21 Oct The rise of tutoring
As class sizes are set to rise to 60, 72% of students in the UK have never had access to one-on-one learning
Reports show that over 25,000 teachers are now self-isolating due to Coronavirus cases rising in schools. Now, it has been revealed that class sizes may have to double and increase to 60 pupils, as schools look to continue face-to-face teaching, with the added challenge of a lack of teaching staff.
New, nationally representative research from the UK’s leading online tutoring platform, MyTutor (https://www.mytutor.co.uk), shows that 72% of students in the UK do not have access to one-on-one learning, even pre-pandemic. At a time when class sizes may be increasing, this statistic shows that pupils may not be receiving the individual attention they need. Sometimes, putting your hand up in class seems incredibly daunting, and if class sizes were to double, this feeling will only be exacerbated for nervous students.
Since lockdown, MyTutor has found that the number of tutorials taking place on their platform has increased by a huge 420%. As parents looked to supplement their child’s education while schools were closed from March, online tutoring became a viable method to help keep pupils on track. MyTutor’s tutors are close in age to the students they take on, and can act as role models to their tutees. In fact, students come away feeling more confident, so putting that hand up in class may suddenly seem less daunting.
Coronavirus has heavily impacted education and rendered the teaching landscape unpredictable. The only constant through this period has been the use of EdTech; first when schools closed, to deliver lessons, and more recently as a way of providing personalised learning as students begin the journey to catch-up on any lost work. A bespoke, supplementary method of learning will ensure that, even as class sizes increase, no child is left behind.
Bertie Hubbard, CEO and Co-Founder of MyTutor, comments on the accessibility of online tutoring:
“At MyTutor, our mission is to provide life-changing tuition for all. So far we’ve worked with over 500 UK schools, providing dedicated one-to-one support to pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds. It’s government-funded, and free for students. We see great results too – students improve, on average, by a whole grade in 12 lessons, and 86% say that lessons made them feel more confident in their studies.”