Tutoring. The shadow school system.
Private tutoring is a $131 billion industry. In London nearly half of secondary school kids have a tutor. What school you go to is now dwarfed by what you can afford after the bell.
THE GIST ON PRIVATE TUTORING: "Extra Credit"
How big is private tutoring?
It is now a $131 billion global industry. One in three secondary school kids in the UK has a private tutor. In London, it's nearly half.
It's a shadow education system running alongside the real one, and nobody talks about what it's actually doing.
Who is hiring the tutors?
It used to be a niche thing: wealthy families prepping for grammar school entry exams. Now parents in private schools hire tutors to guarantee grades, and parents in state schools hire them because the classroom isn't enough.
Different sides of the same coin. Neither version of the education system is doing the job on its own.
Why is that a system failure?
When one in three kids has a tutor, that's a system failure at scale. But nobody frames it that way. Each parent solves it for their own kid and moves on, so the conversation stays personal and never becomes systemic.
The one time the government tried to fix it at scale, it worked. The National Tutoring Programme after Covid ran for four years, and tutored kids gained up to five months of extra progress.
What happened next?
They stopped funding it and handed it back to the private market, which took over for the families that could afford it.
The great debate in British education has always been private versus state. Meanwhile the divide has shifted. What school your kid goes to is now dwarfed by what you can afford after the bell rings, and it happened without anybody noticing.
Did you have a tutor at school?
Your take. One tap, then see how everyone else voted.
Quick answers
How many UK children have a private tutor?
One in three secondary school kids in the UK, and nearly half in London.
What did the National Tutoring Programme show?
It ran for four years after Covid, and tutored kids gained up to five months of extra progress. Then funding stopped and the private market took over.
Why does it matter?
Because the tutor, not the school, is now what moves the needle, and only families who can afford one get it.
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