New polling reveals widening disparities in access to tutoring

The headline figure is striking: 29% of secondary pupils have now received private tutoring at some point, up from 27% in 2019 and significantly higher than the 18% recorded twenty years ago. Private tutoring is no longer a niche intervention; it is becoming embedded in the education landscape.

But access is uneven.

A postcode and income lottery

The data shows:

• 45% of pupils in London have received private tutoring, compared to 26% in the rest of England and 24% in Wales
• 30% of pupils in the best-off households have accessed private tuition, compared to 23% in the worst-off households
• Overall, 29% of secondary students have ever received private tuition, while 71% have never

Tutoring is therefore increasingly common — but disproportionately concentrated in London and among more affluent families.

School-based tutoring is more equitable – but declining

The polling also finds that 20% of pupils have received one-to-one or small-group tutoring in school, down from 22% in 2023. Separate teacher polling cited in the report indicates that 58% of schools reduced their tutoring offer compared to the previous year.

This matters because school-based tutoring is structured differently from private provision:

• It is more likely to be targeted at pupils who are falling behind (27% compared to 18% of those doing well)
• It is more evenly distributed across income groups (22% of worst-off pupils vs 19% of best-off pupils)

In other words, while private tutoring expands opportunity for those who can afford it, school-based tutoring is more effective at reaching those who need it most. The reduction in in-school provision risks reversing the progress made through the National Tutoring Programme (NTP), which demonstrated that high-quality, structured small-group tuition could be delivered at scale within the state system.

Tutoring is becoming structural — not exceptional

Two trends are now clear:

1. Private tutoring continues to grow and entrench itself in the education system
2. State-supported tutoring provision is shrinking

Without intervention, this creates a two-tier system: one in which additional academic support becomes an expected norm for families with means, but increasingly scarce within the state sector. The need for tutoring has not disappeared with the pandemic. If anything, attainment gaps, cost-of-living pressures and widening regional inequality make structured, evidence-based tutoring more important than ever.

What next?

We await further detail on the Government’s recently announced AI tutoring tools for secondary schools. Technology has the potential to help identify knowledge gaps, track progress and enhance delivery. But technology alone cannot replace the value of high-quality, in-person tutoring — particularly for pupils who benefit not only academically, but socially and motivationally.

At the Tutor Trust, we remain committed to addressing the inequalities highlighted in this polling. By delivering high-quality, in-person tutoring across the north of England, we aim to ensure that access to additional academic support is not determined by geography or family income.

Tutoring should not be a luxury. It should be a core part of an equitable education system.