A high-end and conservative boutique tutor agency run by a small, tight-knit and knowledgeable team. One tutor summed up, ‘One of the other top agencies I work for is a big lumbering giant of a company and another is much smaller and more specialised – Helicon View are just as solid, but they are much, much more personalised which is great for both tutors and clients.’
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The Good Schools Guide is the only place you can find independent reviews of tutor companies. No tutor company can pay to be included which means this review is critical, unbiased and written with parents’ best interests at heart.
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Overview
We have met with Helicon View Learning’s staff. In addition, 22 clients and 20 tutors completed an online survey (sent to 235 clients and 93 tutors), with at least eight of these respondents also interviewed briefly by phone.
- Type of tutoring offered
- In-person
- Online
- Home schooling
- UK residentials
- Overseas residentials
- UK areas covered in person
- London
- Home Counties
Who are they?
The business started life in 2011 as Hampstead Village Tutors Ltd, then became Griffin + Bell and is now Helicon View Learning. Victoria and Matt Smith had worked as tutors for agencies for five years, since they were 21, and saw a need for an agency
What do they offer?
All academic subjects from aged 2 (though we, at The Good Schools Guide, urge parents not to tutor such tiny tots) right through to degree level, including the IB and Pre-U syllabus. School entrance exams (7-plus, 11-plus, 13-plus, 16-plus). Oxbridge
- Workshops and other courses
- University and Oxbridge entrance workshops
- Education levels
- Primary
- KS3
- 7 Plus
- 8 Plus
- 11 Plus
- 13 Plus
- Common Entrance
- GCSE
- A Level
- IB
- Uni Application
- Oxbridge
- Uni Tuition
- EAL
- Subjects available include
- English
- Maths
- Sciences
- Computing
- Humanities
- Languages
- SEN
- Support for students with special educational needs
The finer details
Approximately 275 families are now on their books, with 95 active tutors when we visited. Barely a week goes by without a new application from a tutor wanting to work for them, but the bar is high and they only consider tutors with a 2.1 or above
- Tutor Association
- Member of The Tutors’ Association
- Charitable/pro bono work
- Reduced price tuition for low-income families
Costs and conditions
There’s a one-off registration fee of £140, but this is only charged once you’ve met and vetted the tutor. Don’t worry about a double whammy as clients can request more/replacement tutors (including for siblings) without incurring further
- Cost
- £65-150/hour
£140 registration fee
What the tutor company says
‘Our team is a constant support to the parents and the students we work with. Whether we are recommending tutors or providing courses or one of the many other services by which we help our students on their journeys of discovery, we never sway from
The last word
A high-end and conservative boutique tutor agency run by a small, tight-knit and knowledgeable team. One tutor summed up, ‘One of the other top agencies I work for is a big lumbering giant of a company and another is much smaller and more specialised
