Who are they?
Who are they? Renewed Learning
12 Cresswell Place
London
SW10 9RD
Tel: 0203 488 1142 / 07565 292793
Email: [email protected]
Web: www.renewedlearning.co.uk
We have met with Renewed Learning staff. In addition, 27 clients and 23 tutors have completed an online survey (sent to 180 clients and 115 tutors) and we have followed this up with additional short phone interviews with some of those surveyed.
Renewed Learning staff
Set up in 2019 after founding tutors Benedict Yorston (MPhysPhil in physics and philosophy, Oxford) and Ed Newall (BA in PPE, Oxford) kept hearing their Oxbridge-educated tutor friends grumble about the tutor agencies they worked for. It gave the two men an idea: to find the most engaging graduates and undergraduates from the world’s best universities and connect them with students via a professionally run company that’s enjoyable to work for and pays well. ‘Five years later, we are doing just that,’ says Benedict, who grew up at Radley College, where his father was a teacher.
Clients told us of ‘a much more personal service than I’ve had at other tutor agencies’ and ‘excellent communication from the first point of contact right down to the individual tutors’. ‘Everything runs like clockwork – and they are so responsive too,’ one told us; another that, ‘I have used other agencies but I love this one because they are so friendly, flexible and helpful.’
Tutors are also won over by the personal aspect – ‘and the feeling that Benedict and Ed really care about education and getting the right outcomes for the client, while also looking after us’. One tutor called them ‘reliable and understanding employers’.
In 2022, they branched out to Hong Kong too, and this is where Ed is now based. Although we didn’t review this arm of the business – called Renewed Learning Asia – it has grown to be as big as the UK business, with clients including those emigrating to Hong Kong or vice versa.
What do they offer?
You name it, their Oxbridge-educated tutors teach it – ‘from maths and English to Arabic and economics’. All levels and ages too, although refreshingly they don’t tend to go lower than age 8 (except for eg EAL). ‘In fact, we stood up at Godstowe recently and told the parents their 9 and 10-year-olds need less tutoring and that they should spend more time doing music, sport etc. We want to prevent over-coaching.’
The majority of families we surveyed used the company for GCSEs or A levels, which Benedict says is reflective of their overall cohort. But they also cover 7-plus, 11-plus, all Key Stages and – joy of joys – they have some super IB specialists (rarer than you might think). University admissions support is also offered, and some university tutoring. They even tutor the occasional adult, most recently for chess!
‘My daughters can be really picky with tutors, but they really love this team,’ said one parent. ‘We’ve used them across a number of disciplines and have never been disappointed.’ Parents told us of their children ‘gaining confidence’ and ‘moving from an A to an A*’ and ‘an 8 to a 9’. One told us the tutors excel in ‘finding fresh ways of explaining harder concepts’ and ‘extending my daughter’s interest beyond the confines of the exam syllabus’.
Most tuition is by the hour, with 85 per cent delivered online, although their in-person offering is growing (ironically, the opposite to most tutor agencies). ‘So far, in-person tutoring has been offered in areas where we happen to have tutors, mainly London and Oxford. But we now have a strategy to cover more areas and we’re keen to offer a hybrid model of in-person and online to those who want it too.’
GCSE and A level revision courses run in Easter holidays – 10 hours across five days online in English, maths, chemistry, physics, biology or economics. These cover key content, as well as exam technique and practice questions.
Residential tutoring is popular, especially to support a student pre-exams. Last week, they sent a tutor to Thailand; the month before, one went to Italy. Home schooling is available too, with Renewed Learning able to offer entire-curriculum support, overseen by a senior figure in the education world. These students range from those who have dropped out of school due to anxiety to young athletes travelling the world.
The company has significant experience with dyslexia and ADHD. They have also provided specialised support to autistic children – Ed has a level 3 SEN qualification. One mother of a non-speaking autistic child told us, ‘Ed delivers high-quality academic content while accommodating my son’s unique challenges and learning style – and he does it with so much caring, empathy, positivity and encouragement. In fact, my son describes Ed as his “life changing person”!’
