Websites, web apps and tools, built to order.
Forge Class is a software studio in Sheffield. We build for schools, organisations and businesses, and we run SubjectHub, a teaching platform used in more than 100 UK schools.
Fixed quotes. Purchase orders welcome. You own the code.
Selected work
- SubjectHubLiveTeaching and assessment platform · 100+ UK secondary schools100+ UK secondary schools
- Publisher ConverterOn saleWindows app that batch-converts .pub files · Schools and staffSchools and staff
- EAL TranslateOn saleDesktop app that translates worksheets and slides · Teachers of pupils new to EnglishTeachers of pupils new to English
- School website reviewLiveWebsite review and inspection-readiness dashboard · A UK secondary schoolA UK secondary school
- BrightWorksBuiltBooking system and mobile app · A cleaning companyA cleaning company
- CityQuestLiveDay-out planner with group votes and a safe way home · Public web and Android appPublic web and Android app
Services
What we build
Most projects are one of these. Plenty are two or three at once.
Services and pricesTry working demosWeb applications
Anything with logins, data and more than one kind of user: portals, dashboards, booking and ordering systems.
Seen in SubjectHub, BrightWorks, CityQuest
Bespoke software developmentWebsites
Fast, accessible sites you can edit yourself. For schools, we check against the statutory information list before launch.
Seen in the allergen menu demo, the before and after demo
Website design and developmentMobile apps
One codebase for iPhone and Android, for bookings, forms and work done away from a desk.
Seen in BrightWorks, CityQuest
Mobile app developmentDesktop tools and automation
Windows programs and scripts that take repetitive work off people's hands.
Seen in Publisher Converter, EAL Translate
Automation and desktop toolsAI features, with limits
Marking, feedback, search and drafting, with checks built in and a person able to overrule it.
Seen in SubjectHub, EAL Translate
Website reviews
A fixed-price look at the site you already have, and a list of what to fix first.
Seen in a school website review
From £195
Software and websites for schools
Our own platform
We also run SubjectHub. More than 100 UK schools use it.
SubjectHub started as Python practice for one teacher's classes. It now covers Computer Science, Business, Economics, Creative iMedia and KS3 Computing, with over 9,000 exam-style questions and marking that tells students what to fix. We built the logins, the school billing, the marking and the analytics, and we keep it running through term time. It is the best evidence we have of how we work.
- UK schools
- 100+
- student accounts
- 4,000+
- answers marked
- 250,000+
- exam-style questions
- 9,000+
Process
How a project runs
We build quickly and put working software in front of you early. Decisions get made on something real, not a document.
- 01
A conversation, then a fixed quote.
We talk through what you need, then send a written scope and a fixed price. Purchase orders are fine.
- 02
Something you can use, early.
A working prototype at a real web address, so you react to software you can click, not a specification.
- 03
Built in short rounds.
You see progress as it happens and can change direction while it's still cheap to.
- 04
Launch and handover.
You own the code, the domain and the accounts. We write the guide for whoever will use it.
- 05
Support, if you want it.
A monthly plan covers hosting, updates and small changes. Or we hand over and step back.
- 01
A conversation, then a fixed quote.
We talk through what you need, then send a written scope and a fixed price. Purchase orders are fine.
- 02
Something you can use, early.
A working prototype at a real web address, so you react to software you can click, not a specification.
- 03
Built in short rounds.
You see progress as it happens and can change direction while it's still cheap to.
- 04
Launch and handover.
You own the code, the domain and the accounts. We write the guide for whoever will use it.
- 05
Support, if you want it.
A monthly plan covers hosting, updates and small changes. Or we hand over and step back.
Product · Publisher Converter
Publisher has left Microsoft 365. Get your .pub files out while you still have a copy.
Publisher Converter turns whole folders of Publisher files into PDFs or Word documents, subfolders included, at about 500 files an hour. It runs on your own machine, so nothing leaves your network. It needs a PC with Publisher 2016, 2019 or 2021 installed. Those copies keep working after Microsoft 365 drops Publisher.
212 of 530 · about 500 an hour
Who you'll work with
You'll deal with the person writing the code.
I'm Steve Benton. I teach Computer Science and I've been building software for schools for years, first to fix problems in my own department and now for anyone who needs something that works. There's no account manager in between: you talk to me, I build it, and I answer the email when something needs changing.
More about usStart a project
Tell us what you're trying to do.
A few lines is plenty. We reply within one working day, and the first call is free.