We have carried out in-depth reviews of over 50 tutor agencies nationwide, involving independent surveys and follow-up interviews with both tutors and clients, as well as visiting the tutoring company itself. These reviews are available online to logged in subscribers.
Athena Tuition
Review snapshot: Nice’ and ‘helpful’ are words that cropped up frequently among parents. Nelson, as the front man, got a huge amount of praise. ‘He gives good advice, is efficient and friendly and ultimately provides great tutors.’ ‘He’s very professional, amiable and brilliant at his job.’ etc. The agency’s flexibility was also...
Areas covered: For ordinary hourly lessons, tutors cover anywhere within the M25 (plus a few in the home counties), and the rest of the world via online tutoring. Occasional holiday jobs or residential placements and they also provide home school packages. Athena has strong links to the Chinese market. read more
The Basic Skills Centre
Review snapshot: There is clearly some first-class teaching going on at this inconspicuous little company. Results are sterling, and parents are unanimous in their praise. ‘I would recommend it to anyone,’ ‘My daughter looks forward to her lessons and works hard; she has gone from a B to an A in maths,’ Teachers are mostly aged 40-60, although some are...
Areas covered: Pupils come from all over the locality: Beckenham, Bromley, Penge, Sydenham, Dulwich, Croydon, Anerley and Bexleyheath. read more
Bespoke Tuition
Review snapshot: From Arabic to zoology, there’s no subject that Bespoke Tuition says it can’t provide a tutor for. It’s not that Emma doesn’t have her ‘pigs might fly’ moments, but so far she has managed to nail every single request, no matter how obscure, headhunting for the right tutor when needed. Clients say…
Areas covered: Hourly tuition takes place in both central London and Hong Kong; the latter is mainly UK exam preparation for expat children at international schools. Home schooling and residentials anywhere in the world (bar Antarctica, says Bespoke, they’ve placed tutors in every continent, with some of the more unusual locations including a tiger reserve in Northern India, a lakeside cabin in Whistler and a villa in Bali). Online tutoring anywhere. read more
Bonas MacFarlane
Review snapshot: You instantly feel you’re in safe hands with BM. ‘I’ve worked for many of the big agencies and can tell you BM is exemplary in every way – they are forward thinking, ultra-slick and they have the personal touch and very big hearts,’ said a tutor. They cover every aspect of…
Areas covered: For ordinary hourly lessons, they cover central London and increasingly the home counties. For day-long assignments they cover a circumference of 100 miles around the capital. For weekly assignments or longer, literally anywhere, with recent examples including Mumbai and Sardinia. Online tutoring anywhere. read more
Bright Heart Education
Review snapshot: A world away from tutor agencies that create dependent learners or over-teach already stressed youngsters, Bright Heart scoops up students – mainly with SEN or mental health challenges – and gets them back on the path of engagement via its nurturing, high-quality and person-centred approach. While other agencies focus on…
Areas covered: They mainly cover London (SW, S, W and central) and NE Surrey for in-person tutoring – naturally more popular among these students. Online tutoring is also available throughout the UK and internationally. read more
Bright Light Education
Review snapshot: Safe hands for your primary school aged child, especially when it comes to 11+ tutoring and KS2 English courses. Clients were itching to tell us how caring the agency is – ‘they don’t give the impression that it’s all about business like some other agencies I’ve used,’ said one. Tutors appreciate…
Areas covered: Nearly three-quarters of the one-to-one tutoring (and all courses) are online – these tutees are mainly UK based, with others hailing from eg Dubai, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia and India. For in-person tutoring, they cover mainly Ealing, Chiswick, Putney, Barnes and Hammersmith with odd ones in Kensington, Battersea and East London. read more
British Home Tutors
Review snapshot: A bunch of committed teachers who have organised themselves into a sort of collegiate collective, cutting out the merchant side of tutoring which can be pretty off-putting. They’re in it for the enjoyment of the thing and, ‘not a dating agency – other set-ups are businesses who don’t care whether there’s love at the end of the thing or not’...
