British Home Tutors

Founded and run by Tom Maher MA (economics and philosophy from Trinity, Dublin), an economics teacher who worked for many years at MPW, where most of his first recruits came from back in 1996. Gentle, charmingly frank, with a lovely, soft, southern Irish tinge to his quietly humorous conversation, he runs BHT from his home in London. One of the humblest tutor company owners we've met – refreshing in an industry not exactly known for its humility.

Feels genuine responsibility around his work – ‘If a parent rings whose daughter wants to be a medic and needs that all important A in chemistry, we can’t be sending just anyone – you can’t mess around people’s futures like that.’ None of which is lost on parents: ‘There are a lot of competent tutors out there but it’s finding the right one – Tom has a sixth sense for that,’ said one. ‘Pays close attention to the needs and objectives of the clients – the personal approach is exceptional,’ voiced another.

While some tutor company owners have all eyes on business growth and building tutoring empires, Tom is about quality over quantity – sticking with 60 or so top-end tutors who work with around 100 families a year. ‘This is a serious organisation, not some Mickey Mouse set-up,’ said one tutor, ‘and that’s the reason I stay with them.’

That BHT is a lot less commercially aggressive than many tutor companies perhaps explains why Tom winces at the term ‘agency’, preferring to see BHT as a co-operative of like-minded teachers with him at the centre. ‘BHT is perhaps the best agency I work for because it’s so professional and personal – and I have worked for possibly 40 over the last 20 years,’ said one grateful tutor.

So… no frills, no pampering, no pandering to daft aspirations – just very good teaching. And it’s also worth noting that Tom was involved with founding – and was the first president of – the Tutors’ Association.

Hourly one-to-one tuition mainly for I/GCSE and A level, plus a bit of IB. All taught by qualified teachers from top schools (St Paul’s girls and boys, Godolphin & Latymer et al), with a degree in their subject – and a substantial number are also examiners. Most popular requests recently have been for maths, English, history, physics, biology and chemistry – along with politics, economics, Latin and French. Business studies, geography, French, classics, Spanish, art and art history also available.

Can support 11-plus, 13-plus and CE, but less keen on 7+ and 8+ and we applaud BHT for refusing to coach babies in buggies, teething toddlers and basically any child under 8. Supports young people with university options, UCAS and personal statements, as well as to university in the US – in fact, they’ve built up quite a name for themselves in higher education applications.

‘We are not trying to light fires – our tutoring is very goal-oriented,’ admits Tom. Just the way families like it, judging from those we spoke to whose overriding motivation was to nudge up their child’s grades. ‘We wanted to get my son from a 7 to a 9 in maths GCSE and it worked, even in a very short period of time,’ said one. Still, a happy byproduct of the good rapport and engaging teaching is that ‘the tutoring also really boosted her interest in the subject for the first time’, as one parent put it. Lots of repeat customers: ‘We’ve been using them for seven years’, ‘We’ve used them for all three of our children’ etc.

Over 95 per cent of the tutoring is online – a massive increase since we last reviewed BHT. ‘Initially I wasn’t too keen on this idea,’ admitted one parent, ‘but it afforded us flexibility around timing and my son can do the tutoring even when we’re not at home.’ Also allows for a wider geographical base, with clients increasingly nationwide and some in other countries, eg Georgia.

The 10 per cent of in-person tutoring (usually for younger people or those with learning difficulties) takes place in SW1, SW3, SW5, SW6, SW7, SW10, W8 and N8. One parent told us their tutor decided to ‘throw the towel quite soon after starting as the commute felt too long, but they did offer an alternative of a public library’.

Occasionally provides resident tutors, including overseas, for short stints of a week or two, usually in the school holidays. Also provides some home schooling for A levels.

No specialist support for SEN, but some tutors have experience in mild dyslexia, ADHD and autism. One parent told us, ‘My daughter has ADHD and a lot of anxiety and so it was really important that tutors kept her engaged – and Tom found just the right people, who were really fantastic and patient with her.’

BHT was one of the first tutor companies we reviewed – possibly even the very first. Back then, they were almost unique in providing only trained teachers with over two years’ experience – and still now, very few companies can lay claim to having such high-calibre tutors and knowing them all as well as Tom does. Many are colleagues or colleagues of colleagues and all arrive through personal recommendation. And because the vast majority still teach, they attend INSET courses and are au fait with changes in syllabi.

