"SimpleStudyJust Makes Sense"

Robert Mathews

Robert Mathews

Principal - St Laurence College

Published: Nov 21, 2025

5 min read

Summary

At St Laurence College, SimpleStudy has become the backbone of teaching in a bookless environment, solving the challenge of fragmented resources and diverse student needs. Principal Robert Mathews, formerly a Geography and CASD teacher, describes it as a game changer that "just makes sense" for teachers, students, and schools alike.

  • For students:Engaging, colourful, and curriculum-aligned content makes learning less intimidating and more fun, with resources accessible on any device.
  • For teachers:Provides a consistent structure, saving time and effort while still allowing flexibility to adapt lessons.
  • For the school:SimpleStudy is now part of their identity, creating consistency across subjects and supporting every learner, including those with additional needs.
  • Looking ahead:St Laurence College sees it as a long-term solution that will only improve, and Robert's advice to other schools is simple — just try it and see the difference.

Actual smiles… I've never seen that with a textbook before - but I did with SimpleStudy.

Background

My name is Robert, and I'm the Principal at St Laurence College. Before I say anything else, here's the bottom line: when it comes to SimpleStudy, it just makes sense.

It makes sense for teachers. It makes sense for students. It makes sense for schools.

The platform is brilliant. I 100% recommend giving it to your teachers - because once you do, you'll see the impact for yourself.

At St Laurence College, we're a bookless school. That gives us incredible freedom, but it also means we need something solid to build our lessons around.

Before SimpleStudy, everything was piecemeal - every teacher creating their own resources, with no single backbone. Consistency was a constant challenge, and with students working at so many different levels, finding something that worked for everyone felt almost impossible.

That's where SimpleStudy came in. It's been an absolute game changer for both our teachers and our students.

The Challenge

I taught Geography and CASD, and I was also the AENCO at our school. About a third of our students have additional needs, which is well above the national average. In every class I had kids aiming for top grades sitting beside others who were working on the basics. That's a huge range. But once I started using SimpleStudy I was able to support each of them in whatever capacity they may be at with interactive quizzes, curriculum aligned notes, flashcards, exam builders. And not just any boring version of these things. SimpleStudy actually focuses on making learning fun and engaging for the students too.

Discovering SimpleStudy

When we tried SimpleStudy, it clicked straight away.

  • It's curriculum-aligned:Directly tied to what's needed - no filler.
  • It's flexible:I can put it up on the screen, students can download PDFs and then make annotations directly to the notes, or just quiz themselves on their phones.
  • It's accessible:Clear diagrams, key words highlighted - perfect for the students who need that extra support.
  • It works on every device:Chromebooks, iPads, laptops, even phones - no barriers.
  • The students love it:It's colourful, it's fun, it's engaging. It is just brilliant and the students haven't been this excited to learn since I started teaching!

The Impact

For Teachers..

It's taken a huge weight off teachers.

It makes sense as a platform for us to use. SimpleStudy gives us the spine, and teachers can adapt around it.

For Students…

The reaction from students surprised me the most.

Actual smiles… I've never seen that with a textbook before.

When they saw the whole course laid out, one said: 'It's not that scary. I can handle this.' That was a turning point.

They enjoy using it. They use it in class, they use it at home, even on their phones when they've a few spare minutes. That's not something I'd ever have expected with a textbook.

For the School…

SimpleStudy is becoming part of who we are as a school. I've recommended it to colleagues, to other schools, even to teacher training providers. It just works.

Looking Ahead

For us, SimpleStudy is the long-term spine of our teaching. It's consistent, accessible, and flexible enough for every teacher to use in their own way. We'll keep building around it and learning from it. The platform works for every student, no matter what device they're on or what level of education they are at. It is bloody brilliant and will only keep improving.

My advice to any teacher or school leader reading this is to just try it. Give it to one or two teachers for a few days and you'll immediately see the difference. As that's exactly what has happened to us.