Four questions. Can you answer them?
Make a guess first, then tap to see the answer. Each one is answered by one module of Year 11.
Everything is either matter or energy.
Matter
Has mass and takes up space. Solids, liquids and gases: water, air, your phone, you. All of it is made of atoms.
Waves = Energy
No mass. It travels: light, sound, radio, X-rays.
Chemistry is the study of matter. It comes down to three big questions:
Atoms, elements, compounds and mixtures.
Bonds, reactions, and the energy they take in or give out.
Medicines, batteries, fuels, fertilisers and plastics.
Four modules, one term ahead of school.
Tap a module to see what it covers and which question it answers.
ahead of school. You start Year 12 content in Term 3, 2027.
class on the current syllabus. The new one starts with Year 11 in 2028, so your course stays the same all the way.
of HSC papers, 2019 to 2027, that match your course exactly.
Same rank, bigger reward.
Pick where you finish within each course. The bars show the scaled mark (out of 100) that rank earned in 2025. Scaled marks are what count toward your ATAR.
Source: UAC, Report on the Scaling of the 2025 NSW HSC, Table A3 (percentiles of HSC and scaled marks, one-unit values doubled). There's no fixed HSC-to-scaled conversion: this compares the same rank across courses.
One teacher. All the way to your HSC.
Your class teacher looks after you from today until your final HSC exam: like a big brother for your study.
Your progress
Falling behind? We sit down, find out why, and make a day-by-day plan.
Your questions
Your school assessments
- Bring your teacher the notification
- Plan the content together: what to finish, by when
- Extra resources if you need them, printed for you
- Finish and send your final draft
- Feedback back and forth until it's ready to submit
What happens in every lesson
Weekly quiz
- Real HSC past-paper questions
- Previous weeks too, not just last week
- Catches what you're about to forget
- Instant feedback: we solve it together straight after
- Exam skills: how to write answers that earn every mark
Homework Q&A
- Straight after the quiz, if needed
- Length depends on how many questions you have, and how hard they were
- Most questions are already answered on Discord during the week
New content
- Deep understanding first
- Worked examples, then practice
- A 5 to 10 minute break halfway
We don't leave anyone behind.
Recap
- What did we learn today?
- Your teacher checks that every student understood
- Still unclear? Stay and ask. The lesson is finished when you understand.
Your brain is built to forget.
In 1885 Hermann Ebbinghaus measured how fast memory fades, day by day. Tap a point to see what was kept and lost. Then switch on the reviews.
| Day after learning | Kept | Lost |
|---|
Data: Ebbinghaus, Memory (1885), chapter 7, "savings" scores for Days 1, 2 and 6; Day 14 from his own formula. The review line is a SKY model to show the idea, not measured data.
When you review matters more than how long.
Pick a plan, or tap the days yourself. See the hours you spend in week 1, and how much is left when the topic test comes in week 4.
Review on these days:
SKY model for illustration, not measured: memory fades, and each review makes it fade more slowly. Catching up takes about 4 hours times what you've forgotten. Treat the numbers as a rough guide; the pattern is the point. Everyone still revises before a test. The difference is where you start.
Your week at SKY, day by day
Tap a day to see exactly what to do. With a Tuesday class: Day 1 is Wednesday, Day 3 Friday, Day 6 Monday.
3 to 5 hours a week. That's it.
About this much per week
4–5 h
Recording to notes · 3–4 h
The most important part. Rewatch the lesson and build your Cornell notes. Upload them to Google Classroom; your teacher reads every set and sends feedback to fix.
Exercise questions · about 1 h
Not every week. Checked in class. Stuck? Ask on Discord during the week, or in the Q&A after the quiz.
Memorise · a little, often
Definitions, formulae and equations from your Memorise boxes, ready for the weekly quiz.
Focus in class. Save time at home.
Slide to see how much of a lesson's homework you'd need, depending on how much you take in during class.
3 h
Rough guide for one lesson, to show the pattern. Your hours will vary.