Areas covered: London and roundabout but dependent on the right tutor being available and able to travel. Best areas are around the central London crammers as tutors can easily come after work. read more
Bruton Lloyd
Review snapshot: Founded in 2006 by Russian-born friends Ekaterina Ametistova and Anna Kunitsyna, who met at Moscow State University while doing master’s degrees (maths for Ekaterina; physics for Anna)...
Areas covered: Hourly tuition mainly in central London, Surrey and Berkshire – either in clients’ homes or Bruton Lloyd’s offices. Tutors have also travelled to France, Switzerland, Monaco, Italy, Spain, Greece, USA, Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia. Bespoke and intensive residential programmes on offer in Norfolk and Dorset. Online tutoring on the up. read more
Capital Tuition Group
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 but also Surrey, Devon, Bristol, Oxfordshire, Berkshire and Northern Ireland. read more
Carfax Private Tutors
Review snapshot: If Carfax can’t match a student with a member of their full-time team, they send requests to their freelance database and specifically interview tutors who apply for the role and have the right profile. ‘We’re looking to match the learning style – are they a visual learner? What kind of interaction do …’
Areas covered: All of greater London; they also have a heavy presence in Oxfordshire where students tend to meet their tutors at Carfax College in Oxford. Internationally, they offer tuition in their teaching centres in UAE and Moscow (these form the bulk of Carfax’s international work), as well as in Monaco and Hong Kong. Residentials are popular, particularly in the Middle East and Russia and increasingly across Europe, North America and China. read more
Chelsea & Fulham Tutors
Review snapshot: A boutique and caring London agency run by two knowledgeable and animated women who are super-quick at matching and don’t charge the earth (compared to some other London agencies). Specialist in dealing with parents not born in the UK – though that’s not a prerequisite. Covers all educational needs, but particularly strong in…
Areas covered: There’s a 60/40 per cent split between online and in-person tutoring. For the former, clients are based across the UK and around the world including USA, Uzbekistan, Philippines and France. Hong Kong is a target area – they now have a dedicated fluent Mandarin and Cantonese speaking associate on board for these clients. For the latter, clients are mainly in SW London, but it’s creeping northwards. So, heartlands are still Chelsea, Fulham, Hammersmith, Westminster, Kensington and Notting Hill, but other boroughs include Ealing, Enfield and Lambeth. read more
Choice Home Tutoring Ltd
Review snapshot: Excellent value for money – so much so that we wonder why more families down south haven’t caught on. The bulk of their work is English, maths and science tutoring for GCSEs. Home schooling has taken off. ‘Many are school refusers, a definitely spin-off from Covid.’ A lot of them have SEND (some with EHCPs). These children…
Areas covered: This has long been the go-to agency for hourly tuition for families in Manchester. Majority of tutoring is by the hour – about two-thirds in-person. Online clients still tend to be local, although some are based in other areas such as Shropshire, Oxford and London, as well as overseas including Canada. Franchisees in Stockport, Altrincham and Trafford (so far). read more
Clarendon Tutors
Review snapshot: Tutors – a young bunch with average age of late 20s - fall into three main categories: those with a teaching background (practising teachers, those between schools or retired) who suit the more traditional tutoring jobs; postgrads who suit the more scholarly tutoring posts; and actors, musicians etc who excel at…
Areas covered: Across all London postcodes, with families in Stoke Newington to Wimbledon and most places in between. Even with online tutoring, clients tend to be mainly London based, with pockets further afield in eg Scotland, Wales, Cornwall and India. read more
De Silva Tutors
Review snapshot: A warm, efficient agency that seems to sprinkle magic dust on parental stress and anxiety and turn out kids as relaxed as Craig himself, reaching their potential not through pressure but through improved confidence and a love of learning. A perhaps uniquely...