One tutor told us, ‘I know a lot of guys who come straight out of Eton and say, “I’m going to start a tutoring company,” but Tom’s ethos is that he only wants people who work in good schools and are on the ball with all the many changes that are constantly happening in the system.’

As you’d expect, all tutors are carefully vetted, with all the usual academic and personal references taken up and up-to-date DBS check essential. Plus, Tom meets them all in person (never just over a screen). No sample lesson, though, ‘because I think there are better ways to gauge someone’s teaching’. Many work exclusively for BHT and over three-quarters of those we surveyed had been with BHT for over three years. No Christmas dinners or other regular get-togethers among the tutors, ‘but many know each other as they work either at the same school or at schools with whom they have a rapport,’ says Tom.

Clients are largely London based and not short of a few bob, with over 95 per cent of the pupils privately educated. We’re talking the likes of Hill House, Francis Holland SW1, MPW, Westminster, Eton, Highgate, JAGS etc. Nearly half (47 per cent) of those we spoke to came to BHT on the back of a personal recommendation, with 100 per cent telling us they’d recommend them to other parents – ‘I’ve already recommended them to every single one of my friends!’ said one. BHT regularly receives referrals from schools – and they occasionally provide teachers for schools. One parent, whose daughter’s maths teacher had recommended BHT many years ago, said he’s used them for ‘multiple subjects’ for both his daughters ever since, and ‘couldn’t be more satisfied’.

Tom usually acknowledges a new client request within two hours and once he’s got the low-down on their precise requirements, he generally finds a tutor within 24 hours. If he hasn’t struck gold within 48 hours, he’ll signpost them to another agency – generally Keystone for younger pupils and The Profs for university tuition. There’s no beauty parade eg three profiles from which you can have a sniff – ‘We’re too small to be sniffable,’ laughs Tom. Instead, you’ll get one robust option with an introduction, and away you go.

‘Every time I contact Tom, he finds really good subject experts in the relevant exam boards and able to target the teaching to my son’s level,’ said one parent. Others told us of the tutors’ ‘great interpersonal skills’ and ‘very effective teaching’. ‘Very calm and caring’ and ‘a total pleasure to deal with’, we also heard. ‘You get the impression the tutors really care about their work.’

Don’t expect much by way of follow-up from Tom: ‘I don’t like badgering people, it’s not my nature.’ Suits these busy parents down to the ground – and all say he’s there if you need him, and that they can request feedback from the tutor directly if required.

Some tutors think BHT’s website could be updated – and a few families wonder if BHT could do more than the occasional bit of charitable work. ‘I do think that when you’re profiting from education, you have a moral obligation to help others, but I understand they may not be able to do that,’ said a mother.

No registration fee. Tutors set their own hourly rates, varying from £90 to £180 per hour, but Tom will usually provide an alternative to a top-end quote, especially to ongoing clients who are used to paying less. Tutors appreciate that Tom takes no more than 20 per cent commission – ‘a lot less than other London tutor companies’, as one pointed out – and that the overall take-home fee is at the higher end. ‘That’s why I came to BHT –to get the high paying clients,’ said one. Cancellation policy at the discretion of the tutor, but 24 hours’ notice is expected.

‘BHT tutors are experienced teachers and have a proven record of helping pupils achieve strong grades in GCSE and A level especially. We are approachable, responsive and unbureaucratic. If we cannot be of assistance with a particular subject and/or location, we’ll tell you promptly and not waste anyone’s time. We tend to be well regarded by schools who often recommend us to families. Our core strengths are knowing the syllabus and how exams are marked.’

One of the most established, solid and impressive tutor agencies around, with particularly stand-out tutors for GCSE and A level. Run by one of the top names in the industry too – whom parents describe as ‘refreshingly informal’, a ‘great communicator’ and ‘straight-talking’. None of your corporate marketing speak here, and no false promises. ‘The best we’ve had,’ we heard time and again from parents. ‘Tom is exceptionally responsive and very well connected to the very best teachers in the business.’