Make them on a tablet, the Cornell way.
| What Chemistry notes need | Paper | Laptop / PC | Tablet + pen |
|---|---|---|---|
| Draw diagrams | Easy | Slow | Easy |
| Write equations and formulae | Easy | Slow | Easy |
| Sketch graphs | Easy | Hard | Easy |
| Find a topic fast | Flip pages | Search | Search |
| Fix after feedback | Messy | Easy | Easy |
| Add practice questions | Glue it in | Paste | Paste |
| Upload to Classroom | Scan first | Direct | One tap |
| Like the real HSC exam | Handwritten | Typed | Handwritten |
Whatever you use: write in your own words, never copy word for word, and turn on Do Not Disturb.
The Cornell method, SKY style
One page, four parts: Cue questions on the left, Notes on the right, a Summary at the bottom, and under it a Memorise box for everything you must learn by heart. Developed by Walter Pauk at Cornell University.
- RecordDay 1. Fill the Notes column from the lesson and the recording.
- QuestionDay 1. Turn each idea into a cue question. Write the summary and the Memorise box.
- ReciteDay 3. Tape over the Notes. Answer each cue out loud. Peel, check, tick or cross.
- ReflectDay 6. Fix every cross, add your teacher's feedback, link to earlier topics.
- ReviewDay 7 and every week. The quiz, then a few minutes on old pages and Memorise boxes.
Try it: a real Module 1 page
Tap Tape over the notes, answer each question out loud, then tap the tape to peel it and check.
The tape trick
Cover the Notes column. Paper: masking tape or a sticky note. Tablet: a tape tool or a coloured box. Read the question, answer out loud, then peel and check. Pulling the answer out of your own head is what makes it stick.
The Memorise box
At the bottom of every page, under the summary. Before a quiz or test, flip through only the bottom of every page: a whole module in minutes. Use the tape trick on these too.
80% is the pass mark.
HSC-style tests (multiple choice and written answers) during each module, whenever enough content has built up, and a full exam at the end of every module. Drag to see what happens at each score.
Up to 3 attempts. Still not there? A holiday intensive course closes the gap before we move on. The goal is simple: no gaps left behind.
Four places. Join all of them.
Google Classroom
Your class noticeboard: announcements, homework, uploading your notes, and feedback. Missed a lesson? The quiz is here.
Class codeclassroom.google.com → + → Join class
Google Drive
Every lesson recorded, up right after class, yours until you graduate. Check your email for the invitation and accept it.
SKY students only. Never share it.
SKY booklets
Theory and questions, written by SKY. Printed copies only, no PDFs (copyright). Bring them to every lesson.
Discord
Questions, any time. Open 24/7. Post a photo of the question and show where you got stuck. Answered as soon as your teacher sees it.
Nothing is lost. Catch up in five steps.
Can't come in, but can join? Every lesson runs live online too.
Missed it completely? Tap each step as you finish it.
- 1
Tell Marc
Message him directly, before class if you can, and say why. Or contact the SKY office.
- 2
Do the quiz
If there was one, download it from Google Classroom and do it first.
- 3
Watch the recording
It goes up right after class. Check your quiz as you watch.
- 4
Ask your questions
You missed the chance in class, so ask Marc or post on Discord.
- 5
Homework as usual
Notes, questions and memorising, same as everyone.
We keep going, every week of the year.
One break a year only: 21 December to 3 January
School holidays
Classes run as normal.
The best time to get ahead.
Public holidays
Class runs online.
Same time, from home. No week is lost.
School in a different order?
Tell Marc straight away.
He'll cover it with you.
Three simple rules.
Come early
On time is a given: the quiz starts the lesson. A question from last week? Come early and ask.
Phone away
Full attention for the whole lesson. A 5 to 10 minute break comes halfway.
Ask any time
Interrupt. Every question is welcome. No question is too small.
You come to SKY to understand.
If anything is unclear, ask. That's your one job in every lesson.
Are you the shy one? We've got a plan for you.
Nobody goes home until it makes sense. Your question is usually everyone's question; you're just the brave one who asks it.
Questions, any time.
Marc · urgent questions, text or KakaoTalk
SKY office
Level 5, Suite 7, 11 The Boulevarde, Strathfield NSW 2135