As with many tutor companies, this one does some work directly with some schools, including Godstowe, where they provide weekly tutoring. ‘We also speak at schools and conferences from St Hugh’s and Fitzharrys to Radley and St Helen’s, and run one-off workshops at both primary and secondary level.’
Background and basics
The USP is that all tutors are Oxbridge educated. Average age 24. Around a third are undergraduates, a further third are doing their master’s or PhD and the last third have already graduated and are working as teachers, writers, musicians, scientists, doctors etc.
We wondered if those at top of their game could really relate to any academic struggles their students might have. Ed and Bendict say they’re asked this a lot, but they believe the Oxbridge brand gives the best of both worlds. ‘Yes, Oxbridge is a natural filter for those who have succeeded, but even those who have always flown have often used their abilities to help siblings and peers – and every Oxbridge student will have struggled at some point, even if it’s a professor asking them very difficult questions.’
In any case, an Oxbridge education is only the starting point. ‘We turn so many Oxbridge tutors away – it isn’t about how clever you are but how well you can engage with students,’ says Ed. The company assesses this via a face-to-face online interview, with successful applications going on to do an onboarding session followed by close monitoring, especially with their first couple of students – ‘to ensure they maintain the high standards we expect’.
It clearly works – parents were full of praise for the tutors, with 40 per cent having used them for more than one child. ‘The tutors we’ve used have been young, experts in their subject and with a sense of humour.’ ‘My child’s teacher recommended them and we’ve been so impressed.’ ‘When it comes to exam preparation and solidifying knowledge, you can’t beat them.’ Lots of talk too around ‘adapting lessons’, ‘building good rapport’ and responding to ‘my child’s endless questions so patiently’. One parent also told us that ‘they drill right down into what the examiner will look for in each exam question’.
All tutors are DBS checked but note no references are requested. ‘The unique interconnected nature of our tutor network – Oxford and Cambridge – means that almost all our tutors have been recommended to us by a trusted current or former tutor,’ explains Ed. Also unusual is that the tutors don’t need to have tutored before – but they must have had some kind of mentoring experience, eg supporting younger students in a maths club or coaching cricket. ‘As long as they can show us they can educate and share skills, that’s the most important thing.’
New clients get an average consultation time of 25 minutes so the right tutor can be found. ‘We had a really good conversation to work out what gaps needed filling and also how the child learns and how the tutoring style can assist with the end goal,’ said one parent. ‘This is fantastic and really helpful.’
The match itself is the easy bit ‘because we know our tutors well’, says Benedict – although they check in after the first session, then every two months thereafter. ‘My son had three tutors and loved two; the one he didn’t like as much was swapped immediately,’ said one parent. Families like the written feedback after each session and some request verbal feedback in addition.
Renewed Learning is not a member of the Tutors’ Association although they wouldn’t rule it out. On the charitable front, they offer scholarships for both subsidised and fully-funded lessons, as well as broader academic support and guidance. The company has delivered multiple events for OX4 educational trust including Oxbridge talks, university presentations and academic enrichment workshops.
Money and small print
A no-strings agency, with no registration fee, no contracts to sign and you can stop the tutoring anytime. Individual online tutoring is between £45.60 and £80 per hour, depending on the age of the student. In-person tutoring ranges from £64 to £80 per hour. The company takes between 26 and 33 per cent commission, leaving the tutors between £26 and £55 per hour. More exceptional arrangements such as residential tutoring and home schooling have bespoke pay structures. Revision courses are between £250 and £330. They have the usual 24-hour notice period for cancelling a session but are ‘generally lenient around this except for repeated late-notice and no-shows’.
Renewed Learning say
‘In an increasingly impersonal industry, we pride ourselves on being the opposite. On both the parent and tutor side, we maintain very close relationships with everyone we work with. We’re incredibly proud of the long-term nature of many of these relationships and look forward to the day we have our first student that has taken every step of their education with us supporting alongside!’
Remarks
It’s difficult to find a niche in the saturated world of tutoring, but these guys have nailed it by providing young, dynamic Oxbridge-educated tutors with a passion for teaching who can deliver support in a multitude of ways. Exceptionally well run too. ‘We will use them again, and again, and again,’ said one happy customer.