Cambridge English — Classrooms FAQ

Question 1

What is a classroom?

Accepted Answer

A classroom is a private (or public) social wall around your Cambridge English lessons. You publish text, images, videos and PDFs, assign exercises as homework, and your students react, comment and submit answers — all in one place. Each classroom belongs to a school, which is created automatically the first time you make a classroom.

Question 2

How do I create my first classroom?

Accepted Answer

From your teacher home at /classrooms, click 'Create your Classroom'. You'll be asked for a name, a short description and a visibility (public or private). Submit and you'll be taken to the management dashboard.

Question 3

What's the difference between a public and a private classroom?

Accepted Answer

Public classrooms are listed in the student 'All Classrooms' feed and anyone can join with one tap — best for open communities. Private classrooms are also listed in the feed but students must enter a join code to come in — best for actual class groups.

Question 4

What is the 'join code' and where do I find it?

Accepted Answer

The join code is the private invite to a classroom. It's only shown to managers (the owner and the assigned staff) — never to students. You'll see it on the classroom card in your dashboard sidebar, and you can copy or regenerate it from the Settings tab.

Question 5

Can I rename or change the description of a classroom later?

Accepted Answer

Yes. The owner can edit the name, description and visibility at any time from the classroom's Settings tab. Members keep their membership across edits.

Question 6

Is there a limit to how many classrooms I can create?

Accepted Answer

On the free tier you can have one classroom. If you try to create a second one without a paid plan you'll see a 'Subscribe to create more' paywall. Once your school is subscribed (or you have an active personal plan), you can create up to 50 classrooms.

Question 7

How do I open the management dashboard for a classroom?

Accepted Answer

From /classrooms, pick a classroom from your Managed Classrooms list, then click 'Manage classroom'. You'll land on a dashboard with four tabs: Feed, Students, Teachers and Settings (owner-only).

Question 8

What can I do on the Feed tab?

Accepted Answer

Publish content to your students. Every post can be one of: a plain text note (with optional title), an image (with optional caption), a YouTube video link, a PDF (with optional caption), or an exercise (homework). Media types are mutually exclusive — one per post. You can like, comment, edit your own posts, and delete any post in classrooms you manage.

Question 9

How do I post homework that students can solve in-app?

Accepted Answer

Open the composer and pick Exercise. Walk through the picker: course, activity, level, exercise. Add an optional instruction text and publish. Students will see a 'Solve Exercise' button on the post; their score is recorded and shown on the leaderboard. The exercise itself is locked once published — to swap it out you have to delete the post and create a new one. Title and instructions can still be edited.

Question 10

How do I see who's submitted a homework and their scores?

Accepted Answer

Each homework post shows a leaderboard with the top 5 submissions (score, name, avatar). Click 'See more' to page through the rest in groups of 10. Clicking a student opens their submission in read-only mode so you can review every answer.

Question 11

How do I add a co-teacher (assigned staff) to a classroom?

Accepted Answer

Only the owner can assign staff. Open the Teachers tab on the dashboard, search the platform by username (minimum 2 characters), and pick a result. They are immediately promoted to staff. If the user was already a member, the system atomically removes their membership and assigns them as staff — no two-step dance.

Question 12

What's the difference between the owner and the assigned staff?

Accepted Answer

Both can post, edit and delete posts, manage students and review submissions. Only the owner can edit classroom details, assign or remove staff, regenerate the join code, and delete the classroom. The owner also represents the school identity on every post.

Question 13

How do I remove a student from a classroom, and what does 'ban' do?

Accepted Answer

From the Students tab, open the row menu and choose Remove member. You'll get a confirmation with a Ban toggle. Kick (default) removes the student and they can rejoin if they have the code or the classroom is public. Kick and ban adds them to a per-classroom ban list and they cannot rejoin — they'll see 'You have been banned from this classroom and cannot join.'

Question 14

How do I regenerate the join code if it has leaked?

Accepted Answer

Owners only. From the dashboard Settings tab, click 'Regenerate join code' and confirm. The old code is invalidated immediately. Existing members are not affected — only future joiners are blocked from the old code.