Areas covered: Covers Greater London but some will travel slightly further out into the edges of the home counties – always worth asking. Skype increasingly available and home schooling and residential are on the menu. read more
Enjoy Education
Review snapshot: Mostly hourly tutoring for entrance exams including 7+, 8+, 11+, pre-tests and 13+, along with GCSE, A level and IB. But they tutor as young as pre-school right up to degree level. Extra-curricular is an exciting and more unusual aspect of their provision. It’s a wide range, from robotics to…
Areas covered: Core geographical areas are all London boroughs and home counties, though they regularly send resident tutors abroad (35 countries to date) eg for British families on holiday or ex-pats whose offspring are about to enter the UK school system. They were early adopters of online learning too which gave them a head start during Covid. read more
ExamSolutions
Review snapshot: Michael Olagunju is star of the show, with a team of six (all freelance part-timers) supporting him from the wings covering everything from school liaison to website design to CPD. As far from a stereotypical maths geek as you can imagine, Michael is cool (he’s also a boxer), upbeat and fun – no wonder kids love him, although these days he’s scaling back on tutoring to focus on running the business and creating YouTube maths content.
Areas covered: Online tuition only, so all over UK and beyond. read more
Exceptional Academics
Review snapshot: Not a massive number of tutors – 35 had worked with them in the year leading up to our last visit – but small and personalised is EA’s signature charm. Most tutors are qualified teachers, some having come through the competitive Teach First programme. We spoke to one who had enjoyed tutoring for EA so much that she…
Areas covered: Online tuition accounts for 85 per cent of all Exceptional Academics’ work. Most clients still London based, with smatterings from the home counties and abroad (especially India). The 15 per cent who opt for in-person tutoring are all London based – Lambeth, Kensington and Chelsea, Wandsworth, Southwark, Westminster, Richmond, Hammersmith and Fulham, Camden. read more
Exeter Tutors
Review snapshot: Whether it’s bumping up grades, getting into a school of their choice or upping the enjoyment of a subject, parents overwhelmingly feel Exeter Tutors meets their needs. Because the company only works with qualified teachers with a couple of years teaching under their belt, you can rest assured that…
Areas covered: While many agencies have shifted towards online tutoring since Covid, 80 per cent of this company’s tutoring is still in-person (usually at the pupil’s home, sometimes at the tutor’s – all within 10 miles of Exeter city centre). Most online tutoring clients are still local, with a minority based further afield (eg London, Scotland) and occasionally overseas (particularly families who are looking to move to the area). read more
Expert Tuition
Review snapshot: Tutors fall into two groups: a handful of more expensive senior tutors who are the most popular due to their experience, results and feedback and the remainder who are generally on the younger side, aged 22-25. Particularly good for A level tutoring, though the company also offers tutoring at…
Areas covered: St John’s Wood, Maida Vale, Hampstead, Highgate, Golders Green, Hendon, Edgware, West Hampstead, East Finchley, Finchley and Kensington, though Ahmed is keen to expand further into south London and beyond and of course the pandemic has led to an increase of online tutoring. read more
Figtree Learning
Review snapshot: Well over half of parents who completed our survey turned to Figtree for help with entrance exams – and this, agrees Ariana, is very much their bread and butter. Figtree also offers tutoring in all subjects right up to A level and IB (the latter is worth noting as not all tutor agencies specialise in this), spanning…
Areas covered: Around 70 per cent of tutoring is online – about half of these families are UK based, the rest live across Europe, Africa, Asia and the US, particularly Italy, France, Belgium, Nigeria, Indonesia, China and the Middle East. The remaining 30 per cent of tutoring is in-person across London. read more
