification pass we run on it.

  • Re-marking specific questions on a script you have already submitted is free, once per script. After that, you can re-run the whole script, which counts as one further paper.
  • Marking runs on one of two lanes. The Instant lane is available once it is switched on for the school, and is then chosen for each marking run. On the Standard lane a script counts as one paper. On the Instant lane, where the whole set is marked simultaneously, a script counts as two papers. Scripts a student marks themselves through the student portal are covered by that student's student account and never count against the school's papers.
  • Uploads that fail to process are not counted against your allowance, and re-running scripts that failed on our side is always free. On both lanes, a script that fails to mark is reconciled so that it draws nothing, and on the Instant lane the two-paper draw is reversed in full rather than reduced to one. Reconciliation applies to a failed script while it remains in your account; if you delete a failed script before it has been reconciled, tell us and we will credit the papers back.
  • A script is counted when marking begins, not when results are opened.

5.2 Department allowances

  • Marky is sold as an annual paper allowance held by a department, not as per-teacher seats. Any number of teachers in that department may use it.
  • Papers are £1.20 each at every volume, exclusive of VAT. There is no volume discount and no smaller or larger unit price.
  • Instant marking is not separately priced, sold or subscribed to. It changes only how many papers a script draws from the allowance, as set out at 5.1, and is selected for each marking run.
  • The minimum first order is 1,200 papers (£1,440) per department.
  • An order's papers are added to the department's allowance when we receive payment for its invoice.
  • Every allowance includes every feature. Only the number of papers differs between them.

5.3 Top-ups

  • You can add papers at any point in the year at the same £1.20 each.
  • The minimum top-up is 30 papers, approximately one class set.
  • Each top-up is invoiced on its own. Its papers are added to the department's allowance when we receive payment.
  • Usage bars in the app and email alerts at 80%, 90% and 100% of the allowance are provided so a department can see a shortfall coming. Acting on those alerts remains your responsibility.

5.4 Unused papers

  • An allowance covers the whole academic year, to 30 July, with no monthly caps. A heavy mock month is not a problem.
  • Unused papers do not carry over into the next academic year, and are not refundable or transferable once it ends.
  • Papers may be moved between departments within the same school by agreement with us before the term ends.

5.5 Free trial for schools

  • A school trial is 10 papers over 14 days, with no card required.
  • The 14 days start when marking first starts, not when the account is created.
  • A trial that is set up and never used closes automatically after 30 days.
  • One trial per school. We may decline a repeat trial for a school that has already had one.
  • Trials are provided as-is. Section 7 sets out what we do and do not say about marking accuracy and applies to trials as it does to paid use, but the availability commitments in section 9 do not.

5.6 Payment terms

  • Schools pay by purchase order and invoice.
  • Invoices are due within 30 days of the invoice date unless we have agreed otherwise in writing.
  • Prices quoted to schools are exclusive of VAT. VAT is added at the prevailing rate and shown separately on the invoice. Prices quoted to individual students include VAT, because consumer prices must be shown as the total payable.
  • If an invoice remains unpaid after its due date we will contact you before taking any action. We may suspend AI marking on an account that stays overdue, and will give at least 14 days' notice before doing so.

5.7 Price changes

The price on a purchase order is fixed for the allowance it buys. We may change prices for future orders with at least 60 days' notice; a new price applies only to orders raised after it takes effect.

5.8 No automatic renewal

  • School allowances do not renew automatically. Each allowance runs to the end of the academic year on 30 July, and continuing into the next year means raising a new purchase order, so there is nothing to cancel.
  • An allowance bought part-way through the year still ends on 30 July, and unused papers do not carry over (see 5.4).
  • Choosing not to order again does not shorten or refund the allowance you have already bought.

