Why Tutors are in High Demand in the UK

With the passage of time, the education sector is now having more students competing intensively to get their foothold in the top educational institutions all over the world. The global competition has become intensive and along with it the standard of the entrance examinations has also become much higher than before. To get a chance in the best educational institutes, students and their parents are increasingly being dependent upon private tutors for additional academic support and to earn a competitive edge over the other competitors. This trend is particularly observed in the countries like the USA, the UK and the Asia Pacific nations. The demand for private academic tutors is on a steep growth trajectory in all of these countries. 

According to a Sutton Trust survey, in 2013, almost 25% of the students between 11 – and 16 years have revealed that they have hired tutors for additional academic support, whereas, the same percentage was only about 18% in 2005. London is regarded as the hub of private tutors where almost 40% of the students have resorted to online tutors for resolving their academic problems in different subjects. 

According to The Telegraph, the rapidly growing tutoring market in the UK for all kinds of private tuition (one–to–one or online tutoring or group tutoring) is going to be a staggering 6 billion GBP whereas the average spending per family for hiring tutors is estimated to be about 2800 GBP per annum in 2015. 

There are various reasons why online tutors are in such high demand in the UK. The cost of the private schools, where it is said that the standard of education is far better than the public ones, are seemed to be much higher than the tutors, for most British parents for their school going kids. Moreover, the provision for hiring academic tutors specific to the requirement of the student also provides a kind of flexibility to the parents. Owing to this flexibility and the low cost of professional tutors and State school combinations, many parents are gradually opting for sending their children to state schools and hiring private tutors according to the need of their children for additional academic support.

With the increasing number of students opting for the top universities, the students and their parents are increasingly opting for private tutors to have a competitive advantage over the others and to have a good GPA (Grade Point Average) in their academic careers.

There is a growing gap between the number of students and the educational facilities being offered to them in the country. The lack of a matching number of schools has caused an increase in the number of students per class in every institution, despite the best effort of the state as well as the private schools. In a student packed classroom, it increasingly becomes impossible for the teachers to address all kinds of problems unique to different students. Therefore the parents and the students are relying on the extra tuition from the private tutor to cope with the school syllabus and to deal with the unique problems, being faced by the students, which are not being addressed in the school.

11 plus exam is crucial for the student to get admission tickets to the best possible schools in the country. The competition is becoming tough with the increase in the standard of grammar as well as subjects like mathematics. To grab a good concept of these subjects to make themselves eligible for the top-rated schools in the country, British students are being increasingly dependent on the additional support and expertise of private tutors. 

In the global competition, the standard of British education is losing its sheen in front of the students from China, Hong Kong, South Korea etc. In these countries taking private tuition is almost a norm for every student, and in South Korea alone, the market was around 14 billion US $ by the end of 2012. The British parents are gradually taking the lead from these countries and are increasingly hiring tutors for their children with the expectation of lifting the standard of their education.

Moreover, the new legislation enacted by the British Government that every student will have to secure at least a C grade in Mathematics and English has also boosted the market for maths tutors significantly.

There are various other reasons for which the private tutoring market is growing at a rapid rate and the demand for private academic tutors is gradually increasing ever more than before. Even the willingness of the working people to sharpen their academic skills like skills in mathematics, languages and various other subjects, either because of the demand of the job or because of social reasons are also contributing significantly to the development of demand for private tutors in the UK.