ACTIONS SPEAK LOUDER THAN WORDS.

MAKE THEM COUNT.

Citizens profiles showcase extracurricular activity, personal development and extended projects against globally recognised benchmarks for skills, character and social impact.

A young boy swimming butterfly stroke and wearing a green swim cap.
Sports
UNSDG icon for Good Health and Well-being
A young woman thinking in a library.
Creativity
Two young male rugby players hugging.
Sports
UNSDG icon for Good Health and Well-being
girl wearing black headphones
Self confidence
someone collecting litter as part of a beach clean
Volunteering
UNSDG icon for Life Below Water
classroom with a student presenting her work
Leadership
A group of kids at a coding club
Digital literacy
UNSDG icon for Quality Education
A young woman writing with a pen and looking at her laptop.
Supercurricular
A girl playing padel.
Sports
UNSDG icon for Good Health and Well-being
a young woman potting plants
Sustainability
UNSDG icon for Climate Action
Kids playing tug of war with a rope in nature.
Teamwork
two male school kids sat on chairs facing away from camera
Leadership
“The visual nature of the profile is so appealing”
“So much better than a CV or list of exam results”
“It’s so satisfying to see my wheel fill out over time”

Our member schools and partners

We measure what we value.

Exams dominate education, failing to recognize the diverse talents and full potential of all students.

An icon of a person with both hands in the air.
Education needs more focus on skills, character and service. This starts with meaningful recognition.
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An icon of a certificate with a check/tick in the middle.
Digital portfolios are not enough. We need credible benchmarks that give students real-world impact.
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Schools should be celebrated for efforts they are already making, showcasing their unique ethos and value.
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Stunning portfolios mapped to EXPERT global benchmarks.

Grades only tell half the story - of your students and your school. With Citizens you can give your students visually stunning portfolios mapped to globally recognised benchmarks for skills, character and social impact. Use Citizens to track and showcase

A pink check/tick in a circle.

Skills

A pink check/tick in a circle.

Extended projects & coursework

A pink check/tick in a circle.

Extracurricular achievements

A pink check/tick in a circle.

Community service

A pink check/tick in a circle.

Personal development

A pink check/tick in a circle.

Youth awards…and much more!

Recognised curricula and frameworks

…and many more!

The Citizens Benchmarks ™

Benchmark your students and your school
to expert frameworks for youth development.

Citizens Skills 360 ™

All activity on Citizens is automatically mapped to appropriate skills and character attributes in a globally-recognised benchmark.

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Research-backed: founded from research at UCL’s Institute of Education on youth skills, character and social contribution.

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Employer-ready: mapped to Future Skills frameworks from bodies such as World Economic Forum, McKinsey and Microsoft.

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Codesigned with students and schools: codesigned with students and schools globally as part of a grant funded by Innovate UK, the UK government’s innovation agency. Continuously updated by feedback from Citizens Character-Developing Schools.

The Citizens wheel showing different skills categories in green, pink, orange, and blue.A headshot of a woman smiling.
A populated version of the Citizens UN Sustainable Development Goals wheel with an assortment of different colours and a photo of Matt Hayes in he middle.A headshot of a woman smiling.

UN Impact 360

All activity on Citizens is automatically mapped to social impact in the globally-recognised UN Sustainable Development Goals.

A pink check/tick in a circle.

Global: the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, also known as the ‘Global Goals’ and the ‘UNSDGs’ are a set of 17 commitments for a better world made by 193 world leaders.

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Big challenges need big action: the scale of our challenges can seem daunting, even impossible, but the UNSDGs give us a workable blueprint to tackle them.

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Even the smallest act can make the biggest difference: every citizen can play a role in addressing the goals, and every act counts.

A list of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

How does it work?

Just 3 easy steps to start building your skills CV.

Every act counts.

Get recognition for things you’re already doing. At Citizens we believe that every act counts - whether it’s listening to a podcast on leadership, playing a sport, or one of a hundred other acts from volunteering to internships, small and large and everything in between.

A headshot of Sir Anthony Seldon, Head of Epsom College.

"Citizens has the potential not just to elevate the story schools tell about their ethos and development of young people, but to act as an accelerant to global youth action."

Sir Anthony Seldon
Head of Epsom College
Photo of a student smiling in the street

“I LOVE my Citizens profile. I like that you can record anything, not just the pigeonhole requirements of a particular programme, and the visuals are so powerful. It’s a lot more interesting than a CV - it tells you so much more about  me than exam grades and a few placements.”

Priya
Student

FAQs

What is Citizens?

Citizens is a youth development and recognition platform seeking to expand what we value in education. We help students and schools showcase personal development, extracurricular achievements and social contribution in digital portfolios mapped to expert benchmarks.

What does it cost?

Citizens is free to students and always will be. Schools subscribe for admin and showcase features. Please request a quote here.

How do you protect privacy?

Subscribing schools can set 'visibility ceilings' for their students, which prevents either actions or profiles being public until students reach a certain age, or graduate. We also have advanced settings that allow students to share specific actions only with their assigned teachers, or even with other students in their school.

For individual students that use our app without a school subscription, we set minimum ages for profile and action visibility based on local guidance in your country. This is usually 15 years old.

What is the research behind the Citizens Benchmarks?

The Citizens Benchmarks are designed to map student action to recognised frameworks for skills, character and social contribution.

The Citizens Skills 360™ is based on our founder's PhD research at UCL’s Institute of Education on Global Citizenship Education and youth development, and has been refined thanks to a codesign and piloting project with students and schools funded by Innovate UK, the UK government’s innovation agency. You can read more about this research in our forthcoming Founding White Paper.