5.9 Refunds for schools

An allowance is a commitment for the term, so the general position is that fees paid for a term are not refundable. The specific cases are:

  • Unused papers. Not refundable, for the same reason they do not roll over. Buy the allowance that matches your expected usage and top up from 30 papers if you need more, rather than over-buying at the start.
  • Top-ups. Not refundable once purchased, but usable at any point up to the end of the term.
  • If we terminate for convenience under section 11, or if you terminate because we are in material breach and have not fixed it within 30 days of you telling us, we refund the papers, and any student subscriptions you bought for pupils, that are still unused on each invoice, at the price you paid for them plus the VAT you paid on them. Papers are counted as used oldest first: your department's base allowance first, then invoices in the order you paid them. A student subscription counts as used once it has been given to a pupil. Papers from an earlier academic year have already expired under section 5.4 and are not refunded.
  • Billing errors. Duplicate charges, charges after a valid cancellation, and charges for papers never made available are refunded in full, including VAT. Tell us within 90 days of the charge.
  • Statutory cooling-off. The 14-day cancellation right under the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 applies to consumers, not to schools buying in the course of a business. It therefore does not apply to school subscriptions. It does apply to student subscriptions, as set out below.

How a school is refunded. Schools pay by purchase order and bank transfer, so we refund a school by bank transfer to the account the payment came from. We issue a credit note against the original invoice showing what was refunded and how it was worked out, and the refunded papers and student subscriptions are removed from your allowance when the credit note is issued. Student subscriptions paid for by an individual by card are refunded to that card.

5.10 Student subscriptions

These terms apply where an individual, rather than a school, pays for their own access.

  • Student plans are £16.99 per month or £179 per year including VAT, and a payment card is required. The no-card trial described at 5.5 is a school trial and does not apply here.
  • There is no free trial on a student plan: billing starts as soon as you subscribe. Your statutory cancellation right below still applies.
  • You have a statutory 14-day right to cancel from the day the contract is made. If you ask us to start the service inside that window, and then cancel, we may charge a proportionate amount for what you used before cancelling.
  • Outside that window you can cancel at any time. Access continues to the end of the period you have already paid for, and we do not refund part-months.
  • Annual student plans cancelled after the 14-day window are not refunded pro rata.
  • Accounts are for students aged 13 or over. If you are 13 to 15, you must name a parent or guardian when you sign up; at 16 and over that is optional. If you are under 16, only your parent or guardian can pay for your plan, from their own Marky account.

5.11 What happens when a subscription ends

When a subscription lapses or ends, AI marking and the other AI features stop. Your account is not deleted and is not made read-only: you and your teachers can still sign in, view every paper already marked, and export your data. Retention and deletion after termination are covered in section 11.

6. Intellectual property

  • The Service, including all software, design, and content, is owned by Marky and protected by UK copyright law.
  • Schools retain ownership of all student data, exam papers, and mark schemes uploaded to the platform.
  • We do not claim ownership of any user-uploaded content.

7. AI marking & accuracy

Marky's AI marking is not infallible and we give no warranty that any mark it proposes is correct. The published accuracy figures on our accuracy page describe specific sets of papers in mathematics and physics and are not a commitment about your papers, your specification or your cohort. Teachers are expected to review AI-generated marks before sharing official results. Marky is a tool to assist professional judgement, not replace it, and it is not an examiner. We are not liable for marking errors that are not identified during teacher review.

8. Data protection

Your use of the Service is also governed by our Privacy policy. For school subscriptions, we enter into a Data Processing Agreement (DPA) that complies with UK GDPR. Student data is never used to train AI models.

9. Service availability

We aim for 99.9% uptime but do not guarantee uninterrupted access. We may perform scheduled maintenance with advance notice. We are not liable for downtime caused by third-party services, internet connectivity, or force majeure events.

10. Limitation of liability

To the maximum extent permitted by law:

  • Our total liability is limited to the fees paid by you in the 12 months preceding the claim.
  • We are not liable for indirect, consequential, or incidental damages.
  • We are not liable for the accuracy of AI-generated grades that have not been reviewed by a teacher.

11. Termination

  • Either party may terminate the agreement with 30 days' written notice.
  • We may suspend access immediately if these terms are violated.
  • Upon termination, school data remains exportable and we will keep it available for at least 90 days so you can retrieve it. Ask us to delete it at any point, on or after termination, and we will do so and confirm once it is done. Deletion runs when you ask for it rather than automatically on the termination date.

12. Changes to these terms

We may update these terms from time to time. Material changes will be communicated via email at least 30 days before they take effect. Continued use of the Service after changes constitutes acceptance.

13. Governing law

These terms are governed by the laws of England and Wales. Any disputes shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the courts of England and Wales.

14. Contact

For questions about these terms, contact us at hello@markyedu.com.