Fleet Tutors
Review snapshot: Big - with 930 tutors having tutored over 400 families in the 12 months leading up to our review. No wonder tutor recruitment is a major preoccupation – though just 10 per cent of those who apply every month get through. That’s even less than last time we reviewed Fleet and is…
Areas covered: Majority (60 per cent) of tutoring is online. Despite its potential reach, most of these clients are UK based, with a few expats based abroad. The families who prefer in-person tutoring are mainly based in the South East, with some pockets in other areas eg Birmingham and Manchester. Fleet also provides residential tutors for holiday or interim home schooling. read more
The Golden Circle
Review snapshot: Home schooling is their bread and butter, accounting for well over half their clients. A handful are in school some of the week (so-called flexi-schoolers) but most learn entirely from home, with Golden Circle creating a bespoke daytime curriculum delivered by a team of teacher-trained tutors. Majority are…
Areas covered: Sixty per cent of Golden Circle’s tutoring is in-person – half of this takes place in London, the rest in Manchester, Oxford, Cambridge and Bristol. The remaining 40 per cent is online (mainly Zoom), with clients mostly UK based (all over), with a significant number in the US (US curriculum available), plus (mainly expats) in the Middle East and a few in Europe. Some do a mix of both in-person and online. Traditional residential placements available (though less common since Covid), with tutors having flown out to eg Saudi Arabia, Dubai, Miami and south of France. read more
Greenhouse Learning
Review snapshot: A very personal and flexible agency that excels at the nuts and bolts of tutoring in Bristol and the surrounding areas. A family affair, run by husband-and-wife team Chin and Rachael Tan from offices in central Bristol since 2017. ‘Very helpful,’ ‘pleasant’, ‘professional,’ ‘flexible’ and ‘quick with communications,’ say parents. Tutors say…
Areas covered: Clients are mainly based in Bristol, Bath, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire, although they do some online tutoring for families in eg London and as far north as Scotland, plus a very small number overseas. read more
Griffin and Bell Education
Review snapshot: Worried your chosen subject is too obscure? We doubt they’ll be fazed. ‘We have recently found tutors to teach chess, cycling and embroidery,’ says Matt. A number of tutors have experience and/or qualifications in SEN. ‘A very positive experience which could have been really stressful,’ reported one parent about her…
Areas covered: For hourly tuition and home schooling, they cover all boroughs of London (although heartlands are North London and Chelsea), as well as Oxford and the home counties. Residential placements are available throughout the UK and worldwide – Matt had just had a request for a three-month placement in upstate New York when we last met him. Online tutoring came into its own during the pandemic. Again (as you’d expect), that’s worldwide. read more
Hampstead and Frognal
Review snapshot: The vast majority of tutors have a degree and teaching experience, with the exception of a handful still studying for a degree. ‘I’ve reluctantly taken them on when they’ve shown huge keenness and communication skills,’ explains Mark, who adds that all tutors must have experience of working with young people. Most are in their 20s and there’s...
Areas covered: Mainly NW3, SW7, and surrounding postcodes, with a few exceptions, such as Ilford and Elstree. That said, some tutees, particularly at 7+ and 8+, are tutored in the company’s office on Saturdays. Online tutoring is increasingly popular, with clients as far afield as France, San Francisco, Washington and Dubai. read more
HA Tutors
Review snapshot: A very large and impressive range of services. Tutoring for individual children paid for by their own families is a modest percentage of what they do. Much of the other work is providing tuition for children funded by local authorities including children in care or who have been excluded from schools. This means Harrison Allen is ‘quality assured...
