New Skills Academy

About New Skills Academy

New Skills Academy is a UK online course provider run by Academy Plus Group Limited, trading as academy+, from Warwick. Brothers Chris and Dan Morgan started it in November 2013, and the family investment office Addition Capital took control in 2021. The catalogue lists 654 self-paced courses in business, care, beauty, animal care, hobbies and languages, and most cost £100 each. Unlimited Learning costs £99 for 12 months and opens more than 700 courses, language courses excluded. Courses carry CPD approval and end with a New Skills Academy certificate; the company is not on the Ofqual register of awarding organisations.

New Skills Academy sells online courses that people study at their own pace on a computer, phone or tablet. Each course has modules with text, audio or video, worksheets and quick tests, and ends with a multiple choice test. A learner who scores 70% gets a certificate that an employer can check by its ID on the website. Most courses cost £100 with lifetime access. Unlimited Learning opens more than 700 courses for £99 a year.

Chris Morgan and his brother Dan founded the business as BE-A Education Limited, registered on 4 November 2013. The company won local and global business awards, and Chris Morgan won Family Business Entrepreneur of the Year at the NatWest Great British Entrepreneur Awards. Since 2018 New Skills Academy has supported Teens Unite, a charity for young people with cancer.

In April 2021 Addition Capital, a London family investment office, completed a control investment, part financed by a loan from Shawbrook Bank. By then the company had sold nearly 1 million courses in more than 30 countries. Ian McClelland, former CEO of Guardian Australia, became CEO. The Morgan brothers left the board in September 2023. In May 2024 the company became Academy Plus Group Limited. Its sister brand Staff Skills academy+ sells training to employers.

History

1. 2013 Chris and Dan Morgan register BE-A Education Limited on 4 November and start New Skills Academy.
2. 2018 Starts supporting Teens Unite, a charity for young people with cancer, with courses and sponsorship.
3. 2021 Coach Holdings Ltd becomes the owner with 75% or more of the shares on 11 February.
4. 2021 Addition Capital announces its control investment in April, part financed by Shawbrook Bank. The company has sold nearly 1 million courses in more than 30 countries.
5. 2021 Ian McClelland, former CEO of Guardian Australia, becomes CEO. He joins the board on 1 November.
6. 2023 Richard Villiers joins the board on 22 August.
7. 2023 Chris and Dan Morgan leave the board on 13 September.
8. 2024 BE-A Education Limited changes its name to Academy Plus Group Limited on 7 May. It trades as academy+.
9. 2025 Files accounts to 31 March 2025 with 16 employees on average, down from 18.
10. 2026 Lists 654 courses and sells Unlimited Learning at £99 for 12 months.

Leadership

• IM Ian McClelland CEO, director since 2021, formerly CEO of Guardian Australia
• JV Jehad Verjee Director since February 2021
• RV Richard Villiers Director since August 2023
• SH Selena Hurford Head of Content, course tutor on certificates

Roles from the New Skills Academy about page, a sample certificate and the Companies House register of Academy Plus Group Limited on 15 October 2026. In 2021 Private Equity Wire named Jay Verjee as managing partner of Addition Capital. Founders Chris and Dan Morgan left the board on 13 September 2023. The sample certificate still names Daniel Morgan as Head of Academy.

Course categories

Category counts from the course filter on newskillsacademy.co.uk on 15 October 2026. One course can sit in several categories. The home page shows higher counts, for example 417 business courses, and says “910+” courses in total.

Video, blogs and resources

• Help articlesLogin, password reset, tests, certificates and invoices↗
• Learn ZoneSupport, help articles, blog and resources↗
• Terms of businessSubscriptions, cancellation and refunds↗
• BlogArticles on careers and courses↗

Products

• 1Core values and limiting beliefs

  2Listening and communication skills

  3Setting value-based goals

  Online courses 654 self-paced courses with lifetime access. Most cost £100. The Life Coaching Certification, for example, has 10 modules, takes about 13 hours and is approved by CPD and the CMA. All courses ↗
• Life CoachingTeaching AssistantChild PsychologySENDMicrosoft ExcelCBTMindfulnessMakeup ArtistDog GroomingPayroll
  Unlimited Learning £99 for 12 months for more than 700 courses, up to 50 active at a time. It adds an XO Student Discounts membership, a CV builder, career matching and the learner community. Language courses are not included. Unlimited Learning ↗

• Leaderboard

  1Ana980

  2Tom860

  3Lea790
  Tests and certificates Each course ends with an online multiple choice test with a 70% pass mark and free retakes. The PDF certificate is free and does not expire. A printed copy costs £15 in the UK, and employers check certificates by ID on the website. Certificate delivery ↗
• Spanish Level 1

  Buenos días

  Good morningGood nightGoodbye

  13 h
  Language courses 36 courses, including British Sign Language, Spanish, French, Arabic, Japanese and Korean. Multi-level language courses cost £120 and are sold separately from Unlimited Learning. Language courses ↗

• Ayer voy fui al mercado.