Question 15

What is a 'school' and when is it created?

Accepted Answer

A school is the entity that owns your classrooms and pays the seat-based subscription. It's created automatically the first time you create a classroom — you don't have to set anything up upfront.

Question 16

What does the school subscription pay for?

Accepted Answer

A seat for every student that's enrolled in one of your private classrooms. With an active plan, those students get full access to the exercises you assign — no individual licence needed on their side. Public classrooms don't consume seats.

Question 17

What are 'taken seats'?

Accepted Answer

The number of distinct private-classroom members you're currently covering, minus any students who already pay for their own access. You'll see this counter on your school card — it's how you know whether you have room to add more students under your current plan.

Question 18

How do I change my seat tier (upgrade or downgrade)?

Accepted Answer

From the My School tab, open Change plan and pick a new seat tier and billing interval. The platform routes you to the right flow (upgrade or downgrade) automatically. Upgrades bill the prorated difference immediately; downgrades take effect now but bill the smaller plan on the next cycle.

Question 19

Will my students lose access during a tier change?

Accepted Answer

No — never. Both upgrades and downgrades preserve the Stripe subscription, so there's no service interruption. Your students keep access throughout.

Question 20

What happens if a downgrade would leave me over my new seat cap?

Accepted Answer

The platform blocks the downgrade with a clear message: 'You currently have N active students; the M-seat plan can't hold them all. Reduce members first.' Remove or move enough students, then try again.

Question 21

Where do I manage invoices and payment methods?

Accepted Answer

From the My School tab, open the Customer Portal. There you can download invoices, change your card and update billing details. Don't use the portal to change seat tiers — go through Change plan instead, since the portal bypasses the seat-cap guard rail.

Question 22

What if my payment fails?

Accepted Answer

Your school enters a Payment Failed state. You'll see a banner on the My School tab with a direct link to the customer portal so you can update your card. If the issue isn't resolved in time, classrooms and their students may be removed as part of Stripe's standard dunning process.

Question 23

What happens to my classrooms if I cancel?

Accepted Answer

Cancellation takes effect at the end of the current billing cycle. After that, your students lose school-derived access to the exercises you assigned, but the classrooms themselves and their content remain — you can resubscribe at any time to restore access.

Question 24

What kinds of posts can I create?

Accepted Answer

Text, image, YouTube video, PDF, or exercise (homework). The media slot is exclusive — one per post — but you can always combine any of them with a title and a text body.

Question 25

Can I edit a post after publishing?

Accepted Answer

Yes — title, text, video link and the attached image or PDF can all be edited. For homework posts, the assigned exercise is locked once submitted; only the surrounding instructions can change.

Question 26

Can students message me privately?

Accepted Answer

No. Classrooms doesn't have private messages — comments on posts are the only conversation channel. If a student needs your attention, they can @mention you in a comment and you'll get a push notification.

Question 27

How do @mentions work?

Accepted Answer

Type @ in a comment and start typing a username — the autocomplete suggests classroom participants whose username starts with what you typed. Pick one and submit; the mentioned user receives a push notification that deep-links straight to the post.

Question 28

Who can delete a comment?

Accepted Answer

The comment's author can delete their own comment. Classroom managers (owner or assigned staff) can delete any comment in the classroom — including those left by students. Only the comment's author can edit their text.

Question 29

Can students see each other's homework submissions?

Accepted Answer

Every classroom participant sees the same leaderboard on a homework post — the top 5 by default, and anyone can hit 'See more submissions' to page through the rest in batches of 10. What students see is limited to the public summary: name, avatar and score. Only managers (owner or assigned staff) get the Review button on each row that opens the actual answers and lets them leave feedback.

Question 30

Where do I find classrooms?

Accepted Answer

On your student home at /classrooms/students. The All Classrooms tab lists every public classroom in the platform and lets you search by name or by code. The My Classrooms tab lists the ones you've already joined.

Question 31

How do I join a public classroom?

Accepted Answer

Open the All Classrooms tab, find the classroom you like, and tap Join. That's it — you're immediately a member and you'll see the new classroom in your My Classrooms list.

