Starlight Just Got Smarter: Announcing Our GPT-5 Upgrade

At Starlight, we never stand still. From the very first pilot, our mission has been clear: make high-quality coaching available to every teacher, without adding to their workload. That means constantly testing the latest AI models, pushing the limits of what’s possible, and upgrading whenever we find a way to deliver sharper insights and more meaningful feedback.

Today, we’re excited to announce our next big leap: Starlight now runs on GPT-5.

What does this mean for you?

With GPT-5 at the core of our feedback engine, you can expect:

• Greater contextual accuracy — Reports that track the flow of a lesson more precisely, connecting teacher actions to student responses with less noise and fewer errors.

  
  

• Finer-grained, actionable insights — Specific, evidence-based suggestions that point to exactly where strategies worked and where adjustments could boost learning.

  
  

• Improved handling of real-world classroom audio — More resilient analysis even when recordings contain background noise, accents, or the natural ebb and flow of a busy lesson.

  
  

• More human-like tone — Feedback that reads as professional, encouraging, and personal — reflecting the trust and respect at the heart of great coaching.

Why we’re so confident in what’s next

We see this upgrade not as a destination, but as another step in an exponential climb. Advances in four key domains are converging at speed:

1. Digital recording technology — capturing richer, clearer audio than ever before.

2. Voice-to-text transcription — turning speech into accurate, searchable text in seconds.

3. Chip development — delivering the processing power to run complex AI models faster and more efficiently.

4. Artificial intelligence — evolving at a pace that is rewriting what’s possible for feedback, insight, and professional growth.

As each of these accelerates, Starlight’s capabilities will grow with them — giving teachers feedback that is not only faster and more accurate, but more attuned to the unique rhythms of their classroom.

This is the power of continuous improvement. And it’s why Starlight will always be more than just a tool — it’s a living, evolving coaching partner, built to help you do your best work.

The Insight Engine is written by Adam Sturdee, co-founder of Starlight — the UK’s first AI-powered coaching platform — and Assistant Headteacher at St Augustine’s Catholic College. This blog is part of a wider mission to support educators through meaningful reflection, not performance metrics. It documents the journey of building Starlight from the ground up, and explores how AI, when shaped with care, can reduce workload, surface insight, and help teachers think more deeply about their practice. Rooted in the belief that growth should be private, professional, and purposeful, The Insight Engine offers ideas and stories that put insight — not judgment — at the centre of development.