10th June 2010 9:00
By Blue Tutors
Why did Blue Tutors start by only recruiting tutors from Oxford and Cambridge? This is a touchy subject; we have never sought to be elitist, and simply want to do the best for our students. We try to find the best teachers, no matter what their educational background.
However, there was very good reason for starting with Oxford and Cambridge University when we began in 2004. For a start, they are the best two universities in the country, and so the tutors we find are likely to be better academically than those we find elsewhere. That’s not to say that their teaching ability will necessarily be any better, but assuming, on average, that it’s no worse, a tutor with a better academic record will be preferred by most students.
There’s another important reason that we try to find so many Oxbridge tutors though, and it’s because of the way in which undergraduates are taught. Most universities teach in seminars – groups of 10-15 students, and one teacher. There is the opportunity to ask questions, and be involved in the lesson, but not as much as in a one-to-one situation. The Oxbridge tutorial (Oxford) or supervision (Cambridge) system is world famous though. Every Oxbridge student will clock up many hours of intense one-to-one teaching, and will gain a real insight into what works and what doesn’t in a private tuition session.
So, Oxbridge graduates are in a unique position from which approach to approach tutoring, and generally put their experience to great use once they become a tutor. However, that’s not to say that tutors from other universities don’t. The ability to be an excellent private tutor is less common than many people think, and we tend to find that the ideas just click for some tutors, whatever their university.