26th September 2011 9:00
By Blue Tutors
In the Mail Online website this week, there was another reaction to the Sutton Trust report on the prevalence of home tuition in the UK, or more precisely, the increase in tutoring. 23% of students are now thought to benefit from some form of tuition during their education, compared to 18% when a similar poll was taken in 2005. The figure in London is now closer to 40%.
The results show that Asian and Black families are the most likely to find a private tutor, with 42% and 38% respectively of those families seeking help, while for white families the figure is only 20%. Although the definition of ‘affluent’ and ‘poor’ wasn’t defined, it was also found that 25% of students from affluent families received tuition, whilst only 18% of students from poorer families sought a tutor.
The increase the tuition was put down largely to increased competition for university places following the tuition fee increase from 2012. It’s thought that many schools have shown an improvement in the league tables, and this is largely thanks to parents at those schools deciding that they need to hire a private tutor to give their children a chance. Although the school’s results are improving, paradoxically it might be because parents have less faith in the teaching at them.
Educational charities have warned that this might be a worrying trend, because it’s increasing the gap between students who can afford private tuition, and those who can’t. Sir Peter Lampl, chairman of the Sutton Trust, said “While it is natural that parents should want to do the best for their children, it does give well off families an advantage, particularly when money to help children from poorer homes is being cut”.