The UN Impact 360 is a visual framework for the UN Sustainable Development Goals: 17 commitments for a better world, made by 193 world leaders… our best blueprint for collective action as global citizens.

How old do you have to be to use Citizens?

If you are below the age of 15 you must have parental or guardian consent to use Citizens.

How can I get my school accredited as a Character-Developing School?

Your school must become a subscribing member of Citizens, demonstrating your commitment to character development and recognition, and evidencing this in our index. Accredited schools become part of a global coalition of like-minded institutions and gain access to resources, recognition, and a platform to showcase their impact. Please book a call with our team if you would like to hear more.

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Is that a unicorn in your logo? 😃

It is! We looked at a lot of ideas for our logo, from globes to civic symbols, but none of them really clicked. Then, our founder’s daughter suggested a unicorn — and we instantly loved it! There’s a serendipity in this choice. Unicorns are often seen as representations of uniqueness, inner strength, and untapped potential. Celebrating this in every citizen is what we’re all about, and our little unicorn gives us a reminder of this every day!

If I subscribe to Citizens do I need to replace my school’s LMS or SIS?

No, and we can work with you to integrate Citizens with either, depending on how you plan to embed Citizens in your cocurricular programmes.

Who is Citizens for?

For schools that go beyond exams and celebrate a whole-child  approach. For students that want to take control of their own development.

What is ‘LMS Action Export & Recognition’?

We take a data export from your LMS and use this to build student profiles in Citizens, preloaded with their existing activity. We do this under a data processing agreement to ensure compliance with privacy requirements such as GDPR.

How do I embed my profile on LinkedIn?

This can be done via LinkedIn's Featured section. First, you need to copy your unique URL for your profile, which can be accessed by clicking 'Share' under your name and photo on your main Citizens dashboard. Then, follow LinkedIn's guidance here to add this link to your profile as a Featured section, ensuring it is the first thing prospective employers view when they review your LinkedIn CV.

What is the Citizens Skills 360?

The Citizens Skills 360™ is based on our founder's PhD research at UCL’s Institute of Education on youth skills, character and social contribution, and is designed to be a comprehensive benchmark of those skills and attributes exams alone cannot recognise. It has been mapped to Future Skills frameworks from bodies such as World Economic Forum, McKinsey and Microsoft, and has been iterated on and adapted during a codesign project and pilot with students and schools globally. You can read more about the research behind the Citizens Skills 360™ in our forthcoming Founding White Paper.

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Still have questions?

testimonials

A headshot of Sir Anthony Seldon, Head of Epsom College.
Sir Anthony Seldon
Leading Educationalist
"Citizens has the potential not just to elevate the story schools tell about their ethos and development of young people, but to act as an accelerant to global youth action."
Champions Citizens as a way for schools to showcase character development
Eva
Student
"I spend a lot of my time not only on the academic side but also on things like extracurricular activities, societies, internships, volunteering... these are skills I would like to showcase on my portfolio. Citizens comes in very  handy to me - it  gives me a very direct visual of what I have done."
Uses Citizens to track her extracurricular achievements
Leo Thompson
International Schools Consultant, former Principal and Founder of Edsplorer
"Citizens offers the sort of unique enhancement to the educational experience that international schools are looking for and have shown they are prepared to invest in."
Champions Citizens as a way for schools to showcase their unique value-add
Dana
Student
"Citizens is the perfect platform for students to really showcase who they are outside of the classroom. On top of all of that you can contribute to the environment using the SDG Goals wheel...you can be a part of social change."
Uses Citizens to showcase her whole-self and to take civic action
Headshot photo of Peter Bekker
Peter Bekker
University and Careers Guidance Counsellor, Prince of Wales Island International School
"Citizens empowers students to chart their activities and identify the skills and targets they have mastered. As they prepare their Personal Statements, they are able to be reflective using the visualised wheel to identify their strengths and discuss them in terms of the targeted framework. Citizens helps sixth form students identify their next steps - it does not end when they graduate - the wheel propels them to extend their impact even further."
Uses Citizens to school leavers prepare for their next steps
Robin
Student
"A great way to showcase your strengths, but also acknowledge your weaknesses...it shows a potential employer what you are good at, and what you can be good at."
Uses Citizens for his job applications and interview preparation
Headshot photo of Ellen Thorne
Ellen Thorne
Global Coordinator, Global Citizen Diploma and IB Educator
"The Citizens wheels are something truly unique. They give students and schools an amazing way to highlight their learning and showcase graduate profiles. Plus, with the option to align with Citizens' benchmarks and create custom wheels just for your school, it adapts perfectly to any learning space.

Get ready to inspire and engage your community!🌍✨"
Uses Citizens to create custom graduate profiles
a woman leaning against a tree
Julie
Student
"I love that I can see my skills so clearly after my action has been tagged - we do not always know our own skill set."
Uses Citizens to better understand her strengths

*Photo anonymised for privacy reasons
Joe
Student
"I just find that the visuals are really good, and they really help you spot gaps. It was really cool to build something impactful...definitely planning on using them for my UCAS application."
Uses Citizens for his IB CAS portfolio and university applications
Polly Clayton
Director of Global Citizenship, Dulwich College Singapore
"Citizens' adaptability and ease of customisation make it an exceptional platform through which we can visually see how well our students are engaging with our Guiding Statements and our College vision of “Live Worldwise”. It has truly met—and exceeded—a need in education."
Uses Citizens to build learner profiles

Let’s change what we value in education.

girl with auburn hair looking directly at cameraA young man wearing a beanie hat and a backpackA young man with down syndromea woman leaning against a tree