Question 32

My teacher gave me a code — what do I do?

Accepted Answer

Paste the code into the 'Search by code' box on the right sidebar (or under the explore feed on mobile) and tap Search. You'll see a preview of the classroom — name, teacher, member count — before you commit. Click Join to confirm.

Question 33

What's the difference between public and private classrooms in the list?

Accepted Answer

Both kinds show up in All Classrooms — you'll spot them by the chip on the card. Public classrooms have one-tap Join. Private classrooms have a Join button that opens a small popover where you type the join code your teacher gave you. Without the code, you can see the classroom exists but you can't enter it.

Question 34

What does 'Joined' mean on a classroom card?

Accepted Answer

You're already a member of this classroom. Tap Open (or the card itself) to jump straight into its feed.

Question 35

Can I be in many classrooms at once?

Accepted Answer

Yes — there's no limit on the student side. Mix public communities for general practice with the private classroom you share with your teacher.

Question 36

What can I do inside a classroom?

Accepted Answer

Read your teacher's posts, like them, leave comments and @mention classmates, and — when the post is a homework exercise — solve it directly in the app. Your scores are tracked and rolled into the classroom leaderboard.

Question 37

How do I solve a homework exercise?

Accepted Answer

Open the post and click Solve Exercise. The runner opens with the same UI you'd see in the catalogue — answer the questions, hit Check Answers, then Submit to record your score. Writing exercises are reviewed by your teacher, so you'll see 'Pending teacher review' instead of an instant score.

Question 38

Can I retake a homework I already submitted?

Accepted Answer

No — submissions are final. You can reopen any submitted exercise in read-only mode to review your answers next to the correct ones (look for the 'See my answer' button on the post).

Question 39

Can I see how my classmates scored?

Accepted Answer

Every homework post shows a top-5 leaderboard. Click 'See more' on the post to page through the next 10 — names, avatars and scores included.

Question 40

Why can't I solve this exercise?

Accepted Answer

Solving the homework requires full access. That can come from your teacher's school subscription (if you're in a private classroom they manage) or from your own personal plan. If neither applies, you'll see a paywall — check the access chip on your row in the members list, or upgrade to remove it.

Question 41

What happens when I @mention a classmate?

Accepted Answer

They receive a push notification with the comment preview, and tapping it takes them straight to the post and thread. Mentioning users who aren't members of the classroom does nothing — they don't get pinged.

Question 42

How do I leave a classroom?

Accepted Answer

Open the classroom and tap 'Leave classroom' on the sidebar card (it's also available from the My Classrooms list). You'll see a quick confirmation; once confirmed, your membership and all your local progress in the classroom go away.

Question 43

If I leave a classroom, can I rejoin later?

Accepted Answer

Yes — unless the manager banned you (a one-click toggle when they kick you). If you try to rejoin and you're banned, you'll see a clear message saying so.

Question 44

What does the 'Full access' badge mean on members lists?

Accepted Answer

Full access means the student can solve every exercise in the classroom — either because their teacher's school subscription covers them, or because they have a personal paid plan. Free means they can read and react, but the homework runner is paywalled.

Question 45

Why do some posts let me read but not solve the exercise?

Accepted Answer

Reading the feed and commenting are free. The homework runner is gated by your access flag: it turns on when your teacher's school subscription covers you, or when you have a personal plan. If you're in a public classroom and you don't have a personal plan, you'll hit the paywall.

Question 46

Can my teacher kick me out of a classroom?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Classroom managers (owner or assigned staff) can remove any member. They can also ban you in the same action — bans prevent you from rejoining even if you have the code.

Question 47

Who is the 'owner' of a classroom?

Accepted Answer

The school organiser who created the classroom. Owners have full control: edit classroom details, assign staff, regenerate the join code and delete the classroom.

Question 48

Who is the 'assigned staff' of a classroom?

Accepted Answer

A teacher the owner appointed to run the classroom day-to-day. Staff can post, moderate comments, manage students and review submissions, but they can't delete the classroom or swap themselves out for another teacher (only the owner can).

