Griffin and Bell Education Ltd
Hampstead Office
Suite 3
25-27 Heath Street
London
NW3 6TR
Chelsea Office
Michelin Building
81 Fulham Road
London SW3 6RD
Tel: 0203 8755346
Website: www.griffinandbell.com
Email: enquiries@griffinandbell.com
We have met with Griffin + Bell’s staff. In addition, 22 clients and 20 tutors have completed an on-line survey (sent to 235 clients and 93 tutors) and we have followed this up with additional short phone interviews with some of those surveyed.
The business started life in 2011 as Hampstead Village Tutors Ltd. Victoria and Matt Smith had worked as tutors for agencies for five years, since they were 21, and saw a need for an agency with a more personal approach. Three years later, they were getting client requests from all over London and decided to widen their provision – hence the need for the name change.
Matt is now the sole director of this very friendly service (no switchboard) which he runs with the help of Holly Morgan and Pandora Layton who deal with both clients and tutors, including interviewing the latter, and Abraham Hagos who takes care of admin, invoices etc. The team is split across two offices – one in Hampstead Village and (since 2019) another on the Fulham Road. Matt is an Oxford English graduate (and on the judging panel for the 2021 Learning Excellence Awards) who still keeps up tutoring, as do Holly and Pandora – ‘it’s company policy that everyone who recruits and places tutors also tutors themselves so we can really see things from their side,’ explains Matt. A calmer, more measured and judicious bunch you’d be hard pushed to find.
GRIFFIN AND BELL EDUCATION REVIEW CONTINUED >>
The Good Schools Guide Education Consultants offer assessments in English, maths and in reasoning. Most schools assess these subjects when considering a child for a place. This is especially important for children coming from different countries with different educational systems. But there can be many reasons for checking a child's progress in these basic skills. Contact us for further information +44 (0) 203 286 6824.
Review snapshot: A highly branded, tech-savvy, energetic tutor agency run by bright young things who have come in and shaken up industry norms. A company with a clear edge and one we would particularly recommend for home schooling.
Review snapshot: "Founded in 2006 by Kate Shand who is committed, passionate, energetic and hugely likeable. Clearly on a mission to deliver a top quality service to her clients – and her tutors – Kate is eloquent on the personal nature of the tutor-client-agency relationship and has a positively moral take on what she sees as her job."
Review snapshot: Getting your child better grades is the raison d’être of this company, which they do through their bank of qualified teachers. So, while other tutor agencies might offer you a med student who teaches science on the side to make a bit of extra money, Capital employs actual teachers with classroom experience to… Areas covered: Around half the tutoring happens online – these pupils mainly live in the South East, with others living all over the UK and beyond into Africa, Singapore and Dubai. The other half is in-person tutoring at the pupil’s home – mainly in London…
Founded in 2014, this company cringes at the term ‘agency,’ preferring ‘network’ instead.
Review snapshot: Founded in 1999 by William Winterford, a gentlemanly but battle-scarred teacher who was becoming less and less enamoured of the way education in the UK was headed. He ran the company until 2013, when he handed it over to Gillian Carberry (60s), a mild mannered woman who hails from the north east, married with three grown-up children. Gillian comes from three generations of teachers and trained in Durham, specialising in art and primary education, though she also has experience in secondary, including working in an exclusion unit. Was initially reluctant when her husband took a job in Kent…