Areas covered: Mainstream, after-school tuition is mostly in south-west London but now increasingly further afield, eg from Putney, Richmond, Barnes, Chelsea, Dulwich, Wimbledon to the north London boroughs. read more
Headway Tutors
Review snapshot: No swanky offices, no offices at all in fact – and that’s just the way they like it. Lower overheads mean lower fees for clients and more of it going to tutors and them – everyone’s a winner. Most (three-quarters at last count) of the tutors are qualified teachers, and those that aren’t…
Areas covered: Richmond is the epicentre, with work increasingly expanding out into pupils’ homes in central, north and south London. Around 30 per cent of tutoring is online, now provided both nationally and internationally, including in Bermuda and Dubai. More recently, they’ve set up branches in Bristol, Manchester, Nottingham, Brighton and Leeds. Read more
Hyde Tutoring
Review snapshot: Three-quarters of Hyde’s tutoring is exam prep - mainly entrance exams (7+, 8+, 10+ and 11+) but also some GCSEs and A levels. Most popular subjects are English, maths and reasoning, then sciences and languages (especially Spanish and French). The rest is tutoring for SEN…
Areas covered: Nearly half the tutoring is online, with overseas students mainly in Hong Kong and USA, while most of the UK students are in London, and a few dotted around the home counties. The rest, 55 per cent, is in person, in the client’s home. For this, the agency covers all of London (mainly north, south and west) from Muswell Hill to Ealing to Carshalton, with hotspots of Clapham, Battersea and Balham. Read more
Inspiring Tutors
Review snapshot: Popular among British and Chinese families with children in UK boarding schools – now with an on-line only tutoring offering which is better suited, by the company’s own admission, to secondary school age. The company is small enough to be personal, but big enough to have a…
Areas covered: About half the tutees are Chinese (90 per cent are studying at UK schools and 10 per cent are based in China but getting ready to come over to study here), rest are British (also mainly in boarding schools). read more
Ivy Education
Review snapshot: Ivy stands out for assessing every new student, with an individual education programme then drawn up. ‘The assessment was very helpful especially in lockdown when I didn’t really trust school reports because they hadn’t seen the children in so long,’ said a parent. The majority of clients are aiming for entrance to…
Areas covered: Most tutoring is in London (SW, SE, N, NW, W) and Jersey, though online tutoring has taken off especially since the pandemic and means students are now based as far away as eg China, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Russia, UAE, Turkey and South Korea. Residential tuition so far in UK, Europe, Asia and USA. read more
JK Educate
Review snapshot: A stand-out point is the emphasis on getting to know the child thoroughly through conversations with parents and, where appropriate, bespoke educational assessments. ‘The aim is to explore questions such as, how is the child doing nationally? Are they reaching their full potential? If not, why not and how can…
Areas covered: Geographically, they cover all London postcodes (with central, N, NW and SW London their heartland) and sometimes further afield (it all comes down to whether they have a tutor close by – recently, they’ve managed to place a tutor in Liverpool and another in Spain), while online tutoring takes place worldwide but especially in UK, China, Hong Kong, Europe, USA, Canada, UAE and Israel. read more
Katie Jayne Tutors
Review snapshot: ‘The best tutors in London,’ reckons one parent, with particular praise for the organic and child-centred approach. Parents say they certainly get the results, ‘but without cramming’. Used to be top-heavy on the primary end (probably because of the owner’s background), but now covers the whole gamut. SEN is a strength – Katie was a SENCo herself…
Areas covered: Predominantly in London (Hammersmith and Fulham, Kensington and Chelsea, Richmond, Chiswick, Barnes and St John’s Wood) and Surrey (Weybridge, Walton, Hampton, Cobham and surrounding areas). A quarter of the tutoring is online. read more
Kensington & Chelsea Tutors
Snapshot: Any number of tutor companies have come and gone since Nevil Chiles founded this one back in 2002 and its long-standing is one of the main reasons people choose it. Tutors are mostly made up of current and retired teachers and postgraduates. Most are in their mid 20s to…
Areas covered: For in-person tutoring (the norm until Covid) they cover all of London. For on-line tutoring (the new normal) the sky’s the limit, with students all over the world (though three-quarters remain London based). read more
Keystone Tutors
Review snapshot: Founder Will Orr-Ewing is something of a legend in the tutoring industry. The old Harrovian and Oxford graduate was just 21 when he founded Keystone in 2007 and was the first to publish the names and biographies of his tutors on the website. It was to be the first of many endeavours aimed at professionalising the world of tutoring.