Question 49

Who is a 'member' of a classroom?

Accepted Answer

A student who has joined the classroom — through the public listing or with a join code. Members can read the feed, like, comment, mention and solve homework.

Question 50

What can outsiders see about a private classroom?

Accepted Answer

Any logged-in user can see that a private classroom exists — it appears in the All Classrooms discovery list with a Private chip, and they can read its name, description and member count. What's gated is entry: the only way to join is to type the join code into the popover, and the wall (posts, comments and exercises) is only readable once you're a member.

Question 51

Who can see my classroom's join code?

Accepted Answer

Only managers (owner and assigned staff). Members and visitors never see the code — even after they've joined. Treat the code like a private invite link: don't post it publicly. If it leaks, regenerate it.

Question 52

Can I report an inappropriate post or comment?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Any classroom participant can report any post or comment they didn't author. Tap the menu on the item and choose Report. Duplicate reports from the same user are silently ignored, so feel free to confirm if you're not sure whether it went through — you'll always see a success confirmation.

Question 53

Can I use Classrooms on the iOS or Android app?

Accepted Answer

Not yet — Classrooms is web-only for now. Students can sign in to the iOS and Android apps to access every exercise and learning material on the regular platform, but the classroom wall (posts, comments, homework submissions) is only on the website at the moment. Mobile Classrooms are being built and will land in a future release.

Question 54

How do I get notified about new posts, comments and mentions?

Accepted Answer

The most reliable channel today is mobile push notifications. Install the iOS or Android app, sign in, and turn on push — the backend already pushes notifications for homework, mentions and comment replies, so you'll get them on your phone as they happen. Real-time in-browser notifications for Classrooms are on the roadmap for the next web release.

Question 55

My school is on the School plan — what do my students get on the app?

Accepted Answer

Full mobile access. Students in a paid school can sign in to the iOS and Android apps and unlock every exercise and material on the regular platform — even before Classrooms ships to mobile. Unpaid students and students whose teachers only have personal plans are limited to the first exercise of each list on the apps.

Question 56

I got 'Classroom not found' — what does that mean?

Accepted Answer

Either the classroom was deleted, or it's private and you're not a participant. If a teacher pointed you at a private classroom, double-check the join code with them.

Question 57

I got a '402 — Subscribe to create more' error — what does that mean?

Accepted Answer

You hit the free-tier cap of one classroom. Either subscribe your school (one plan covers every student in your private classrooms) or pick up a personal plan. As soon as you upgrade, the paywall lifts and you can create more.

Question 58

I see a '403' error — was I banned?

Accepted Answer

No. A 403 in Classrooms is reserved platform-wide for users with refunded purchases. Permission and quota failures in this feature surface as 400 or 402 instead, always with a human-readable description.

Question 59

I can't see the join code on a classroom I'm in — why?

Accepted Answer

That's intentional. Join codes are only visible to managers (the owner and the assigned staff). If you need to share the classroom with a friend, ask the teacher to send them the code directly.

Capability	Unpaid Free tier	Personal plan Paid as an individual	School plan Seat-based subscription
Classrooms you can create	1	Up to 50	Up to 50
Posting (text / image / video / PDF)
Posting exercises as homework	Only the 1st exercise of each list	Every exercise	Every exercise
Students' access in your private classrooms	Only the 1st exercise of each list	Each student must pay their own personal plan	Full access — covered by your school plan
Students' access in your public classrooms	Only the 1st exercise of each list	Depends on each student's personal plan	Depends on each student's personal plan (protects seats from unconsented use)
Edit school details	School is invisible	School is invisible
Assign a teacher (staff)		Staff need their own personal plan to post every exercise	Staff can post every exercise regardless of personal plan
Students' iOS / Android app access	Limited to the 1st exercise of each list	Limited to the 1st exercise of each list	Full access — every exercise on the apps
Free extended feedback for your students			Inside classrooms and on the regular platform

Classrooms FAQ (For teachers & students)

Everything you need to know to get the most out of Classrooms — from creating your first community to solving homework with your classmates.