1st November 2013 9:00
By Blue Tutors
Apparently tutoring is one of the most popular jobs in the UK, with estimated figures indicating that there are over a million people who have given private tuition at one point or another. That’s way more nurses and teachers than we have working in the UK; it’s a huge industry. And yet, it’s also one of the murkiest. There is currently no regulatory body for private tutors, and although in London one in three students have worked with a private tutor at some point, no-one seems to talk about this. Of course, private tuition is all over the news and there are numerous agencies offering help for students aged 3 years all the way to degree level. But many students and parents seem awfully tight-lipped on the subject.
A common request from parents hiring a tutor is that the agency checks that the tutor has no-ties with their child’s school. This is partly because it could be awkward paying for extra help from their child’s teachers, but it is also because parents do not want their child’s school to know their child is receiving extra help. When tutors are asked to look at coursework, the request often comes with dire warnings to the tutor and the student that they should make sure the school doesn’t find out. It is also not something that parents always talk to one-another about. Sharing details of a private tutor is like sharing an embarrassing secret, and the attitude of many parents is that they feel their child’s achievement will be diminished in the eyes of parents whose children have not received extra help. Hiring a tutor suggests that that they think the school isn’t good enough, or that their child needs more help than other students.
However, at the wealthiest end of the tutoring spectrum having a tutor is considered the norm rather than something to hide. As any professional ‘super tutor’ will tell you, they are well known amongst circles of parents who compete for slots with them. Some even live with their clients over the holidays and are a routine addition to other assistants hired by families. They are highly visible, and their talents are celebrated. The costs involved in hiring a tutor are just another educational expense on top of those that parents are already paying. But at the other end – for the parents of students at state schools – it is clear that private tuition is still a bit of a dirty secret.