  LNative speaker · corrected

  ♥ 3

  Learner community Unlimited Learning members chat with other students in the community. Course buyers also get access to the New Skills Academy Study Group. Unlimited Learning ↗
• Team progress

  Sales

  Support

  Product
  Staff Skills academy+ A sister company for employers, with 750+ CPD-certified compliance and staff development courses, wellbeing and performance hubs and an LMS. Staff training ↗

How much is New Skills Academy?

• Most courses Single course £100 most courses, lifetime access
• Microsoft Excel for Beginners £80 one course, 36 modules
• Language course £120 for example Spanish Level 1 & 2, outside Unlimited Learning
• The Complete Microsoft Excel Course £180 bundle of 3 courses
• Unlimited Learning £99 for 12 months, renews every year, 700+ courses
• Printed certificate £15 UK delivery in 7 working days, PDF copy free

Is New Skills Academy free?

There is no free trial. Newsletter subscribers get the Interview Skills and CV Writing Certificate course for free. Course pages show a 0% finance option and do not name the lender.

Prices on newskillsacademy.co.uk on 15 October 2026, in GBP with the GBP currency selected, one-off per course unless stated. The site also sells in USD, EUR, CAD, AUD and NZD. On 15 October 2026 a banner offered 79% off courses of £100 or more with the code GOALS79, with no end date shown. The prices below are without the code.

• Your account ↗
  1. Sign in at newskillsacademy.co.uk
  2. Cancel the membership in your account
  3. Access stays until the end of the paid 12 months
• Email or contact form ↗
  1. Write to support@newskillsacademy.co.uk or use the contact form
  2. Give your name, home address and order details
  3. Student support can cancel the membership for you

• The membership renews on the anniversary of the start date, and payment is taken on that date.
• After the end of the paid period, completed courses and certificates stay in the account. Part-completed courses are lost.
• The Unlimited Learning FAQ says completed courses and certificates stay for 12 months after the last payment. The terms set no time limit.
• Membership offers cannot be combined with other offers.

Refund rules

Unlimited Learning

Full refund within 14 days of the start or renewal date, if the membership was not used in that time. No refund after 14 days.

Single courses

The right to change your mind ends once you start streaming or downloading a course, or if you agreed to get access at once.

Refund timing

Refunds go back to the original payment method within 14 days. A subscription refund can be reduced for the time already supplied.

Sales area

The terms say the website is meant for the UK, and the company may refuse orders from outside the UK.

From the New Skills Academy terms of business and the Unlimited Learning FAQ, checked on 15 October 2026. The terms show no date.

Apps and ratings

• WebCourses in the browser on a PC, phone or tablet
• Printed certificateDelivered on card, £15 in the UK, not to the UAE
• Certificate checkValidation by certificate ID on the website

Is New Skills Academy worth it?

What learners write in reviews, not our rating. Trustpilot shows 56 reviews in the last 12 months. Trustpilot shows that the company replied to 5% of negative reviews.

New Skills Academy reviews

• Many courses offer videos

  “I love that on many courses they provide videos so you can actually see the instruction demonstrated by a professional in addition to reading the material.”

  Carla Taylor · 11 October 2026 · App Store
• An interesting and informative course…

  “My only disappointment was that the course stated it was level 3.”

  L Taylor · 13 June 2026 · App Store
• Even after finishing a course you…

  “This is why I cancelled my membership 2 years ago however I noticed last month they were still charging me”

  Terri · 12 June 2026 · App Store

Latest news

1. 14 April 2021Addition Capital invests in Be-A Education, Private Equity Wire ↗

Contacts and company data

• Supportsupport@newskillsacademy.co.uk
• Contact formCourse, tutor and account questions
• Help articlesLogin, tests, certificates, invoices
• Staff trainingStaff Skills academy+

Legal entity

Academy Plus Group Limited, trading as New Skills Academy and academy+, 6 Corunna Court, Corunna Road, Warwick, Warwickshire, CV34 5HQ, United Kingdom

Company number

08761384, England and Wales

Incorporated

4 November 2013

Former name

BE-A Education Limited, until 7 May 2024

Status

Active, last accounts to 31 March 2025

SIC code

62012, business and domestic software development

Parent company

Coach Holdings Ltd, 13015721

VAT number

382819269

Alternatives to New Skills Academy

• Alison🇮🇪 Ireland Free online courses with paid certificates and diplomas, from Galway. →
• Open Study College🇬🇧 United Kingdom Home study A Levels, GCSEs, Access to HE and qualifications from awarding bodies such as AAT and NCFE CACHE. →
• High Speed Training🇬🇧 United Kingdom Online food hygiene, health and safety and safeguarding courses for UK workplaces. →
• FutureLearn🇬🇧 United Kingdom Online short courses and degrees from universities, from London. →

How we built this profile

1. Sources. Facts come from the company’s own website, press room, imprint and careers page, from Wikipedia, the App Store, Google Play and Trustpilot. Every source is listed on the page.
2. Checks. Kinescope checked every number on 15 October 2026. Prices, ratings and job counts change, and we refresh them with each update.
3. Our words. Descriptions are written by the Kinescope team. Quotes from reviews are marked with the author and source, and we do not rate the company ourselves.
4. Corrections. The company can send new facts or corrections, and we update the profile.

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