Areas covered: Tutoring is by the hour, with about half taking place in families’ homes (mainly in zone 1, especially Kensington and Chelsea). The rest is online across 50 countries worldwide, mainly south east Asia (Keystone has small offices in Singapore, Hong Kong and China). Keystone’s offices are used for families based outside London and for home-schooled families. read more
Learn & Co
Review snapshot: Language tuition is the raison d'être of this company, with tutees comprising an even split of children and adults. The young and trendy team (with website pics to prove it) of 10 had doubled in size in the month alone that it took us to review this agency – business can’t be bad. Parents rate the…
Areas covered: Areas covered: For face-to-face tutoring they cover North, East and West London, with online tutoring spanning Greater London and beyond, although they don’t (perhaps surprisingly) do masses overseas, with the exception of Hong Kong and Singapore which is a growth area for them. read more
Learn with Confidence
Review snapshot: Alternative provision for young people who are not in school, or who are on roll at school but only go in some of the time. Through one-to-one tutoring, these youngsters gain qualifications they probably wouldn’t otherwise. ‘After years of not being able to consistently attend school due to anxiety, LwC helped my daughter achieve…
Areas covered: Most of the teaching takes place at the centre in Horsham, West Sussex, mostly in-person but sometimes online (because some of the tutors live further away). Students can even take their exams here (AQA and WJEC exam boards) – great for those that can’t face a hall of 200 students. read more
Minerva Tutors
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.
Areas covered: All London postcodes (plus a few home counties and they also offer tutoring at the Moorgate offices) and by Skype globally. Minerva provides residentials (eg VIPs who want a tutor on their holiday in the Alps) and has grown a network of international tutors to provide tutoring on a global scale. read more
Newman Tuition
Review snapshot: Founded in 2014, this company cringes at the term ‘agency,’ preferring ‘network’ instead. ‘I wanted to create a tuition network that focuses on the wellbeing of students – building their confidence and self-esteem, not just cramming information,’ says founder Zac Newman. Parents say matching is a forte…
Areas covered: Since the pandemic, 80 per cent of tutoring is online (covering the whole of UK and some families overseas including in Ireland, Italy, Spain and German); the rest is in-person throughout London and Herts. read more
Oppidan Education
Review snapshot: Goodbye to soulless, prescriptive, hothouse learning and hello to fun, confidence-boosting sessions that teach skills such as empathy, resilience, oracy, creativity, self-awareness, reflection and independence. The idea is that by focusing on these softer skills, exam results will naturally follow – and moreover, that the benefits will extend right through to…
Areas covered: Around half the clients are mentored online, the rest in-person. Most are UK based, with nearly all the face-to-face work within the M25. In addition, there are around 50 international clients, and Opiddan offers residentials too – one tutor told us she’d travelled to all manner of exotic destinations to work with families. read more
Osborne Cawkwell Tuition
Review snapshot: Tutors pay tribute to the way they are nurtured and valued, and a happy tutor is probably a good one. Clients praise Osborne Cawkwell for being ‘very understanding,’ ‘reliable,’ and ‘going the extra mile.’ The matching process, which involves tutors being contacted individually about a student that OC feels is right for them, is...
Areas covered: Most tutoring involves one-hour weekly sessions in clients’ homes in London, but tutors travel out to the home counties for half or full days of tuition too. Skype sessions are also becoming increasingly popular. read more
Owl Tutors
Review snapshot: ‘Very good at comms,’ said almost every tutor we surveyed. ‘I like that they only take on teachers who love both teaching and their subject,’ was another typical comment – ‘makes me feel valued and the service feel genuinely professional.’ One tutor told us she feels ‘part of a top end tutoring offering, which…
Areas covered: For online, there are students located all over the world; for home tutoring, they cover all of central London, zone 2, a good chunk of zone 3 and a scattering of outer areas. They organise a few short-term residentials every year – this involves a week or month of tuition ‘anywhere on earth’ (recently Malaysia, Switzerland and France), most commonly before school entrance exams. read more
Pegasus Tutors
Review snapshot: Parents tell us Pegasus is ‘warm’, ‘professional’, ‘friendly’ and ‘incredibly responsive’. They also appreciate the ‘expertise when it comes to all things education’ and the fact that Alex goes ‘above and beyond’ with his advice.
Areas covered: Across London (zones 1-4), home counties and Oxford, although online tutoring is a growth area. Residential tutoring abroad is popular, with previous posts to Cannes, Singapore, Gstaad, Hong Kong, Thailand, Marbella and Ibiza. read more
Powertutors
Review snapshot: Affordable hourly tutoring from a new-ish but fast growing company that prides itself on being caring and promoting confidence above all else. Definitely one to consider if your child has SEN. And unlike most tutor agencies, they can cope with complex needs. Autism, ADHD, sensory challenges, visual impairment and some…
Areas covered: Not surprisingly, online tutoring took off during Covid, and 70 per cent of tutoring now via Zoom. ‘But online tutoring isn’t right for someone, we quickly realise and change it to in-person.’ Most clients are based in Surrey, Hampshire and London. read more
PSJ Tuition
Review snapshot: The vast majority of parents we spoke to said they chose PSJ over other tutor agencies because of the focus on top grades. Unusually, if not uniquely, this emphasis is reflected in tutors receiving a bonus if their client gets a 9 at GCSE or A*/A at A level. Some students…
Areas covered: Ninety per cent of clients are London based (mainly Mayfair, Westminster, Chelsea, Notting Hill, Richmond, Ealing and Kensington), the majority of whom use the tuition centre for in-person tutoring. The rest of the tutoring happens online – although even then (with the exception of the 10 per cent of clients who live overseas, mainly in Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, USA, Switzerland and Spain), learners tend to use the tuition centre for some sessions (especially exam practice). read more
Riviera Tutors
Review snapshot: Three main types of tutoring: hourly, residential or – and this is where we think Riviera shines most brightly – home schooling which includes curriculum development, sourcing of specialist teachers and high level ongoing monitoring and support. A particular strength of Riviera is Luke’s personal touch and relationship building with families. If you…
Areas covered: A third of tutoring takes place in London (mostly Chelsea, Mayfair, Belgravia and Hampstead), a third in Monaco (including at the education centre) and the rest spread around the world (especially Paris, Moscow, Milan, Rome and south of France but also further-flung places such as the Maldives and Caribbean). Online tutoring increasingly popular especially since the pandemic. read more
SEND Tutoring
Review snapshot: Every parent that responded to our survey, or took part in our follow- up phone calls, wanted to extol the virtues of their SEN tutor. Parents told us of starter activities to liven things up, games and props to make things fun, keeping things light-hearted and encouraging, stripping things down to basics and…
Areas covered: Only a couple of clients have online tutoring – the rest happens in-person in the client’s home, mostly in London although there are families based right across the UK (Ione had just sorted a placement in Wolverhampton when we met her). read more
SENsational Tutors
Review snapshot: A set-up so superb and so clearly desperately needed that you can’t help wondering why there’s nothing else like it around. And believe us, there isn’t. If anyone knows their onions regarding SEN, it’s Joanna, who also cares deeply about the tutors and families she works with. As for conditions…
Areas covered: Across London, Surrey, Kent, Oxfordshire, Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, West Sussex and Berkshire, as well as other parts of the UK upon request, internationally and online. read more
Simply Learning Tuition
Review snapshot: An established high-end tutor agency with top drawer tutors. All tutors are self-employed because ‘we want to work with highly experienced specialists rather than generalists and simply wouldn’t be able to give them full-time employment at the rates they command.’ Around 40 per cent are…
Areas covered: All central London boroughs, typically zones one and two (including Kensington and Chelsea, Westminster, Hammersmith and Fulham, Hackney, Islington, Camden) and some of zones three and four (particularly Wandsworth and Richmond-upon-Thames). Recent areas for residential tutoring placements include West Sussex, Yorkshire, Lake District and Cotswolds. Overseas clients (now mostly online but some full-time residentials) are based mainly in Europe, Monaco, Ibiza, UAE, Japan, USA and Nigeria. Singapore is a massive growth area. read more
Strive Tutors
Review snapshot: Not a single fresh-faced graduate to be seen among the 120 odd tutors at Strive as the agency has stuck firmly with its ethos of only providing only trained classroom teachers. Parents of children with SEN, rejoice - at least 30 per cent of children they work with have additional learning needs. No wonder…
Areas covered: On top of the predictable in-person hourly tuition (mostly in pupils’ homes, across the whole Greater London area), Strive offers online tutoring (spanning right across the UK, including boarding schools, as well as Europe, Nigeria, China, Hong Kong, Dubai and USA), as well as residential tutoring (usually for clients with holiday homes abroad) and home schooling. read more
Teachitright
Review snapshot: The bulk of their work is 11+ tuition for groups of up to 10 children. So why would you choose group tuition over one-to-one? For many parents, it’s the cost factor. Others point to the camaraderie, particularly important over a two-year school period. One parent told us, ‘This is a much better environment for learning…
Areas covered: The classes take place in 16 centres (schools, community centres and libraries) across Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Surrey – and there’s a franchise in Birmingham. read more
Tutor Train
Review snapshot: The desire to support a local company was the top reason that parents we spoke to chose Tutor Train over other tutor agencies. ‘But actually I don’t feel I could have got any better elsewhere – Praema has been absolutely fantastic,’ was a typical comment. Praema Stelling, who founded the business in 2015, comes in for particular praise for being ‘friendly,’ ‘professional,’ ‘reliable’ and ‘quick.’ With her gentle, calm demeanour and clear industry knowledge, we can see why clients feel in safe hands. read more
UK Study Centre
Review snapshot: Every family we surveyed said they’d recommend the agency. ‘By far the best agency we have ever experienced – they took time to really understand our needs as parents and the needs of our children,’ said one. Entrance test preparation tops the list – mostly 11+, 13+, Common Entrance and 16+. Then it’s…
Areas covered: In-person tutoring pretty much anywhere within the M25, especially central London, plus Windsor, Ascot, Reading, Wokingham and Virginia Water. Online tutoring has proved particularly useful for their overseas clients, notably in China, where they work with a growing number of Chinese students preparing to come to UK boarding schools. ‘Now we are looking to start covering new regions such as Nigeria and Kenya.’ Residentials could be anywhere from a yacht on the Med to a country mansion (lucky tutor). read more
Watling Tutors
Review snapshot: The market is a lot more crowded than when we last reviewed this company, but it still soars above the competition. Serves mainly local (but some further afield) clients who rave about Watling’s unparalleled knowledge of local schools and the quality of the tutors, most of whom are trained teachers…
Areas covered: Just over half the tutoring is in-person at the student’s home, the rest happens online. For the former, most clients live within 10 miles of St Albans, although they have clients across Hertfordshire and all north and northwest London postcodes. Even with online tutoring, clients tend to be fairly local – within a 15 mile radius, though they also have clients in Israel, Qatar and the US. read more
Witherow Brooke
Review snapshot: Unlike other agencies that deliver mainly after-school hourly tutoring, this one specialises in providing full- and part-time residential, homeschooling and travelling tuition roles anywhere in the world. Details of the strongest three candidates are then presented to the family – and, boy, do they get the complete lowdown, including a…
Areas covered: Around half the clients live in the UK (mostly the south east), with the rest dotted around the world, eg Europe, Middle East, North America, remote areas of Africa and Pacific islands. read more